Decoding Reality-- understanding the codes and laws of nature
The search for an ultimate "theory of everything" that could unify all the forces and laws of nature
(Life is a journey of Wonder) (Learning to understand Relativity)
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 19:59:13 -0800 (PST)
From: "bill dality"
Subject: Conceptual Riddles/Perceptual Illusions
(thinking/imagining the unseeable;seeing the unthinkable/unimaginable)
To:tomas @yahoo.com
Unconscious(concealed) assumptions:
The unconscious ,being an unknown realm that cannot be seen,is equally a part of the hidden/unobservable universe.For there is more to the universe than the part we can see/sense--even with our most sophisticated instruments/sensors.(see "the undiscovered universe")
Astronomers say they study stars and galaxies ,but all they really see is light--patterns of light from wch the brain constructs perceptual images and forms.
We assume that light travels in a straight line ,and that an object/star is where we see it.But light has a finite calculatable mass-equivalent (m=e/c2) and when it comes under the influence of a gravitational field ,it's path is bent/curved/refracted/distorted.And every scrap of matter exerts a gravitational force/influence upon it (light).The longer a beam of starlight's journey through space ,the greater the probability that it will come within the vicinity of a significant mass and be affected/deflected by it's gravitational attraction--that is, it's path will be bent/distorted(gravitational lensing).
The speed of light changes depending on the temperature of the space/medium it passes through(most of space is within a few degrees of absolute zero).
Therefore we have no way of inferring the trajectory of light or knowing the actual position of any light-emitting object in the night sky.In every case we assume that the light that we see has reached us by a linear (non-bent)path (that the universe is mostly empty and therefore light interactions with matter are insignificant),and that we can by projecting back along this path identify it's point of origin in the universe.Unless we knew every mass that it passed on it's way to us, and were able to calculate and compensate for all such possible distortions (directional changes) of the light's path, we can never know it's actual point of emission or how the position of the emitting object has shifted.
According to Einstein photons are affected by gravitational fields not because photons have mass,but because gravitational fields change the shape of space-time. That is, the photon's path is distorted(non-linear) by the curvature/warping of the geometry of space-time.
And how is it that a material object once captured by a gravitational force field is subjected to an acceleration of it's velocity ,while a photon (a photon is a bundle of pure energy)wch can be viewed as a material particle (particle of light)by virtue of it's mass-equivalence and susceptibility to gravity does not accelerate under the influence of gravitational force but maintains a constant uniform velocity (while gaining energy through being blueshifted)?Why should the gravitationaal effect on light be different than it's effect on any other particle/atom of matter?If this were the case, it would violate the principle of mass-energy equivalence!
According to "gravitational redshift", light moving away from a gravitational field experiences a lenghtening of it's wavelenght (i.e. a redshift) ,and a concommitant loss of energy (the longer the wavelenght ,the less energy). If the gravitational force is very large as in the case of a Black Hole, the wavelenght shift is so great that all the photon's energy is lost/dissipated. What happens to the lost energy? Does the photon simply vanish (cease to exist)? Is this an alternative explanation of why light is unable to escape a Black Hole?
How can an electron which has a size of 10^-15 m. emit and absorb photons with a wave-length of thousands of metres(radiowaves have wavelenghts of 10^3 meters)
Also when an electron drops to a lower energy level and a photon is released/created(how is inertia conserved in this transformation of matter into energy and vice versa?), does this photon instantaneously accelerate from zero velocity to the speed of light?What propels light instantaneously to the speed it travels at?If it takes an infinite amount/quantity of energy to get a mass to the speed of light, how does light get there?Remember according to Einstein's theory of relativity it is equally valid to describe the relative motion between the photon and the atom from wch it is emitted in terms of the photon being in a rest frame-of-reference and the atom from wch it is ejected as speeding away at light speed.From the point of view of the photon,it remains stationary and it ejects an atom wch moves away from it at light velocity.Unfortunately we are not capable of assuming the point of view of the photon to see what an atom or the earth looks like from this frame of reference.But from the photocentric perspective both would appear to be ejected by the photon and would be moving away/receding from the photon at light speed.From the point of view of the photon the earth (or atom) would become invisible. It would be as if they ceased to exist for their existence would be undetectable since no light from those objects could ever catch up with the photon.
And what about the reciprocal phenomenon when a photon is captured and loses it's identity by transferring it's energy to an atom?
What happens to inertia --a fundamental property of matter,defined by it's gravitational influence on other bodies--when light stops dead?Is this not a violation of the principle of inertia as described in Newton's First Law?In being transformed from kinetic energy into the potential energy of matter,does a photon not decelerate/collapse to zero velocity in coming to a dead stop(rest)?But according to Einstein ,the velocity of light--unlike any other velocity--is unchanging/absolute, and not capable of accelerating or decelerating.
The speed of light is not constant ,but changes according to the density of the medium it is traveling through.
Light has a constant speed of 3 x 10^5 km/second = 299,792,458 meters/second = (186,282 miles/second) =(9.5 trillion kilometers /year)(If something sped by us that fast, we wouldn't even see it!--way too fast for the eye to detect. Assuming that most of the light in the universe is traveling at right angles to our "line of sight",we are not even aware of it.) through the medium of a vacuum or empty space(according to quantum physics even a perfect vacuum is not empty,but teeming with virtual particles that are popping in and out of existance over very short time frames.This suggests that so-called "empty space" is actually permeated with unobservable energy and invisible forces that are inaccessible to our senses.The energy density of empty space is immense.If we could tap into this hidden store of energy we would have an unlimited source of fuel/energy.However no one has yet come up with an experimental method to weigh a cubic meter or more of "empty" space in order to measure the weight/mass-equivalence of the virtual particles contained therein).How can massless energy materialize into a particle with mass and inertia?
