Q&A: Refuting Newton’s First Law
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Refuting Newton’s First Law
Question
How, following Popper, can one refute Newton’s principle of inertia at all? After all, in this world no body is ever not subject to some force. Maybe I’m missing some piece of information.
Answer
In cases of a very weak force, one can check whether there is a disproportionate change in acceleration. Every law of nature is stated for a simplified theoretical case (see my article on idealizations).