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I am quite stupefied by this statement. NASA and other organisations most certainly uses Classical mechanics (whether in its Newtonian, Lagrangian, or Hamiltoni
by qubex 8y ago
I am quite stupefied by this statement. NASA and other organisations most certainly uses Classical mechanics (whether in its Newtonian, Lagrangian, or Hamiltonian formulations does not impinge upon the central issue) when simulating celestial motions and calculating trajectories. That there exists an acknowledged ”Three Body Problem” (i.e., that the trajectories followed by more than two bodies interacting gravitationally are in general not algebraic) matters not one iota for numerical simulations such as those performed by aforementioned organisations for aforementioned purposes. Some kind of relativistic correction might be made for motions that occur within the orbit of Mercury, but again, those are numerical in nature. And as far as I know there are no exact solutions known for general-relativistic interactions between two gravitational objects, placing it at an even greater ’disadvantage’ compared to the ’Newtonian’ mechanics you erroneously deplore.
- AstralStorm 8y agoThe general relativistic two body problem is hard mostly because the topological maths get really tough real quick symbolically. In 2D space, this problem is solved, but not in 4D. The topology involved makes string theory look easy...
- nyc111 8y ago> matters not one iota for numerical simulations such as those performed by aforementioned organisations for aforementioned purposes. So you agree that planetary orbits are computed by numerical simulation as I claim. Then why do you object at what I'm saying?