But it's speed diminishes with increasing density of the medium through wch it travels.(At what density of matter would the velocity of light become zero?).
Light slows to about 225,000 km (140,000 miles) per second when it goes through water,and about 206,000 km (128,000 miles) per second when it goes through quartz crystal and 124,000 miles per second through glass. A diamond, , will slow light to 125,000 km (78,000 miles) per second--this is less than half the speed through vacuum!).
But photons don't really slow down.rather each hits an atom,gets absorbed and another gets emitted. This process takes different amounts of time depending on the medium,hence the delay.The photon that strikes the window is not the one that emerges on the other side.Is this a complete explanation of the mechanism by wch light slows down when it enters a denser medium?
Light moving through a Bose-Einstein Condensate ( a state of very condensed matter found at near absolute zero)travels at very slow speed. What determines this difference between how much light is slowed?
Lene Hau was able to slow light to 17 metres per second by passing it through a transparent superfluid --Bose-Einstein Condensate--a state of matter that only exists at near absolute zero temperatures.Dr. Hau and her associates at Harvard University have successfully transformed light into matter and back into light (was able to momentarily stop/capture a beam of light)using Bose–Einstein condensates. Details of the experiment are discussed in the February 8, 2007 publication of the journal Nature (see entry in this journal titled "Light and Matter United")
Since most of space is within a few degrees of absolute zero (the temperature at wch Bose-Einstein Condensates occur)it is not outside the realm of possibility that light has traversed such a state of matter in reaching us .Such an occurrence would necessarily have slowed it's speed unpredictably and makes "distance to origin" calculations of questionable accuracy!
This means that light passing through a cloud of dust,gas , plasma,or a Bose-Einstein Condensate (i.e.,non-empty space) would have it's path refracted and/or slowed thereby giving an observor a false position for the emitting object.Can we ever accurately know the exact (versus apparent ) position of light-emitting objects in the night sky?.
The highest velocity encountered in ordinary ballistics, for example, is about 1.6 km/sec (about 1 mi/sec), the highest velocity obtainable by a rocket propelled by ordinary chemicals is a few times that, and the velocity of the earth as it moves around the sun is about 29 km/sec (about 18 mi/sec); .
Thus, for ordinary everyday terrestrial phenomena, the relativistic corrections are of little importance. When velocities are very large, however, as is sometimes the case in astronomical phenomena, relativistic corrections become significant. Similarly, relativity is important in calculating very large distances or very large aggregations of matter.
Energy content of a photon is inversely proportional to its wavelength
Shorter wavelength, more energetic is photon
Longer wavelength, less energetic is photon
Equation for energy content: Ephoton = hc/l
where h = Planck's constant
and c = velocity of light
and l = wavelength
Electromagnetic waves have wavelengths that range from 1 nanometer (10-9 meter) for x-rays (what is the smallest possible wavelenght for a photon?)to 1kilometer (103 meters) for radiowaves. Wavelengths of visible light are in the range of 400 to 700 nanometers (nm).
The relativity of motion:all motion is relative:
No particular object or point in the universe is an absolute frame of reference that is at rest with respect to space.Any object (such as the center of the solar system) is a suitable frame of reference,and the motion of any other object can be referred to or measured relative to that frame.. Thus it is equally correct to say that the train moves past the station ,or that the station moves past the train.Remember that the station is also moving ,due to the rotational motion of the earth on it's axis and it's orbitng the sun.
Einstein stated that the relative motion between any observor and any ray of light is always the same--300,000 km/sec--and thus two observors ,moving relative to one another even at a speed of 160,000 km/sec,each measuring the velocity of the same ray of light ,would both find it moving at 300,000 km/sec.
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At light velocity a spatial dimension is lost (ceases to exist) as space collapses from three dimensions into two (why do width and height remain unaffected?). Since light travels at this velocity it behaves as if there were no space or time.That is, at light speed space and time collapse!
In a similar way, the rate of "time flow" is not constant or absolute but changes with velocity(the speed at wch time flows is relative to the speed of the observor),and at the speed of light time stops(the dimension of time disappears).That is, time does not flow at the same rate/velocity everywhere.The intuitive assumption that clock time is universally invariant must be relinquished.
(What exactly is the nature of time? Is not the flow rate of time identical to a measure of velocity?Do we not speak of the motion or flow(or the rate of propogation ) of time?Otherwise how could we make sense of Einstein's notion that the rate of time flow can slow down/decelerate and speed up/ accelerate?And why does time move in one direction? only).
The speed at wch time moves/travels is relative to the motion of the observer.(time dilation). Does it make sense to speak of the "velocity" of time?
The faster you travel ,the slower time moves,and at light speed time stops moving(stands still).If time stops at the speed of light,then time for a photon stands still!
At the speed of light both space and time collapse to zero. This means rhat velocity defined as space/time(space divided by time)also collapses to zero.
Upon merging with and becoming one with light ,space and time are annihilated(cease to exist)(disappear). From the "frame of referemce " of light, space and time do not exist!
