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> While they are true, you can't find in them any trace of actual reason why things are the way they are (conservation of energy and angular momentum in gravity
by n4r9 8y ago
> While they are true, you can't find in them any trace of actual reason why things are the way they are (conservation of energy and angular momentum in gravity field).
Your so-called "causes" seem just to be more general "experimental laws". Does conservation of energy really make you feel like you understand the reason why things are the way they are?
- scotty79 8y ago> Does conservation of energy really make you feel like you understand the reason why things are the way they are? Yes. Definitely. Definitely more than "The square of the orbital period of a planet is proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit." One sounds like a rule of nature, the other sounds like semi-accidental math gimmick.
- whatshisface 8y agoIf I told you that your car was propelled by an engine that ran on gasoline, would you feel any closer to understanding it?
- posterboy 8y agoNo, because that's profoundly misleading. The car is propelled by the wheels. Those may be moved by a motor directly or indirectly, but the car is not moved forward by the explosion of gas directly, there needs to be a transformation of the energy into circular motion. There are many many different types of motor, so the specifics may be detailed. But for a naive explanation, you could just say "fire". I wonder how difficult it is to build wooden axis and hinges that overcome the force of friction in old carts.