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A. Einstein
December 27 marks the 400th anniversary of the birth of Johannes Kepler (1571-1630). Kepler’s name is firmly entrenched in the history of physics and astronomy. First of all, it connects with the crown of the head the well-known laws that formed the basis of celestial mechanics.
Based on the observations of the famous astronomer Tycho Brahe, Kepler was able to find general patterns of planetary motion.
Before Copernicus, science was dominated by the geocentric system of the world, according to which the planets and the Sun revolve around the Earth. In the first half of the 17th century, the great Polish scientist Nicolaus Copernicus proposed a geocentric system of the world, according to which the Sun is at the center of the Universe, and planets move around it in a circle.
From the very beginning, Kepler considered the geocentric system of world structure to be correct. He was sure that the Sun was the reason for the movement of the planets. He was the first to consider further (as we speak now) not only possible, but also necessary. But the concentric circles of the planet’s orbits did not agree with observations. Kepler proposed that the trajectories of the planets were oval, and then came to the conclusion about elliptical orbits.
The laws that laid the foundation for celestial mechanics are Kepler’s most significant, but far from the only work. His works on the prelimination of light rays are widely known. Kepler’s research on prelimination led to the discovery of total internal reflection. Kepler described the production of images on the retina, studied reflection from a mirror, the nature of light and color, and explained the operation of a telescope.
In his research, Kepler proceeded from the conviction that the laws of nature should be simple and beautiful. The task of finding these laws stood before him throughout his life. Despite constant need, lack of any help, religious struggle, family misfortunes, he managed to complete this task. He could say: “What I devoted the most and best part of my life to has now been found.”
Below we place an article by A. Einstein about Kepler, taken from Einstein’s “Collected Scientific Works”,