De Labore Solis

Airy’s Failure Reconsidered

by

Walter van der Kamp © 1988

“The whole history of science shows that each generation finds the universe to be stranger than the preceding generation ever conceived it to be.” - Fred Hoyle

“There will be a revival of Christianity when it becomes impossible to write a popular manual of science without referring to the incarnation of the Word.” - Owen Barfield

Contents

Abstract

Historical and Epistemological Synopsis

Preface *** The Cosmic “Outside” Allows No “Insiders” *** The Armstrong Alert *** Geocentric? Heliocentric? The Janus-faced “Aberration” Can’t Tell *** The Fancy Foundations in the Beyond *** Aberration, Continued *** The 1887 Cleveland Disenchantment *** The Dire Consequences *** The Verdict of Logic *** Einstein to the Rescue? *** Non-observables Prove Nothing *** The Unfailing Import of Airy’s Failure *** The Heart of the Matter

Testing Einstein! Why? He Can’t be Wrong!

Some Desiderata Not to be Overlooked *** The Discarded Image Vindicated Experimentally *** Why Impossible?

Bible and Science

The Bible is Not a Scientific Textbook *** De Labore Solis *** And That’s the Reason Why! *** The Half Way House of Creationists *** What If…? *** Science and the Christian Faith *** Conclusively

Addenda

I. Simple First-Order Test of Special Relativity *** II. Galileo and the Church of Rome

Footnotes