2007-05-13 06:49:33 · 11 answers · asked by Mario Rodriguez 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
Cetain things in history were inevidable. One such item is The Discovery of the New World, if Columbus did not discover it within a very short period of time it would have been another person, even though I would not credit columbus with that discovery.
Sending a flight into space and a man walking on the moon are another example. The discovery of electricity is another of those discoveries.
You see, generally it is a probem of the time and many people are looking into it until someone solves it, just like today. The problems of our time are being looked at by many people and one day someone will get the credit for solving it, even though others have contributed toward that discovery too.
Just like Columbus, others have contributed to the ship technology / design of the time. others have contributed to the navigation technology of the time that enable his voyage to even happen.
So if Newton did not discover the laws of motion, within a short period of time there would have been another person solving that problem of their time, and he would have been credited for this discovery.
BTW : Some historians believe time to be fluid, that the currents that bring about a resolve will still bring about that same resolve, even if you change the actual event that did occur. In other words, it will still happen except it will be another person to bring it about because it was a concensus of the time. Therefore, if one were to go back in time to prevent Kennedy from being shot, it is highly likely this was a thought on more than one persons mind at that time. Hence, it would still happen by another person within a reasonable period of time. This is another reason why we may not be able to alter time by traveling back, if that were possible.
2007-05-13 07:22:30 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Newton was just one of a number of people working on this problem during his time period. He happened to be the one who formalized the idea first. If Newton did not come up with the laws of motion, someone else would have. There were quite a few mathematicians and scientists at the time that were trying to come up with these laws and it only would have been a matter of time before someone else figured it out.
2007-05-13 14:51:45 · answer #2 · answered by msi_cord 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It might have taken another decade or three, but the time was ripe for its discovery. There were a lot of giants whose shoulders another genius could stand upon to see further around that time. Leibniz (co-inventor of calculus) forged the tools, and Hook had many of the physical insights, Galileo established the experimental basis, and Kepler had the astronomical results.
2007-05-13 19:43:57 · answer #3 · answered by Dr. R 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You don't have to know something is there before it works.
There was gravity before it was discovered.
The laws of motion will still be sitting there untill someone officially discovers them.
2007-05-13 15:15:01 · answer #4 · answered by ck_pinna 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
newton was not the only one with laws of motion. there were others as well . similar equations. we follow newton as its simpler. so nothing much would have changed except maybe school sylabus!!!
2007-05-13 13:58:09 · answer #5 · answered by shankar 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Someone else would discover them and they would probably be worded slightly differently.
2007-05-13 14:32:30 · answer #6 · answered by liquidicy 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We would have had to get off our bums and pick apples from trees instead of waiting for them to fall??
2007-05-13 13:58:28 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The next bored and curious genius would have done so.
2007-05-13 13:57:23 · answer #8 · answered by bwonder48 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We would all have to stay home until someone else did.
2007-05-13 13:53:49 · answer #9 · answered by Bomba 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
someone would have discover it eventually
2007-05-13 13:57:47 · answer #10 · answered by Wizardomz 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