Also under the influence of a gravitational field, time slows down,and the stronger the gravitational field ,the slower time flows.What would be the critical mass /gravitational force reguired to bring time to a stop?(taken to the limit the flow of time would be arrested)
If space and time become distorted then everything we measure with metersticks and clocks-- including the speed of light--will also be distorted.
(But Einstein claimed that no matter how fast you are moving toward or away from a source of light, the speed of that light beam will appear to be the same--a constant 186,282 miles/second.
At singularities when space and time collapse ,the laws of physics breakdown--or at least the concepts and theories wch are the foundation of our understanding break down.Perhaps singularities of infinite density and zero volume do not exist in reality but indicate a limitation in the theories and conceptual frameworks wch we use to describe reality.(such as ,when we travel East on the surface of a sphere we end up in the West).Or perhaps the universe wishes to keep to itself the secrets of its origin and to conceal it's deeper realities!
The faster you go....time slows,space contracts,amd mass increases.
According to the principle of relativity,descriptions of events are relative to the observor/subject,but the laws of nature are invariant--they operate the same for everyone no matter where they are or how they are moving.Thus within a moving frame of reference,measurements of time,lenght or mass (weight) are the same no matter how fast the frame is moving. But to an external observor time gets slower the faster you move, lenght contracts, and masses increase as you approach the speed of light. Thus as a train accelerates to near light speed,time on the train will appear to slow down to an observor not moving with it, and the train will appear to get shorter (length contracts in the direction of a moving object)and heavier(more massive)
The concept of "velocity" requires the separation/uncoupling of "space" and "time": When we measure the relative motion between two objects we are measuring the rate of change in the distance(spatial separation)between them.That is ,space/time!
But how meaningful is the everyday concept of "velocity" wch is defined in terms of time and space as distance/time ,when both these dimensions collapse to zero or are unified ?Does not the coupling or unification of space and time render the concept of velocity meaningless? If the concepts of "space" and "time" are not distinguished and distinct then the concept of "velocity" is rendered meaningless. In fact the phrase "velocity of light " (c = distance/time)becomes meaningless if time and space are not separate! If distance and time in the above simple equation become zero, how can C remain a finite constant? It just doesn't make arithmatic! "C" must also collapse to zero!
Does this mean there is an internal inconsistancy or flaw in the logical structure of the theory of Relativity, or perhaps that our understanding of the theory of Relativity is incomplete--Einstein's claim that the speed of light is absolute-- a fixed never-changing constant(the constancy of the speed of light for all observors at any constant speed)?(The speed of light is not relative to the speed of the observer.If light always travels at one fixed velocity,then distance and time must vary(.v= d/t )Does it expose a shortcoming or limitation in Einstein's theory?Or does it simply mean that the theory of relativity is no more accurate at short distances (quantum dimensions)than Newtonian theory was when applied to macrocosmic events and high velocities?Or does it mean that when we observe anything in the universe outside our own rest frame of reference ,all we can see is a perceptual illusion brought about by the properties of light through wch our information is obtained?But perhaps the beauty of Relativity theory is that it enables us to correct for the illusory nature or distortion of our perception(perceptual distortions)wch occur when we observe events/objects moving at high(near light )velocities.
Einstein said that spatial lenghts and clock rates(time flow) are intimately linked (they are interdependent,continuous and inseparable)and the notions of space and time can be merged into a single concept (just as matter and energy can be merged into a single concept),"spacetime".
According to Newton the force of gravity acts instantaneously;but according to Einstein the force of gravity travels /propogates at the speed of light.
Furthermore according to Einstein,gravity can be explained not as a force that emanates from a mass,but can be described as a warping or distortion of spacetime.(Gravity is not a force?)*
But if these two dimensions are merged/collapsed into One, what happens to the concept of "velocity"? It is glaringly obvious that you cannot unite/merge space and time without changing/destroying the notion/meaning of "velocity" .And yet I have never come across any discussion on the effect of this unification on the fundamental idea of "velocity".When distance and time blur together,what happens to speed/velocity?
The "collapse of space and time" is the same as stating that "subject" and "object" of observation/perception merge into one ,and the duration of transmission between subject and object becomes zero/instantaneous,
* If gravity can be redefined in this way ,can we not also alternatively describe the relative motion of one object in relation to another not in terms of the relative motion of the objects,but rather in terms of the movement (a contraction or expansion) of the space between the objects.
It is very clear from the simple equation for velocity (v=c=d/t),that for the velocity of light (c)to remain constant any expansion of space (increase in distance) as inferred from the observed redshift of light,must be accompanied by a contraction or decrease(slowing down) in time. Thus the apparent spatial expansion of the universe may be caused by and must be accompanied by, the contraction or slowing of time.
Twin paradox: The observation of time flow slowing with speed is another perceptual illusion.
Imagine a twin on a rocket ship that blasts off at a speed near that of light while the other twin remains back on earth.Through a telescope the earth twin sees that his rocket twin has aged more slowly and appears younger than himself.When the rocket twin comes back to earth,the earth twin has aged more;the rocket twin is much younger.
But from the vantage point of the rocket twin as he took off from earth,it appeared as if he were at rest and that the earth moved away from him (at near light speed). thus to himit is the earth twin who has traveled at great speed and became younger,while the rocket twin has aged.So when they are once again standing side by side back on earth, who really is younger and who is older?
Another thought experiment:
Supposing that a beam of light is emitted fom the earth and one were able to hop onto one of it's photons thereby assuming the point of view (frame of reference)of the photon?
