Newton's Principia : $b The mathematical principles of natural philosophyNewton, Isaac
General
Newton's Principia : $b The mathematical principles of natural philosophy
Newton, Isaac
Celestial mechanics -- Early works to 1800; Mechanics -- Early works to 1800
COR. 2. But the perturbation will be greatest of all, if we suppose
the accelerative attractions of the parts of the system towards the
greatest body of all are not to each other reciprocally as the squares
of the distances from that great body; especially if the inequality of
this proportion be greater than the inequality of the proportion of the
distances from the great body. For if the accelerative force, acting in
parallel directions and equally, causes no perturbation in the motions
of the parts of the system, it must of course, when it acts unequally,
cause a perturbation somewhere, which will be greater or less as the
inequality is greater or less. The excess of the greater impulses
acting upon some bodies, and not acting upon others, must necessarily
change their situation among themselves. And this perturbation, added
to the perturbation arising from the inequality and inclination of the
lines, makes the whole perturbation greater.
COR. 3. Hence if the parts of this system move in ellipses or circles
without any remarkable perturbation, it is manifest that, if they are
at all impelled by accelerative forces tending to any other bodies, the
impulse is very weak, or else is impressed very near equally and in
parallel directions upon all of them.
PROPOSITION LXVI. THEOREM XXVI.
If three bodies whose forces decrease in a duplicate ratio of the
distances attract each other mutually; and the accelerative attractions
of any two towards the third be between themselves reciprocally as the
squares of the distances; and the two least revolve about the greatest;
I say, that the interior of the two revolving bodies will, by radii
drawn to the innermost and greatest, describe round that body areas
more proportional to the times, and a figure more approaching to that
of an ellipsis having its focus in the point of concourse of the radii,
if that great body be agitated by those attractions, than it would
do if that great body were not attracted at all by the lesser, but
remained at rest; or than it would if that great body were very much
more or very much less attracted, or very much more or very much less
agitated, by the attractions.
This appears plainly enough from the demonstration of the second
Corollary of the foregoing Proposition; but it may be made out after
this manner by a way of reasoning more distinct and more universally
convincing.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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