http://williameamon.com/?p=382
"Leibniz asserted that Newton’s theory of gravity requires a constant miracle of bodies acting on one another at a distance through the void of space. Clarke replied that gravity can be non-mechanical, but still a natural phenomenon: “But the means by which two bodies attract each other, may be invisible and intangible, and of a different nature from mechanism; and yet, acting regularly and constantly, may well be called natural.” Leibniz then accused Newton of making gravity a “Scholastic occult quality”. " Newton apparently believed that the force of gravity was continually being calculated as suggested above to follow the law he had discovered. Thus gravity acted on bodies in a mechanical fashion which Leibniz referred to as being continually "occult" or "miraculous". Leibniz, on the other hand, had a more geometrical concept that, being geometrical, foresaw Einstein's geometrical concept of gravity. In Einstein's theory, the masses of bodies cause the space around them to curve, so as to provide particular arcs of flighty, such as that of planets revolving around the sun. He may thus have been so influenced by Keplar, who explored the geometrical properties of planetary motion. Dr. Roger B Clough NIST (ret.) [1/1/2000] See my Leibniz site at http://independent.academia.edu/RogerClough ____________________________________________ DreamMail - New experience in email software www.dreammail.org -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/everything-list. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
