Speaker: Ricardo Coelho (FCUL)
Title: Conceptual problems in mechanics and Mach's ideas
Abstract: The talk begins with an overview of the conceptual problems of mechanics. Among these problems, force and mass will be considered. Where they came from and how to overcome them are the questions to be addressed in what follows. Regarding the first, the data comes from the study of historical texts, in particular the way physicists articulated experiments and interpretations. We will see that Newton never wrote F=ma but force is interpreted according to Newton's first law of motion. This articulation led to the most common definition of force, which has remained the same for more than two centuries. Regarding the question of how to overcome this problem, an experiment that tests this concept will be presented. If it is possible to test concepts experimentally, we have a method for dealing with conceptual problems