Because the speed of one's own uniform/unchanging motion is impossible to detect ,there is a subject-centered bias to regard one's own observational frame of reference as being at rest relative to the object of observation.Hence from the perspective of the photon ,one would feel oneself to be at rest ,and it is the earth wch would be perceived to be receding at the speed of light.(But hang tough for just one moment: didn't Einstein say that no "object" can reach the speed of light--by the way ,how does light itself manage to do so?--, it would have an infinite amount of mass)But if only light can travel at light speed and the earth is now behaving as if it were light, would it not in fact appear to be light?Indeed it would be impossible to distinguish it from any other photon.
(Actually the image of the earth would simply disappear as if the earh ceased to exist becuz light from it would never reach us)
So what does this mean?Is light itself an illusion that emerges at extreme/critical velocity?
The divinity of Light: ...if "God is Light", then "Light is God"
...and the Creator said, "Let there be light!"
But of course the greatest illusion of all is that there is anything that appears to be "non-light"!(that there is anything other than light!) Light is the deity whose command all creation obeys.God is the eternal light wch pervades the universe and is the elemental substance/constituent out of wch the universe is made.
Nothing is more fundamental ,nothing is more elemental than light. Light is the primordial substance out of wch everything in the universe is made.There is no "other" substance! Does it even make sense to ask "What is light made of?" or "What existed before light?"
Little wonder that man came to honour and worship this primal force as "God"...for without it nothing would exist.The logos is the rock,the foundation, of the universe--out of wch incomprehensible potency all things/forms come into being/creation(out of wch all form is fashioned).
The entire universe--in all it's multipicity--is a phantasmagora of Light!
All the complexity and diversity in the universe is brought to us through the magic of light!
The universe owes it's existence to an invisible power.If the One Power (the source of all that exists)that has brought forth the universe in all it's magnificent complexity and diversity is not worthy of reverence and worship,then what might be?
That power created and sustains everything that exists ,and inhabited the universe with life and awareness (living creatures).Surely the power that created everything that exists is worthy of awe, praise ,and even worship!
If this be not the power we call God then what else might God be?!
Without this divine power nothing would exist--not even nothing!
God is the Ultimate Mystery!
How could everything emerge out of a void--out of nothingness (ex nihilo)?!
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The classical distinction between the concepts of "matter" and "energy" can no longer be upheld.Yet we continue to treat matter and energy as separate and distinct entities. E=mc2 Mass is energy. Energy and matter are like liguid and solid states of the same "stuff"--just different ways of describing the same thing.Matter and energy are not separate entities--they are one "stuff".They are interchangeable forms of one "stuff".
This "stuff" seems to have dual nature,but more correctly it does not have a dual nature but is capable of being described or conceptually represented in two different ways.It is not a case of one thing being two things but rather one thing(the universe is of one substance) wch is capable of being described in two equally valid alternative ways. Matter is a compressed/condensed form of energy.
Whether we describe a glass as being "half full" or "half empty",we are not describing two distinct and distinguishable phenomena,but rather using two equally valid alternative descriptions/representations of one and the same phenomenon.In one case our focus/emphasis is upon the "fullness" property of the glass;in the second complementary case we draw attention to it's degree of "emptiness".In the same way when we refer to the "stuff" of the universe as energy we are focusing upon it's dynamic,kinetic property. Whereas when we represent the same "stuff" as matter we draw attention to it's stability and solidity.
Light (electromagnetic radiation)is the fundamental ingredient(building block) of the universe.Light assumes material form(in this transformation it acquires mass and inertia) at it's own will and desire.Light is the source of all worlds and holds all worlds within itself.Light is the unchanging eternal essence at the base of the ever-changing universe.There is no "other" substance! But what is the nature of light?What is Light? We know that Light is produced/created when atoms release their stored energy.If all the energy/light contained within a material patricle were released ,there would be nothing left of it. The energy content of matter can be unlocked/released(a small amount of mass can be converted into an enormous amount of energy) and converted into a kinetic/active form;or conversely energy can be captured and held in a comparatively static form wch we call "matter".Matter can be defined as light travelling at zero velocity. It is possible to transform matter into energy and energy into matter. If energy/light was antecedent to matter ,the answer to "wch came first" is definitively "light"! The unification of the wave/particle (wavicle?)dichotomy/duality is the foundation of Quantum Mechanics(quantum theory --deals with the forces acting at subatomic distances and rules the microcosmic world of subatomic/nuclear particles/forces just as Relativity rules the world of the large(macrocosm).When energy goes from it's kinetic/dynamic state as electromagnetic radiation to it's potential form as matter, what is the mechanism by wch this transition or transduction is accomplished? A mass will turn into energy if it travels at the square of the speed of light.But a mass cannot even reach the speed of light...let alone the speed of light squared! For a mass to attain even the speed of light would already require an infinite amount of energy. Paradoxically moving objects acrue/gain mass--as their kinetic energy of motion increases ,so does their mass-equivalence. In addition to the equivalence of energy and matter, and the unification of the concepts of space and time,Einstein postulated the equivalence of acceleration/inertia and gravity. General Relativity unifies the descriptions of gravitation and inertia. A mass defined as the amount of material in a body can be described by the inertial properties of the body or by it's gravitational influence on other bodies. Mass resists acceleration and we call this resistance "inertia".Is "inertia" an emergent property that arises with the creation of a mass? There is no way to distinguish the behaviour of a mass pressed to the floor of an accelerating rocket ship,and that of a mass pulled to the floor of a stationary room in a gravitational field.The two are the same thing."Acceleration" (due to an external force) and "weight" (due to a gravitational field) are identical.The effect of acceleration is the same as the effect of gravity.An upward acceleration in space is equivalent to (indistinguishable from) a downward force due to gravity.The experience of being accelerated through space is indistinguishable from experiencing the effect of gravity.(But is not the "weightless" experience of free -fall in a gravitational field also equivalent to that of floating in a gravity-free (zero gravity)region of space?If one closes one's eyes in free-fall there is no awareness of gravity at all,but a sensation of weightlessness) By this principle of equivalence Einstein was able to link the problem of gravity and extend Relativity to all obsevors--even those who are accelerating. What people standing on the surface of the earth perceive as the "force of gravity"is a result of their undergoing a continuous physical acceleration caused by the mechanical resistance of the surface on wch they are standing. If mass(mass is a quantitaive measure of the amount of matter bundled into a finite space) is measured in units of weight(kilograms) it will vary with gravity,.Clearly the weight of an object (measured in Newtons)will vary according to where in the universe it is measured. Thus an object on the moon will have 1/3 the mass /weight that it has on earth.(Also a spoonful of neutrons weighs a whole lot more than a spoonful of ordinary atoms wch are mostly empty space.)Hence it's energy content (according to e=mc2 )will also vary depending upon the gravitational force it is exposed to.In the absence of gravity, though an object/body may be weightless it is not massless.
