PHYS 183 Chapter Lectures 8 and 9: Chapter 3 and 4 Review
Document Summary
3. 1, 3. 2, 3. 3, 3. 4, 4. 1, 4. 2, 4. 4 (lectures 8 and 9): Ptolemy: he attempted to support the aristotelian view of the universe with observations, he introduced many epicycles to explain anomalies in planetary motion such as the apparent retrograde motion of mars. This means an object moving in a circle on itself while it still is orbiting earth. Copernicus: he noted that the ptolemaic prediction for planetary positions was off by many degrees, he realized that the planets orbit the sun but the church insisted on geocentrism. Equal areas are swept out in equal times: the square of the orbital period (p in years) is proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis (a in au). P is proportional to a3/2: kepler"s laws are phenomenological and don"t have a deeper understanding than a purely mathematical one. Poll question: jupiter"s orbital period is 12 years. Jupiter which orbit jupiter and not earth, and he saw the phases of venus. )