Isaac Newton - a name that rings in science classes and history books and even in pop culture. The man who taught us the three laws of motion (a, b and c, remember?), and the universal law of gravitation (which has become dogma in over 300 years).
But here comes a twist, a genius of Panchagarh, Bangladesh (or to be more exact, Panchagardh) has entered the world of scientific discourse with a statement that will terrify you enough to make you look twice, and that is that Newton may not have been as entirely correct as you thought!
It is not a re-write of a physics textbook, it is the abandonment of centuries of faith in science and the establishment of new positions in mankind.
Pattern: Bangladeshi scientist bashing the law of motion in Newton.
Bangladeshi scientist questioning one of the basic laws of motion of Newton.
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| Was Newton Wrong? |
Who is this Bangladeshi Scientist?
Living in the little but busy town of Panchagarh - way out of the grandiose laboratories of NASA or CERN - is one such thinker, whose curiosity is provoked by the straightjackets of orthodoxy. Whereas the rest of the world simply accepts that Newton laws are true, this scientist decided to test them.
After some will, self-experimentation and plenty of experimenting (now, plenty of experimenting) he embarked on a mission to answer a question that many would never even contemplate: Could the laws of Newton be violated?
๐ง Newton’s Laws in a Nutshell
So just to get down to his challenge, we had better review the fundamentals:
First Law (Law of Inertia) - Any body will be at rest or in a straight line unless acted upon by a force.
F = ma = Mass x Acceleration - 2nd Law.
Third Law - Action and an equal and opposite reaction.
These are laws, which can never be changed, can they? Scientists have described the movement of planets ( Planets orbiting other planets ), as well as the movement of a cricket ball ( A cricket ball is thrown at a player who then hits it by bouncing it off).
๐ The Challenge to a Giant
Our Bengali scientist does not say that Newton was entirely mistaken. Instead, he suggests that the laws of Newton can possibly fail to describe reality in some extreme situations.
For example:
Situations, in which velocity is close to extreme limits.
Fancy Gravity worlds (gravity which does not exist)
Microscopic as well as quantum forces and movements are non-deterministic.
Whereas this theory by Einstein followed the ideas of Newton and extended them to include his theory of relativity, the argument of this author is not the same. It is based on empirical observations and mechanical tests which purport to show that the formulas of Newton give a result that fails to correspond to the actual state of things in some situations.
What Kind of Experimentation Did He do?
Some of his work, based on interviews and the viral video is below:
Determining acceleration of an object as a function of resistance conditions (vroom)
Unconventional Reaction Force Testing.
Use of locally produced tools and instruments rather than costly lab equipment.
Experiments to check consistency and write down the results!
It reminds me that scientific discovery does not necessarily require a million-dollar lab; it can sometimes be a matter of perseverance, imagination and boldness.
Why this is of importance to the scientific community?
1️⃣ Controversy - Science is based on questioning. Although what he claims may be false, now we have a door open to a conversation.
2) How to make young scientists inspired in Bangladesh and beyond - Innovation is not a place, and young minds in Bangladesh can now see that.
3) Hard to Unlearn Past Assumptions - Technology changes, and so does our capacity to measure and observe phenomena where we once would have said impossible to test.
๐ History Loves a Challenger
At one time Newton himself was the challenger. And then almost 2,000 years of Aristotle physics prevailed - till Galileo, and then Newton, ripped it to shreds! It seemed to people that heavy things would fall quicker than light ones - but Galileo and then Newton proved that to be wrong!
In the same note, Einstein denounced Newton in the explanation of refraction of light by gravity. And now perhaps even a Bangladeshi scientist is writing the next book in this long chronicle of intellectual revolutions.
But Wait -- Skepticism belongs to Science.
Although this is an encouraging story, science must be peer reviewed and reproduced. That means:
Independent scientists must study his results.
The tests are supposed to be reproducible under controlled circumstances - in the lab.
The findings are supposed to be published in an ordinary journal.
It is only at that point that the claim will begin to transition into an accepted theory instead of an interesting idea.
๐ฌ Public Reaction
It is trending on the Internet with mixed feelings:
He is proclaimed to be a genius! and national hero!
Skepticism: Have doubts about rushed judgments with few facts behind them.
Questions are being posed and this is exactly what science requires today.
๐ฅ Lessons We Can All Take Away
1) Never Stop Asking - The most prominent names in history can be doubted.
2️⃣ Science is Not Just For the Rich - You do not have to attend an elite institution in order to make discoveries.
3) Innovation Can Occur in any place - Fields of Panchagarh to the Stars above it.
๐ก Final Thoughts
Was Newton wrong?
Perhaps not altogether - but what does matter more is the fact that somebody dared to question. Scientists are people of curiosity, courage and readiness to experiment with even the most untouchable truth.
This is the story of a Bangladeshi scientist and a confirmation that the next big thing can be discovered anywhere-in this case, in a tiny part of the world that no one has ever heard of.
Then, regardless of whether his theory can withstand the test of the world or not, he has already succeeded in setting sparks in heads, in inspiring the youth, and in reminding us that there are no limits to knowledge (at least in his eyes!). (Vivek Kundra, 2010)
๐ข What do YOU think?
Are there some unknown exceptions to the laws of Newton? Or are they yet the impregnable columns of classical physics?