Round and Round and...
At the bottom of this entry, I give the Weekly Pondering 2 assignment, for those of you in ASTR 1/2. The text you need to read is linked to below.
2: Round and Round and...
In Isaac Asimov's essay "Round and Round and...", from Of Time and Space and Other Things: Seventeen essays on science, Asimov discusses how he approaches the problem of explaining how Earth-bound observers can only see one side of the Moon, despite the fact that the Moon rotates on its own axis. (This text is here.)
Asimov then mentions that different observers would come to different conclusions regarding whether the Moon, or indeed the Earth, is rotating. He states:
"One thing we can admit to begin with: To an observer on the Earth, the Earth is not rotating."
Is this true? We often hear the refrain that "everything is relative", in reference to Albert Einstein's theory of relativity. During this week's Weekly Pondering assignment, we will discuss the meaning of this statement.
Please read "Round and Round and..." by Isaac Asimov, from Of Time and Space and Other Things: Seventeen essays on science. In a paragraph or so, explain whether you think Asimov's quotation above is strictly true. If not, can you think of any evidence that Earth-bound observers could use to buttress the claim that they are definitely rotating?
Please be prepared to discuss the question during the WP 2 session.
Submit WP 2 here:
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