The first ideas about the universe were very naive, they were closely intertwined with religious beliefs, which were based on the division of the world into two parts – earthly and heavenly. If now every child knows that the Earth is a heavenly body, then earlier “earthly” was opposed to “heavenly”. People thought that there was a “firmament of heaven” to which the stars were attached, and the Earth was taken for the motionless center of the universe.

The emergence of the natural sciences But, in the end, thanks to human activity, so much knowledge accumulated that it led to the birth of the first sciences. The first physicists were Greek thinkers who tried to explain the observed phenomena of nature. The most prominent of the ancient thinkers was Aristotle (384-322 BC), who introduced the word “fusis”, which in Greek means nature. Even in ancient times, methods of scientific knowledge of nature began to develop (observation, assumption (hypothesis), modeling, thought experiment, etc.). All natural-mathematical sciences—physics, astronomy, chemistry, geography, biology, and mathematics—began their development from the works of scientists-philosophers of the ancient period. The development of mathematics, geography, p hysics, chemistry and others, if not directly, then indirectly, was associated with the successes and demands of astronomy in study of celestial bodies.

In the II century. n. e. The Alexandrian astronomer Ptolemy proposed a geocentric (“geo” – earth) “system of the world.” Around the Earth, according to Ptolemy, move (in order of distance from the Earth) Moon , Mercury , Venus, Sun , Mars , Jupiter , Saturn, stars. But already at that time, visible observations of the motion of the Moon, the Sun, and the planets indicated that this motion was much more complicated. Therefore, each of the planets, according to Ptolemy, moves not just around the Earth, but around a certain point, which, in turn, moves in a circle, around the Earth. The Ptolemaic system of the universe was (under the auspices of the church) dominant in science for fourteen centuries. The first to offer new views on the universe were the great Italian scientists Nicholas of Cusa and Leonardo da Vinci , who argued that the Earth moves, that it is not the center of the Universe and does not occupy an extraordinary place in it.

The brave scientist who “moved the Earth, stopped the Sun” was the Pole Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543). The heliocentric (“helio” – the Sun) “system of the world” of Copernicus was not recognized by the church. According to the verdict of the Inquisition, in 1600, an outstanding Italian philosopher, a follower of Copernicus, Giordano Bruno (1548-1600), was burned in Rome, who, developing the teachings of Copernicus, argued that there is no and cannot be a center in the Universe, that the Sun is only center of the solar system. He also expressed a brilliant conjecture that the stars are the same “suns” as ours, and planets move around them, many of which have life.

Development of physics and astronomy

Initial data about fundamental physical theories formed the basis of modern physics and astronomy. From the middle of the XVI century. a qualitatively new stage in the development of physics begins – researchers begin to apply experiments and experiences. A powerful impetus to the formation of physics and astronomy as sciences was the scientific work of Isaac Newton. In his work “The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy” (1687), he develops a mathematical apparatus for explaining and describing mechanical phenomena. On the laws formulated by him, the so-called classical (Newtonian) mechanics was built. And the famous law of universal gravitation laid the foundations of celestial mechanics. Newton’s genius lies in the fact that he proved the universality of the force of gravity, or gravity, that is, that the same force that acts on an apple during its fall to Earth, The moon, which revolves around the earth, also attracts. The force of gravity controls the movement of stars and galaxies, and also affects the evolution of the entire universe. The principle of inertia discovered by Galileo Galilei, the law of universal gravitation by Isaac Newton and the general theory of relativity by Albert Einstein – all these discoveries were later confirmed on the basis of astronomical data.

The influence of physics on technological progress

Rapid progress in the study of nature, revelation of new phenomena and laws of nature contributed to the development of society. Since the end of the 18th century, the development of physics has caused a rapid development of technology. At this time, steam engines appeared and improved. Due to their wide use in production and transport, this period of time is called the “epoch of steam”. At the same time, thermal processes are being studied in depth, and a new branch is being singled out in physics—thermodynamics. Many new discoveries are also taking place in the field of electricity and magnetism, which contributes to the development of the so-called classical electrodynamics, which explained the properties of electromagnetic fields, the electromagnetic nature of light.

