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Chicago student spots 1687 Newton error in Principia
Physics student Robert Garisto of the University of Chicago found a 15 percent discrepancy in Newton’s Earth mass calculation in Proposition Eight of Book Three of the Principia. He notes Newton used 11 seconds rather than 10.5 for the sun Earth angle, altering the Earth’s mass estimate. Garisto’s finding comes during a routine class assignment.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Chicago
Robert Garisto
Heaven and Earth
Isaac Newton
Garisto
University of Chicago
Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica
Newton
Earth
Heavens