Heidelberg 2022 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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GP: Fachverband Geschichte der Physik

GP 2: History and Teaching

GP 2.3: Vortrag

Montag, 21. März 2022, 16:10–16:30, GP-H7

Garavito s work in Colombia on the theory of light aberration: some didactic reflections for the teaching of physics — •Lisbeth Alvarado-Guzman^1,2, Isabel Malaquias², and Roberto Nardi¹ — ¹São Paulo State University (Unesp), School of Sciences, Bauru, Brazil — ²University of Aveiro (UA), Dep. Physics, CIDTFF, Aveiro, Portugal

This article aims to recognize some elements about the scientific research developed in Colombia at the beginning of the 20th century and the communication with the international scientific community of the time. Julio Garavito Armero s (1865-1920) original article on the theory of light aberration (1912) is taken as a paradigmatic example and with didactic interest. He was the first professor of mathematics (Arboleda, 2021), graduated as an engineer, also director of the Astronomical Observatory in Colombia (1893-1919). From the original article, the problem Garavito addresses was the one proposed by the astronomer David Gill (1843-1914) in 1896: if one may consider as exact the generally accepted theory of aberration. Garavito concluded that the annual aberration constant was correct and considered incorrect Huygens interpretation of the superposition of waves effect, using the analogy of water waves (Lleras, 1915). To conclude, the problem addressed by Garavito can have a special interest in the teaching of Physics and Astronomy context from: 1) the analysis of the phenomenon of aberration of light as an argument in favor of Earth s motion; 2) questions on the nature of science connected with the communication by and between researchers.