At the end of the XIX and at the beginning of the XX century. electric machines appear and improve. Due to the widespread use of electrical energy, this time is called the “epoch of electricity”. In physics, new sections are distinguished – electrodynamics, electrical engineering, radio engineering, etc. At the beginning of the XX century. physicists obtained numerous experimental results that could not be reconciled with the provisions of classical mechanics and electrodynamics. A new stage of development begins in physics—the creation of quantum and relativistic theories. People have learned how to extract and widely use nuclear energy , explore outer space, design new automated devices and mechanisms. 20th century called “atomic age”, “space age”. In physics, intensive research is being carried out on the atomic nucleus, plasma, controlled thermonuclear reactions, semiconductors, and the like. Astronomy is developing intensively through the use of physical research.

Beginning of the 21st century accompanied by a huge breakthrough in the field of information technology, satellite communications, nanotechnology. But the basis in any field of engineering and technology is the laws of physics. Astronomy is closely related to other and natural sciences. On astronomical research, all the fundamental laws of physics are used, the methods of physics, mathematics, Chemistry and related sciencesare widely used. A feature of astronomy in comparison with other natural sciences is that it is predominantly an observational science. It can also be called a consumer of physical achievements and computer technology. At the same time, astronomy is a progressive science that enriches physics and chemistry with the results of studies of matter under such physical conditions ( temperature , pressure, magnetic field, etc.) that cannot be reproduced in terrestrial laboratories.

Conclusion

The ideological potential of the natural sciences has been tremendous. Physics and astronomy are not just the result of painstaking and inquisitive work of scientists, but also a great asset of human civilization, an important component of human culture. First of all, physics provides systematized information about the surrounding world along with the ability to obtain such information. Therefore, its methods and theories are widely used by other sciences, and most of all by astronomy.

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Thorp’s book “Beat the Dealer” about winning strategies in blackjack has taken the casino world by storm. With the mathematician and founder of information theory, Claude Shannon, Thorp invented the first portable computer that allowed you to win at roulette. Thorpe also came up with a strategy for counting cards in the card game baccarat.

Thorp is a Wall Street veteran with 50 years of experience. He developed and improved convertible trading strategies and founded two funds: Princeton Newport Partners and Ridgeline Partners. They brought him 20% of the annual profit.

Thorpe is now worth an estimated $800 million.

Childhood, passion for science and love for experiments

Edward Thorpe was born in Chicago in 1932 to military Oakley Glenn Thorpe. In early childhood, Thorp mastered arithmetic: he counted in his mind and calculated square and cube roots. One day he decided to count to a million and fell asleep on the number 32,576. And when he woke up, he continued from where he left off, his mother recalled .

With the outbreak of World War II, the family moved to California, to the town of Lomita near Los Angeles. In high school, Thorpe was most interested in practical classes in radio engineering and electronics, chemistry and physics. He loved to experiment and find out how everything works.

“Practical jokes and experiments were part of my method of studying the sciences. Having understood some theory, I tested it on my own invented experiments, many of which gave me a lot of pleasure. I learned to figure things out on my own, not limited by what teachers, parents, or the school curriculum demanded.”

For example, Thorp made a radio receiver to understand how invisible waves transmit sounds through space. At home, he arranged a chemical laboratory, where he conducted experiments: he produced hydrogen, he himself prepared gunpowder.

He created and tested other explosives: pyroxylin and nitroglycerin. He made bombs from pieces of water pipes, filled them with gunpowder and blew them up in the hills near the house.

In his senior year, Thorp began to think about how to predict the outcome of a game of roulette. He was not into gambling. For him, the task lay in the field of physics: he saw the similarity between a spinning tape measure and a planet orbiting.

When his English teacher Jack Chesson came from Las Vegas and told him that it was impossible to beat the casino, Thorp said that he would do it one day – and he succeeded.

Scientific career and gambling

The key to roulette and blackjack

In 1958, Thorpe received a degree in mathematics from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and began teaching. In graduate school, he married Vivian Sinetar, she studied at the department of English literature. They lived together all their lives and raised three children.

