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Newton's third law states that for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. We can see this very easily with relatively light objects. For example, when the fuel in a rocket burns, we see the burning fuel shooting out the rear of the rocket, but we see the rocket fly the opposite direction. Opposite reactions. The interesting thing, however, is that this occurs with all objects, small and large. If we are walking, the friction between our shoes and the earth is pushing us forward, yet, although we do not see it, the earth is ever-so-slightly being pushed in the opposite direction. It is such a small amount that it is not possible for us to measure it, but it does occur. If we walk east, we slow down the revolution of the earth. If we walk west, we speed it up. Do not believe me? If you think the earth rotates at a constant speed, you are wrong. When the wind blows to the west, the earth recoils to the east - an effect that can change the length of day! by tens of thousandths of a second. Tides and earthquakes also can affect the rotation of the earth and thus the length of day.
This brings us into another problem with Einstein's theory of relativity: where do accelerations come from? When you turn a corner in your car, you feel a "centrifugal" force throwing you from one side of the car to the other. The fact that you are feeling a force means that you are accelerating...but with respect to what? Astronauts feel the same force in the space shuttle far from any planet; therefore, the acceleration cannot be with respect to the earth. Newton would answer, "with respect to absolute space," which pretty clearly, in my eyes, shows a triumph of his theory over Einstein's. I guess Einstein would probably respond with something like, "You cannot measure absolute space. Only relative motion exists. You can only say you are accelerating with respect to something you can observe - the fixed stars or maybe even the entire universe." But come on, the vague idea that distant stars provide a reference frame from which accelerations are measured seems ludicrous. It is a bit hard for me to believe that if these distant stars were absent, the astronauts would feel no acceleration when rounding a corner. And to throw even more ammunition on the fire, general relativity, contradictingly, admits cosmological models that are empty of matter, but which nonetheless give rise to acceleration (also termed "inertial forces").
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