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On a rotating earth it was not - according to Aristotelian physics - to be expected that the cannon-ball would return to its starting point, as the earth would meanwhile turn away below the ball.
The first approaches to a new physics presupposed the realization that any subject on the earth is following the motion of the earth, thus enabling a body to participate in several movements at the same time.
Woodcut by P. Varognon:
Conjectures sur la cause de la pesanteur,
Paris, 1690; Paris 1888
