John complains that I don't blog very consistently, which is true; last post was August 7. I tend to write when I am inspired, with no goal to entertain a readership (I don't think a smattering of infrequent readers counts as a "readership") nor to write consistently just for the discipline.
The trouble lately is that a couple of work things have dominated my thoughts, and I cannot write about work, which makes it tougher to get inspired about a writing topic. However, the work things have smoothed out for the moment, and I took today off and have some time.
That said, I have a conundrum, one I expect will only be of interest to Joel (not John) and me. Let us imagine a universe. Not this one, but one that adheres to the same natural laws. However, in this universe, there are only two objects: a planet and an orbiting moon. The moon orbits in a perfectly circular orbit. The planet spins at a speed that keeps the moon geostationary, spinning once with each orbit of the moon, in the same direction.
Nothing in this universe moves in relation to anything else. However, Newton's laws tell us that there must be motion; otherwise the moon would come crashing down onto the planet. So how would you detect the motion? In other words, how is this system fundamentally different from another universe in which the law of gravity is suspended and the moon just hangs over the planet?
I need to remember to ask Joel. Maybe Joel can figure it out. At least he will appreciate the question.
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