In 1959, Thorp moved to teach mathematics at MIT. Simultaneously with scientific research, Thorp received answers to questions that interested him – how to win at roulette and blackjack. For example there are new casinos with new roulette or blackjack and you can see all the new stuff on the new casinos website – there are the best Brazilian reviews and a lot of interesting casinos. In 1960-1961, Thorpe and MIT professor Claude Shannon worked together on a winning roulette strategy. They bought a decommissioned roulette wheel and, in the course of experiments , created the first portable computer.

The device, about the size of a pack of cigarettes, was placed in a shoe by one participant. The first time he pressed the button with his toe was when the roulette wheel was started. The second time the wheel made one revolution. The computer calculated the future position of the ball and sent a radio signal to the player. He had a radio under his clothes, from which a thin steel wire went to a speaker in his ear, where the signal was received.

After testing at the casino, Thorp and Shannon were convinced that the system worked. But the computer was technically flawed: the speaker sometimes got out of the ear, and the wires were torn, because of which it was necessary to leave the game. Thorpe and Shannon stopped using it.

Thorp has been thinking about how to win a blackjack (or “twenty-one”) card game since 1958. The researcher noticed that even experienced players do not understand the mathematics that underlies it. He figured he could find a way to consistently win at blackjack.

“It was n’t the money that attracted me to blackjack . I was fascinated by the possibility of finding a way to win with the power of thought from the comfort of my own room. I was also curious to explore the world of gambling, which I knew nothing about at the time.”

During the game, the composition of the deck changes . Which cards are eliminated and which remain affects the advantage of the player or the house. To derive patterns that are beneficial for the player, you need to calculate millions of card combinations. If Thorp did it by hand, on a calculator, he would not have had enough life. But at MIT, he could use the university’s IBM 704.

Thorp found that the more nines, ten (also queens, kings and jacks) and aces left in the deck, the better for the player. He developed several card counting strategies. In 1960, he finally deduced the optimal winning strategy – counting tens.

To understand if he has an advantage, the player monitors the ratio of the number of other cards to tens. There are 16 tens and 36 other cards in a full deck. 36 : 16 = 2.25. If the ratio is less than 2.25 at the time of betting, then there are many tens in the deck – and the player is in a winning position. The smaller the ratio is 2.25, the higher the advantage.

For betting, Thorpe applied the “Kelly Criterion”, which suggests making larger bets when the player has the advantage, and small bets when the house has the advantage.

Under this system, the player usually wins most of the big bets and ends up making a profit, although he can lose most of the small bets in unfavorable situations during the game.

Thorp and the Millionaires vs. the Casino

In 1961, The Boston Globe published an article about Thorpe, a mathematician who knows how to win at blackjack. Thorpe was inundated with letters and offers of financial support to test the casino strategy. Offers reached up to $100,000. Thorpe selected two candidates, multimillionaires from New York.

The first, Emanuel “Manny” Kimmel, owned the Kinney Parking car park network and was previously involved in alcohol smuggling, illegal lotteries and was associated with criminal gangs. The second, Eddie Hand, was Kimmel’s business partner in trucking.

In response to the skeptical attacks of the press in his direction, Thorp decided to prove that his theory worked,

“I decided to go to Nevada, partly to shut up the common and rather annoying ridicule of scientists: “If you’re so smart, why are you so poor?”

After the live meetings and practice games, Thorpe, Kimmel and Hand went to a casino in Reno. There Thorpe tested the tens-counting strategy.

Kimmel and Hand were willing to set aside a $100,000 bankroll—the total capital for the game. But Thorp agreed on $10,000. He didn’t want to risk it because he didn’t know much about the gaming world yet.

A tour of different casinos showed that the strategy worked. In one of the games, Thorpe and Kimmel brought out the table bank for two hours – $ 17 thousand. Of these, Thorpe won $6,000 and Kimmel won $11,000. Thorpe realized that he was losing concentration, left the game and cashed out his chips. Kimmel went on and lost his share.

“For me, blackjack was a game of math, not luck.”

After that, the partners played several more times. As a result, the trip to the casino ended in victory. In 30 hours, the capital of the players grew from $10,000 to $21,000.

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The journal is published both in print and online semi-annually (April and October).

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