Tonight, DJ Paul Roth
Today is July 5th. On this day in 1687, Newton published his Principia, a book that, among other things, invented physics. (Well, at least, it first described a lot of the laws behind physics.) It is considered one of the most important texts ever written.
So come to the Jam Cellar tonight and celebrate physics! And, what the hell: Those who are not subject to the laws of physics get in free.
New Beginner Series Begins July 12! (NEXT WEEK!)
Our famous 6-week Beginner Lindy Hop series begins again July 12. And, it's the gift that keeps on giving: Once you pay for the series, you can take it as many times as you'd like in the future, for free.
New Intermediate Series: Amplifying Your Awesomeness Begins July 12! (NEXT WEEK!)
The Jam Cellar is introducing two new 6-week intermediate series, so that anyone out of the beginner series can learn a lot more moves and history of swing dancing. The first, Amplifying Your Awesomeness, begins July 12. Anyone who has completed the Beginner 6-week Series is ready to go. Or, if you happen to know swing-outs, circles, basic six count, basic Charleston, you're ready to go.
Fun Facts About Newton!
Principia is short for Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica or, The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy. In case you were thinking about it, we don't recommend getting a copy. This is not a book for reading. It is a book for putting down and google-ing. Newton intentionally wrote it in an inaccessible style of prose to keep amateur mathematicians from asking him annoying questions about it. (And just try to imagine reading even the most accessible 18th century physics prose.)
However, you can probably at least appreciate the book for it's incredible accomplishments. First, he put down a few groundwork laws, such as the whole "every action has an opposite reaction" bit. Then, he cleared up Gravity, explaining it and the mathematics involved in computing it. (His Universal Law of Gravity itself was, according to Bryson, "the first really universal law of nature ever propounded by a human mind, which is why Newton is everywhere regarded with such profound esteem.") The book also explained ocean tides, the motions of planets, and, somewhat controversially, said that the earth isn't quite round, but squashed a little. It took many scientists years to prove Newton right, however, they did. It is 43 kilometers stouter measured around the Equator than around a line of longitude. (I'm not good with translating, but I believe that's roughly 1, 345,756 miles)
According to Bill Bryson, Newton was a peculiar guy; joyless and prickly, he was not very fun to be around. He would do almost anything in the name of science, such as shoving a needle in his eye and rolling it around a bit to see what would happen or staring at the sun for as long as possible. (On both accounts, amazingly,there was no lasting damage.) Annoyed with the confines of normal mathematics, he also supposedly invented Calculus, but didn't really mention it to anyone for about thirty years.
Also, physics only accounted for part of his life's pursuits. He was a devoted alchemist, and spent a good deal of his life trying to turn stuff into different stuff, namely metals into other metals. When scientists in 1970s tested a hair strand of his, they found it had more than forty times the amount of mercury in a normal human body. Mercury is what makes Mad Hatters mad, if you'll remember.
If you like this kind of information and would like to have your mind blown on a pagely basis, I highly recommend Bill Bryson's book A Short History of Nearly Everything. It's where most of this info comes from.
