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Professor Harvey Brown

TaU Lectures Schedule

• Wednesday, 1 November - Perimeter Institute, 7:00 pm: Time and Motion
• Monday, 6 November - UBC physics (Unruh)
• Tuesday, 7 November - UBC Philosophy (Savitt)
• Thursday, 9 November at 16.00 hours - Seminar at Concordia (Petkov)
• Friday, 10 November at 12.00 hours - Seminar at McGill Physics department (McCall)
• Monday, 13 November at 18.00 hours followed by reception and dinner - Special Cutting Edge lecture at McGill (Michael Mackey)
• Wednesday, 15 November in the evening - Public Lecture at Queen's University (Mozersky)
• Thursday, 16 November at noon to 2pm - Seminar at University of Toronto (Jim Brown) Time and Motion

TIME and MOTION Harvey Brown, Oxford Newton's first law of motion - and the very meaning of inertia - has been described as either completely obvious (D'Alembert) or a "logician's nightmare" (ex-editor of the American Journal of Physics). Sometimes the simplest things in physics are the most subtle. The first law will be described in historical context, explaining a connection with the ancient Greek's distinction between natural and violent motion and with Descartes' natural philosophy. You will also learn why it still requires careful handling and what it tells us about time in physics. Presented in partnership with the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Ontario. Here is a link to Perimeter's advertizing of the event, and availability of tickets.

©Richard T. W. Arthur, 2006