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The past is now: We see what existed before us and out of wch we have become.The universe carries it's past into the present,and even into the future.
Looking out into space is also looking back in time.
The farther out into space we look ,the further back in time we see.
The evidence of past events is carried into the present by the messenger of light
We cannot see the universe as it exists now!
If the sun instantaneously ceased to exist,it would take 8 minutes for the sky to darken and for us to become aware of the event's ocurrence.That's how long it takes for energy and information to reach earth from the sun.
Light travels a foot in a nanosecond(a billionth of a second)
We view the past by as many nanoseconds as there are feet separating us from the object we are observing.
Thus we observe a person 20 feet away as they were when they were 20 billonth of a second younger!
The star vega is 25 light years away . So the Vega we see today is Vega as it was in 1984!
Thus time ( the duration of transmission of energy/information)is directly proportional to the space separating subject/observer and object/observed. If there was no separation between subject and object(subject and object would be one and indistinguishable) , the transmission of energy between subject and object would be instantaneous (emission and reception would be simultaneous) and time would not exist.This condition is most closely approximated in the quantum realm of subatomic dimensions (when spatial and temporal separations become extremely small/negligible/unmeasureable/unobservable) and at light velocities when both space and time collapse and masses become gravitationally significant..
At extremely small distances (the quantum domain) particles behave as though space and time did not exist,since information transfer and translocation is virtually instantaneous.
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Meta physics ("meta" is Greek for "beyond")
Mind over matter: Idealism vs Empiricism
Theories of physics and cosmology wch reflect our view of the universe have an inherently subjective element. So-called "physical laws of nature" do not describe the objective properties of a physical system,but rather the state and limitations of the observer who probes and interacts with it..How to strip away these subjective aspects of cosmological models to reveal the objective reality? But perhaps if we did so, all that would remain is abstract ,amorphous "white noise' –the sound of raw undifferentiated energy..
Prior to the application of concepts,words,symbols to represent and describe experience as delineated patterns and forms there is only the inchoate energy field of infinite possibilities--pure.formless,raw energy.
Quantum theory does not give an objective picture/representation of the world(object of observation) that is independent of and unconnected to our role as observor/subject.Einstein was bothered by the fact that our observations influence and affect the event/object being observed ,and refused to acknowledge the active and integrally entangled role of the observor in any observation or understanding of the universe.But it is not possible to dismiss or fail to take into account the role of the observor in any attempt to understand the universe.
( According to Heysenberg the very act of observing disturbs/alters the object of observation.). Perhaps Einstein's mistake was in rejecting the inclusion of the observor in descriptions of the quantum world(microcosmic realm)?He believed in a universe/object that exists completely independent of human observation/subject.However the observor does not exist outside the universe he observes.He cannot separate himself from the universe he observes ,and in wch he is embedded.
Physical theories wch attempt to explain observed phenomena are in some ways conceptual riddles.While concepts/ideas/ thoughts do not arise apart from or independent of empirical /sensory experience,neither are they totally based on or derived from observable facts.It seems that the great Truths about the physical world /nature cannot be arrived at by close observation of the external world. Rather theories begin within the mind of the observor and are then tested against observation and experience.In many cases the Truth about Reality is far removed from our commonsense everyday sensory experience.
Nothing is as it appears to our senses...(perception is not reality/seeing is not believing).
Therefore we must always question the correctness of our perceptions and our thoughts.
For example,the apparent east-to-west movement of the sun across the sky is a perceptual illusion caused by the rotational motion of the earth in the opposite direction..The ground we stand on seems stationary(at rest),yet we know that this is only a perceptual illusion(sensory deception) and in actual fact we are in many kinds of motion--the earth whose surface we live upon is rotating about it's axis at 1000 km./hr. and is orbiting around the sun (at 18 miles /second),wch in turn is dragging us along it's own orbit through it's galaxy at the speed of 150 miles per second(It takes 250 million years for the sun to complete one circuit of the galactic hub). And the galaxy itself is in motion relative to other galaxies and galaxy clusters (the Milky Way galaxy is moving towards the Virgil cluster of galaxies at 120 miles per second)).
