A critical review of a Galileo thought experiment on falling bodies and the design of an alternative experiment
In the thought experiment that we study in this article, Galileo attempts to refute the Aristotelian hypothesis that heavier bodies should take less time to fall than lighter ones. After pointing out some inconsistencies in Galileo's approach, we show, through the design of two alternative but...
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| Formato: | Artículo revista |
| Lenguaje: | Español |
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Centro de Investigaciones de la Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades
2021
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| Acceso en línea: | https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/afjor/article/view/32649 |
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I10-R341-article-326492025-01-01T15:10:42Z A critical review of a Galileo thought experiment on falling bodies and the design of an alternative experiment Una revisión crítica de un experimento mental de Galileo sobre la caída de los cuerpos y el diseño de un experimento alternativo Levinas, Leonardo Galileo y Aristóteles experimento mental y experimento real caída de los cuerpos equivalencia masas inercial y gravitatoria Galileo and Aristotle thought experiment and real experiment free falling bodies equivalence of inertial and gravitational mass In the thought experiment that we study in this article, Galileo attempts to refute the Aristotelian hypothesis that heavier bodies should take less time to fall than lighter ones. After pointing out some inconsistencies in Galileo's approach, we show, through the design of two alternative but equivalent experiments to his, that from his imaginary experiment it is not possible to reach the conclusion that all bodies fall simultaneously into a vacuum. In turn, we design a thought experiment from which it follows that, under the same initial conditions, all bodies, regardless of their weight and composition, must fall with the same acceleration. We show why, to explain the result of this type of experiences, whether real or imaginary, it is necessary to establish the equivalence between inertial and gravitational masses, equivalence derived exclusively from experience and that gave rise to the so-called Equivalence Principle as used in the General Theory of Relativity. En el experimento mental que estudiamos en este artículo, Galileo intenta refutar la hipótesis aristotélica según la cual los cuerpos más pesados deben emplear menos tiempo en caer que los más livianos. Luego de señalar algunas inconsistencias en el planteo de Galileo, mostramos, a través del diseño de dos experimentos alternativos pero equivalentes al suyo, que no es posible llegar a la conclusión de Galileo de que todos los cuerpos caen simultáneamente en el vacío. A su vez, diseñamos un experimento mental del que se infiere que, bajo las mismas condiciones iniciales, todos los cuerpos, independientemente de su peso y composición, deben caer con la misma aceleración. Mostramos por qué, para explicar el resultado de este tipo de experiencias, ya sean reales o imaginarias, es necesario establecer la equivalencia entre las masas inercial y gravitatoria, equivalencia derivaba exclusivamente de la experiencia y que dio lugar al llamado Principio de Equivalencia empleado en la teoría de la Relatividad General. Centro de Investigaciones de la Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades 2021-11-10 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion application/pdf https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/afjor/article/view/32649 10.61377/ehc.32649 Epistemología e Historia de la Ciencia; Vol. 6 No. 1 (2021): Epistemología e Historia de la Ciencia; 69-87 Epistemología e Historia de la Ciencia; Vol. 6 Núm. 1 (2021): Epistemología e Historia de la Ciencia; 69-87 Epistemología e Historia de la Ciencia; v. 6 n. 1 (2021): Epistemología e Historia de la Ciencia; 69-87 2525-1198 spa https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/afjor/article/view/32649/35628 Derechos de autor 2021 Epistemología e Historia de la Ciencia http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0 |
| institution |
Universidad Nacional de Córdoba |
| institution_str |
I-10 |
| repository_str |
R-341 |
| container_title_str |
Epistemología e Historia de la Ciencia |
| language |
Español |
| format |
Artículo revista |
| topic |
Galileo y Aristóteles experimento mental y experimento real caída de los cuerpos equivalencia masas inercial y gravitatoria Galileo and Aristotle thought experiment and real experiment free falling bodies equivalence of inertial and gravitational mass |
| spellingShingle |
Galileo y Aristóteles experimento mental y experimento real caída de los cuerpos equivalencia masas inercial y gravitatoria Galileo and Aristotle thought experiment and real experiment free falling bodies equivalence of inertial and gravitational mass Levinas, Leonardo A critical review of a Galileo thought experiment on falling bodies and the design of an alternative experiment |
| topic_facet |
Galileo y Aristóteles experimento mental y experimento real caída de los cuerpos equivalencia masas inercial y gravitatoria Galileo and Aristotle thought experiment and real experiment free falling bodies equivalence of inertial and gravitational mass |
| author |
Levinas, Leonardo |
| author_facet |
Levinas, Leonardo |
| author_sort |
Levinas, Leonardo |
| title |
A critical review of a Galileo thought experiment on falling bodies and the design of an alternative experiment |
| title_short |
A critical review of a Galileo thought experiment on falling bodies and the design of an alternative experiment |
| title_full |
A critical review of a Galileo thought experiment on falling bodies and the design of an alternative experiment |
| title_fullStr |
A critical review of a Galileo thought experiment on falling bodies and the design of an alternative experiment |
| title_full_unstemmed |
A critical review of a Galileo thought experiment on falling bodies and the design of an alternative experiment |
| title_sort |
critical review of a galileo thought experiment on falling bodies and the design of an alternative experiment |
| description |
In the thought experiment that we study in this article, Galileo attempts to refute the Aristotelian hypothesis that heavier bodies should take less time to fall than lighter ones. After pointing out some inconsistencies in Galileo's approach, we show, through the design of two alternative but equivalent experiments to his, that from his imaginary experiment it is not possible to reach the conclusion that all bodies fall simultaneously into a vacuum. In turn, we design a thought experiment from which it follows that, under the same initial conditions, all bodies, regardless of their weight and composition, must fall with the same acceleration. We show why, to explain the result of this type of experiences, whether real or imaginary, it is necessary to establish the equivalence between inertial and gravitational masses, equivalence derived exclusively from experience and that gave rise to the so-called Equivalence Principle as used in the General Theory of Relativity. |
| publisher |
Centro de Investigaciones de la Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades |
| publishDate |
2021 |
| url |
https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/afjor/article/view/32649 |
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| first_indexed |
2024-09-03T21:23:32Z |
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2025-02-05T22:08:48Z |
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