Question

In the early 19th century, Mercury and Uranus were both known. Both were also known to have orbits that deviated slightly (38" per century) from Newton's predictions.Does this falsify Newton's theory of gravity?

Answer 1

The discrepancies in the orbits of Mercury and Uranus did not falsify Newton's theory of gravity, but rather led to the discovery of Neptune and were later explained by Einstein's general relativity for Mercury.

Step-by-step explanation:

The observed deviations in the orbits of Mercury and Uranus in the early 19th century do not falsify Newton's theory of gravity. While such deviations initially puzzled scientists, subsequent discoveries and the advancement in our understanding of gravity provided explanations. The deviation in Uranus's orbit led to the discovery of Neptune, while Mercury's deviation was eventually explained by Einstein's theory of general relativity. According to Newton's theory, the orbit of Mercury was predicted to advance by 531 arcsec per century, but observations showed an advance of 574 arcsec per century. This discrepancy was addressed when Einstein's general relativity, which accounts for intense gravitational fields more accurately than Newtonian gravity, was shown to correctly predict Mercury's orbit.