The apparent east-west movement of the sun across the sky is a perceptual illusion caused by the rotational motion of the earth.
We are blinded by what we know :Thinking outside the box
Our concept-driven minds fit information (raw sensory data) into fixed rigid categories (preconceptions). If we cvould turn that process off momentarily we could see the pattern of dots as they really are (before the sense data are filtered,interpreted, and categorized)and come up with a new synthesis. This would be like seeing the world anew (as a child) before sense data is compared to previous experience and pigeonholed into pre-existing boxes/concepts.We could see things undistorted/unaltered by selection,interpretation and other processing.
Concepts constrain/delimit the way we see,describe and understand the world /universe and our experience.
Conceptual/theoretical frameworks impose order upon empirical experience, and often belie and contradict our sense perception.They become entrenched as rigid unquestionable beliefs. We become imprisoned by our conceptual paradigms wch shape our world view , and we become incapable of "thinking outside the box"(i.e.,outside our rigid entrenched beliefs).Not only is our thinking shaped by such concepts but so is our sensory experience.We constrain the raw sense data we receive into delineated patterns,categories,conceptual forms such as "chair" or "tree"(we use words as straitjackets or boxes to contain/circumscribe our experience--we organize our experience into concepts wch are held in common by agreement throughout our speech community)(in some way these linquistic categories determine our perception and our way of thinking), and even the more abstract concepts of "space" and "time",etc..
We assume that such concepts as "space" and "time" refer to elements of the physical universe,but actually they are abstract mental constructs/ symbols --fabrications of the mind.
"Space" and "time" are not physical entities,but part of the brain's software used for organizing,interpreting,and understanding sensory input.
If the spatiotemporal framework is a conceptual framework and not an inherent part of the structure of the universe ,then when we refer to space and time collapse ,it is only the concepts wch undergo collapse!
This is not to say that ideas/concepts are not useful and powerful forces in their own right capable of molding our thinking and changing our lives.We need only recall that Einstein's famous insight of Mass-energy equivalence was not just an abstract mathematical equation(symbols on paper). Not only did it reveal the fantastic quantities of energy stored within the atom, but it was a recipe/formula for the controlled release and harnessing of nuclear power--enabling the release of the strong interaction forces wch hold the nucleus of the atom together. The application of his ideas catapulted mankind into the era of electronic and nuclear technology--and threatens all life on the planet with extinction.
But the problems of "space" and "time" may have more to do with the nature of the human mind and the inner workings of the human brain than with the external universe.
Perhaps the concepts/ideas of "space" and "time" tell us less about the external world than how our brain makes sense of the world.
"Causality" is yet another concept wch dexcribes how events are related to each other in terms of the temporal (time) order in wch they occur. In some way the "effect" is contained within the "cause" (as the tree is contained within it's seed) and the two are inseparably connected. The two are One!Does the dog wag it's tail, or the tail wag the dog?
Old ideas acquire a kind of inertia,rigidity,solidity and a resistance to change.Established ideas become dogma and resistant to change( difficult to overthrow).Old paradigms and world views(cherished beliefs) are difficult to relinquish(for example , we continue treating matter and energy as separate entities) and we often have to be dragged "kicking and screaming" into a new way of seeing (the universe and ourselves)for fear of being cast adrift from traditional moorings and familiar shores.(Paradigm shifts are resisted by the status quo becuz they subvert the established dogma )
To find the Truth we must first lose the one we have! It took 200 years for someone to revise Newton's formulation of nature's laws.
Yet the resolution of the problems and questions that challenge physics today and the formulation of a theory(conceptual framework)unifying all the forces and laws of nature (and all the dichotomies of the mind)is likely to be theoretical/conceptual rather than experimental/observational (black holes were mathematical concepts before they were ever observed in the universe--as indeed was the entire theory of Relativity).
That is, someone is going to have to come up with an innovative theory/idea/conceptual framework (such as a quantum formulation of the nature of gravity;that is ,describing gravity ,like the other three forces of nature,as an exchange of force-bearing quanta)that meets the test of empirical methods(experience).
Einstein's insights and ideas did in a sense change the universe by redefined our perception and understanding of the universe and ourselves.
The way we perceive/see ourselves and our universe must always be open to modification,because our present perception is undoubtedly incomplete and therefore inaccurate and incorrect.It would be beyond arrogance and ignorance to think that what we presently know and understand about the universe is all that there is to know.Future generations will look back upon our time (as we do upon those who came before us) and the current status of our understanding as one of ignorance and savagery.It is much more reasonable to regard what we presently know as primative,superficial,and infinitesimal compared with all that there is to be known/discovered.What we presently know of the universe is not even the tip of the iceberg!Nature will always remain rich in mysteries! We can be assured that wonderful surprises lie ahead!The quest to understand is an endless progression.There will always be more to learn,more to know ,more to discover.Who knows what realms and riddles will be the challenges of tomorrow?Who knows what instruments will be constructed to tear down the veils wch obstruct /limit our vision/perception? Can our vision ever encompass the entire universe,or will there always be a horizon/limit to our vision beyond wch we cannot see and cannot know.The universe wiil always be more wondrous/stranger than we can imagine! We will always continue to explore and discover.There can be no ultimate theory--a perfect theory that explains everything,and is not susceptible to modification in the light of new information/knowledge.The models and conceptual frameworks by wch we represent, describe,and understand the universe will never be perfect but only "good enough" approximations.Theories are formulated/conceived by people who love order and beauty.But the universe is greater and more mysterious than theorists are able to dream of.
