I imagine that Newton's laws would be difficult to understand in certain coordinate systems but that does not suggest that they fail to function. Are you implying that the laws of physics work or not depending upon the view point? I contend that the real world does not care what coordinate system we select to observe it as our choice is merely for our convenience. Maybe we are not discussing the same issue.
Dave -----Original Message----- From: James Bowery <[email protected]> To: vortex-l <[email protected]> Sent: Fri, Mar 2, 2012 3:45 am Subject: Re: [Vo]:Physice depends on choice of coordinates Newton's laws in spherical coordinates.... Sure... why not? Give it a try and report back. On Wed, Feb 29, 2012 at 10:26 PM, David Roberson <[email protected]> wrote: I do not agree that the choice of coordinate systems changes the physics of any experiment. I only see the coordinate system chosen as a way to locate the position and other position derivatives of a body. Could you explain how the Madelung constant would relate to real world effects? Dave -----Original Message----- From: David Jonsson <[email protected]> To: vortex-l <[email protected]> Sent: Wed, Feb 29, 2012 6:42 pm Subject: [Vo]:Physice depends on choice of coordinates Hi The wish and desire of having physics independent of coordinate system can not be met nor fulfilled. The Madelung constant is proof of this. It becomes divergent in spherical coordinates and convergent in cubic coordinate. Covariance can thus be forgotten. Check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madelung_constant Are there any other examples of this effect where choice of coordinate system gives different values? David David Jonsson, Sweden, phone callto:+46703000370
