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nubemet

Member

Registered: 2009-03-25

Posts: 8

Issac Newton and windows/heart beat

Hello !
I once heared that Isaac newton, in formulation of his "second law of gravity", used to make experiments by dropping objects off buildings.

He measured the speed in "windows transpassed per heart beat" (windows - unit of length, heart beat - unit of time)

I tried to find a URL with something about it unsuccessfully.
Somebody heared this story as well?

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bobbym

bumpkin

From: Bumpkinland

Registered: 2009-04-12

Posts: 109,606

Re: Issac Newton and windows/heart beat

Hi nubemet;

   I have only heard of Galileo doing this type of experiment. I believe it was done from the leaning tower off Pisa (but this may just be a legend).

bobbym

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mathsyperson

Moderator

Registered: 2005-06-22

Posts: 4,900

Re: Issac Newton and windows/heart beat

Yes, it was Galileo that demonstrated that heavy objects fall at the same speed as light ones.

If I remember, Newton used his heartbeat to time the period of various pendulums.
He discovered that the period of a pendulum is dependent only on its length, and not on its weight.

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nubemet

Member

Registered: 2009-03-25

Posts: 8

Re: Issac Newton and windows/heart beat

Ok. Thanks. Still no URL but its good to know that my knowledge was correct.

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