We can only hope that mankind can remain united in one common purpose so that our exploration and discovery of the universe can continue---so that grand adventure of discovering the Cosmos will never end.
Prior to the application of concepts,words,symbols,numbers to represent experience as delineated patterns and forms there is only the inchoate energy field of infinite possibilities--pure.formless,raw energy.
We must distinquish between a concept or symbol in our minds (a construct of the mind) and that wch the concept refers to or represents.
The yin-yang (paired opposites) quality of the universe (it is as if the entire universe were programmed with binary code)may have less to do with the nature of the universe than with the nature of language , the human mind, and the triune nature of the brain.Perhaps the apparently dualistic nature of the universe has more to do with the bilateral symmetry of our bodies,and the fact that our brain is divided into two mirror-image hemispheres.(see "the bicameral mind")
All apparent distinctions/differences are creations of the mind.The whole cannot be divided.Does this mean that in the first and final analysis all differences are illusory!?
And yet without conceptual/symbolic differentiations into dichotomies(e.g. materiality/immateriality) and discontinuities(division of the "one" into twos) no representation/description/quantification can be made--and no problem can be formulated ,let alone solved.We remain lost(or perhaps found,since it is easy to become lost in the conceptual dualities of the mind) in a maze of infinite possibilities.Perhaps we should seek to discover how concepts are formed/evolve (linguistics) and the laws by wch they are related.How are our concepts related to the actual world they attempt to represent?Perhaps therein lies the key to our understanding of the phenomena of nature(the phenomenal world).
The observor filters ,organizes,,interprets and imposes/gives order,pattern,form,meaning,and explanation upon the inchoate energy and information(sense data) he observes/senses.Thus the very process of observation/perception has a subjective element that cannot be avoided or eliminated--the way we look at things changes the thinks we look at.
It is only , in that mystical state of "Unity consciousness" (Oneness) when the subject and object of observation merge into One that we escape the bounds of time and space awareness , and experience a timeless state(time stands still).
In other words it is the subject/object(self/not-self) duality wch generate relativity and all relativistic phenomena.And duality is a product of the human mind . Duality and discontinuity does not reflect the true nature of the universe wch is One --indivisible (What cannot be divided?)and continuous! (All duality is illusion. All apparent distinctions/differences are creations of the mind.All apparent contradictions are complementaries and reconciled in the awarenessss of Oneness)
Einstein intuitively sensed (what is the nature of creative imagination?)the fundamental wholeness/unity of the universe ,and driven by this ideal of unity(principle of unification) he sought (quest for unification)the underlying unity of all phenomena ,and to bring together (unify) entities/concepts that had hitherto been separated in the human mind (thereby exposing the illusory nature of these dichotomies). This "first assumption" or conviction (a result of intuition rather than reason or observation) led him to his greatest insights into the fabric of the universe and the nature of reality.
He was able to unite the concepts of space and time ,matter and energy, wch had previously been kept apart.He sought to unify the fundamental laws and forces of nature (unified field theory) into a single comprehensive(all-inclusive) and coherent conceptual/theoretical framework wch would apply equally to the microcosmic/quantum and the macrocosmic/cosmological realms/domains.
He also sensed that all the forces (how many more will the future reveal?If all the matter of the universe was once crammed into a single point,there must be forces we yet have no awareness of)of nature must be equivalent and transformable one into another,but was not able to formulate the precise mathematical relationship betwen them.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< How Big is the Universe?
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2005 14:08:59 -0800 (PST)
From: "bill dality" < namtoo@yahoo.com Subject: diameter of the universe = 2.66 x 10^23 kilometers http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/question.php?number=151 We can't know how big the universe is because even with our most sensitive instruments, we can't see all of it. But we can make some inferences and some theoretical calculations: If the universe began 14 billion years ago, then the entire universe is 28 billion light years in diameter.That's the outer limit of the light/energy wavefront that emerged out of the Big Bang Every explosion has a wavefront,and the Big Bang was the Mother (and Father)of all explosions!--an incredibly powerful burst of energy (energy,radiation,light)! (This was before matter existed.Matter formed later by the condensation of energy.) It is assumed that the frontal blast wave (wavefront)forms the boundary/edge between space and nothingness.
<------d=14 billion light years*-----> 0 <------d=14 billion light years----- present boundary of the universe represented as the surface of a sphere Origin t=0 (the beginning of time and space)
The expansion velocity of the outer boundary is assumed to be the speed of light (This assumes that the expansion rate is limited to (cannot exceed ) the speed of light).Therefore the maximal speed of the outwardly propogated wave front is equal to the speed of light.
If space is expanding and the rate/speed of expansion is increasing,eventually the speed of expansion will reach the speed of light.
*One light year is the distance/space traversed by light in a year of time(or about,
9.5 trillion(9.46 × 10^12) kilometers.)
radius= 14 x 9.5 x 10^21 km = 1.33 x 10^23 km
diameter = 2 x radius =2.66 x 10^23 km
Knowing the radius of a sphere (and taking the universe to have the shape of a sphere)we can calculate the volume of the sphere : 4/3*Ï€*radius3
V = 4/3*¶*r3
A "perceptual horizon" arises when an object is moving away or receding from an observor at the same(or greater)velocity as light emitted from that object is able to move toward the observor.
