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
For let the rectangle BACH be resolved into innumerable rectangles
Ak, Kl, Lm, Mn, &c., which shall be as the
increments of the velocities produced in so many equal times; then will
0, Ak, Al, Am, An, &c., be as the whole
velocities, and therefore (by supposition) as the resistances of the
medium in the beginning of each of the equal times. Make AC to AK, or
ABHC to ABkK, as the force of gravity to the resistance in the
beginning of the second time; then from the force of gravity subduct
the resistances, and ABHC, KkHC, LlHC, MmHC,
&c., will be as the absolute forces with which the body is acted
upon in the beginning of each of the times, and therefore (by Law
I) as the increments of the velocities, that is, as the rectangles
Ak, Kl, Lm, Mn, &c., and therefore (by
Lem. 1, Book II) in a geometrical progression. Therefore, if the
right lines Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, &c., are
produced so as to meet the hyperbola in q, r, s,
t, &c., the areas ABqK, KqrL, LrsM,
MstN, &c., will be equal, and therefore analogous to the
equal times and equal gravitating forces. But the area ABqK
(by Corol. 3, Lem. VII and VIII, Book I) is to the area Bkq
as Kq to , or AC to , that is, as the force
of gravity to the resistance in the middle of the first time. And by
the like reasoning, the areas qKLr, rLMs,
sMNt, &c., are to the areas qklr, rlms,
smnt, &c., as the gravitating forces to the resistances in the
middle of the second, third, fourth time, and so on. Therefore since
the equal areas BAKq, qKLr, rLMs,
sMNt, &c., are analogous to the gravitating forces, the
areas Bkq, qklr, rlms, smnt, &c., will be
analogous to the resistances in the middle of each of the times, that
is (by supposition), to the velocities, and so to the spaces described.
Take the sums of the analogous quantities, and the areas Bkq,
Blr, Bms, Bnt, &c., will be analogous to the
whole spaces described; and also the areas ABqK, ABrL,
ABsM, ABtN, &c., to the times. Therefore the body, in
descending, will in any time ABrL describe the space Blr,
and in the time LrtN the space rlnt. Q.E.D. And the like
demonstration holds in ascending motion.
COROL. 1. Therefore the greatest velocity that the body can acquire
by falling is to the velocity acquired in any given time as the given
force of gravity which perpetually acts upon it to the resisting force
which opposes it at the end of that time.
[Pg 254]
COROL. 2. But the time being augmented in an arithmetical progression,
the sum of that greatest velocity and the velocity in the ascent,
and also their difference in the descent, decreases in a geometrical
progression.
COROL. 3. Also the differences of the spaces, which are described
in equal differences of the times, decrease in the same geometrical
progression.
COROL. 4. The space described by the body is the difference of two
spaces, whereof one is as the time taken from the beginning of the
descent, and the other as the velocity; which [spaces] also at the
beginning of the descent are equal among themselves.
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