physics

Poincaré's Doctine of Geometric Conventionalism

Poincaré's doctrine of geometric conventionalism presents observers of space with a difficult quandary: how to know that space is Euclidean or non-Euclidean. He begins his discussion with some definitions and clarifications. He distinguishes between two types of phenomena, external and internal.

Relativity and Black Holes : The Beginning Becomes the End Becomes the Beginning : A study of cosmological birth and death

This essay will look at two parts of astronomical history; general relativity and the research into the phenomena of black holes. First will be a history of general relativity (GR) and a discussion of its impacts on scientific thought, then the history of black hole research and the specific interactions between GR theory and black holes.

One Too Many? The Role of Euclid’s Fifth Postulate in the Development of non-Euclidean Geometries

This essay will show that non-Euclidean geometries arose as a direct consequence of a weakness in one of Euclid's own axiomatic postulates, specifically Postulate Five. Further, that should Euclid have omitted this contentious Fifth Postulate, the very possibility of non-Euclidean geometries would be challenged.

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