User talk:Mikerollem/sandbox

Hi

I did this because I saw:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton%27s_theorem_of_revolving_orbits

and I thought it was truly horrible.

1) The word 'theorem' is not used that way nowadays, so it's off to a bad start.

2) Where is Newton in it? Way down. Be better just to regard it as a modern work on revolving orbits and leave him out completely.

3) Pronouncements by Chandrasekhar regarding Newton are often wrong, as is his quote there. He's not a reliable authority on Newton.

4) I think Newton's geometric methods are very elegant and it's a pity they are so little studied.

This is the first time I've submitted a major article. I probably won't do another because it's such hard work.

Just to add that I have studied the Principia in great detail. I often find that old ideas about Newton that have been superseded by modern scholarship are still to be found in Wikipedia.

Mike