Fun stuff
Newtonian Gravity vs General Relativity
While chatting to David Sheard, I described my excitement for (teaching) Newtonian mechanics as that given by a mistress, whereas the comfort of working with general relativity as that given by a stable partner. We then wrote this poem together, which is a re-adaptation of Shakespeare's Sonnet 130. We hope we did not cause to much offence to the Bard.
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Ode to Newtonian Mechanics (after Sonnet 130)
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My mistress shapes ellipses round the Sun;
Their perihelion does not precess.
If neutron stars combine, no waves are shun,
If stars be dense, black holes may not progress.
I’ve read that matter makes space-time be curved,
But no such curvature, just force I see;
The field equations, Einstein to us served;
Yet she prefers d(m v) by dt.
I love to talk of her, yet well I know
That relativity be general;
I grant I never saw dark matter though;
My mistress is far less ephemeral.
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And yet, by heav’n, I think my love as rare,
For Newton and Einstein I shan’t compare.
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ADADS and DHS