Issue 17

Ode to Newtonian mechanics

(after Sonnet 130)

post
and

22 May 2023

My mistress shapes ellipses round the Sun;
        Their perihelion does not precess.
If neutron stars combine, no waves are shun,
        If stars be dense, black holes may not progress.
I’ve read that matter makes space-time be curved,
        But no such curvature, just force I see;
The field equations Einstein to us served;
        Yet she prefers $\mathrm{d}(m v)$ by $\mathrm{d}t$.
I love to talk of her, yet well I know
        That relativity be general;
I grant I never saw dark matter though;
        My mistress is far less ephemeral.

        And yet, by heav’n, I think my love as rare,
        For Newton and Einstein I shan’t compare.

David teaches and researches maths at King’s College London, with a focus on geometry. In his spare time he likes to make music and read poetry.
davidsheard.co.uk/    All articles by David

Antonio researches modifications and extensions of Einstein’s theory of general relativity and enjoys teaching Newtonian mechanics at UCL. It was a ride on the number 8 bus from Shoreditch to Holborn which gave Antonio the idea of thinking of Newtonian mechanics as the mistress to general relativity’s stable partner.
All articles by Antonio

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