Light from the emitting object can never reach the observor ,and therefore the object is unobservable/undetectable.
We are blinded from seeing anything before/beyond the Big Bang.Before this , neither time nor space nor energy existed. They were created with the Big Bang.During the first seconds after the Big Bang the forces of gravity did not exist --or at least there was nothing for them to act upon.These forces are secondary and like space and time,emergent phenomena.
If nothing escapes a Black Hole ,how is it possible for a Big Bang (wch contains not only the sum total of all Black holes but the entire mass of the universe)to occur? a mechanism for the Big Bang may perhaps be seen in the explosive burst of a supernova event.Under the extreme pressures of contraction/compression of energy such as are experienced during gravitational collapse(formation of a neutron star) internal forces become so immense that expansion occurs with explosive power.the self-attraction of matter(gravitational force) had to be overcome in the Big Bang by a greater self-repulsive or anti-gravitational force (outward pressure of hot gas etc.?)wch set in motion the expansion of the universe,and is even now accelerating this expansion. What is the nature of this force?
But as the expansion velocity of the universe approaches the speed of light ,the actual expansion would be counteracted/negated/nullified by the spatial contraction predicted by Lorenz! Formerly it was thought that the attractive force of gravity would slow down the expansion of the universe.Much like the earth's falling toward the sun is counterbalanced by an equal counteracting force maintaining a stable orbit.
Remember according to Einstein, acceleration and gravity are the same thing.
Forgot to factor in the fact that space has been expanding since it's beginning.There may not be any limit to the speed at wch space expands. Einstein only placed a limit on the velocity at wch an object can travel within space.
But if space itself is expanding at greater than light speed , then all distances measured within space are being stretched,lenghtened. This appears to contradict the Fitzgerald-Lorenz principle that distance contracts when measured in the direction of motion as an object accelerates towards the speed of light
The fabric of space is stretching;i.e.,space is expanding,and the rate of expansion is increasing.
Space not only deforms/curves in response to gravity but it also contracts and stretches.
What causes this stretching?
If space and time did not exist before the Big Bang ,what did/is space expanding into? Nothingness?
The preceeding calculations were based on a spherical model of the universe (a universe expanding outward equally from a central point of origin). Such a model is attractive for it's simplicity but may be also simplistic.If the universe is spherical in shape and has an outer boundary,what is on the other side of that boundary?!
Light reaching us from the most distant galaxies that we can see to date originated from those objects 12 billion years ago, at a time when the universe was only
2 billion years old and only about one tenth it's present size! And originally the universe was only the size of a point!!
P.Z.Actually experiencing the universe through the senses and the brain of a human being has been a wonderful experience.It has been a lot to take in!
Perhaps the universe's purpose in giving us birth/life and awareness was so it could know through us the magnificence of it's glory!>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2005 16:33:41 -0500 (EST)
From: "tomas "
Subject: Re: subject/object duality generates relativity
To: "bill dality"
The Beyond
"There are portions of heaven too great for the eye of man". -- William Blake
"True religiosity constitutes a knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate" --albert einstein
The quantum domain is the realm of the super-natural
--J.C Bokker
Perhaps it is the same as when you are standing on the shore looking out over the ocean. At some point a ship disappears out of sight over the horizon. But actually there is no horizon. It is just a perceptual illusion or a perceptual limitation.
The ship is still there (it hasn't ceased to exist),but it has gone beyond our capacity to see ...around the curvature of the earth's surface.
From a different observational frame of reference(point of view) such as from a satellite orbiting above the earth at a much greater velocity than the ship,the ship would appear to be moving backwards.
But this again is a perceptual illusion caused by the rotation of the earth about it's axis(just as it seems/appears relative to an observor on the earth's surface that the sun rises each morning in the east and sets each evening in the west,whereas in fact the sun does no such thing)(the illusion of the sun's movement across the day sky is due to the earth's rotation--i.e.,the perceived motion actually belongs to the earth's spin( or is due to the spinning earth.),.( But neither is the sun motionless--it is orbiting around the center of the galaxy at an astounding velocity of 200 km/second--a motion wch we are usually oblivious to!If you look skyward toward the south/southeast, you'll be facing in the direction of the center of the galaxy.
Andromeda ,our nearest neighbor galaxy has a radial velocity of about 300 km/sec )
and the self/subject-centered bias to regard one's own observational frame of reference as being at rest relative to the object of observation.The speed of one's own uniform/unchanging motion is impossible to detect except in relation to/relative to (the relativity of motion) another frame of reference.When we jump off a building or out of a plane, do we fall/accelerate toward the earth ,or does the earth accelerate/come up to meet us? Anyone who has done some long-distance driving has experienced the sensation of the ribbon of highway coming continuously toward one,while we ourselves in our vehicle seem stationary.An object "accelerates" relative to (in relation to) a stationary frame of reference.What we define as the stationary frame of reference is a matter of choice and personal preference rather than objective fact:for example;is the photon speeding away from the earth or is the earth speeding away from the photon (at light speed)?Or perhaps they are both stationary and it is the space (a third observational frame-of-reference)between them that is expanding at light speed?
If you whirl around yourelf the world/universe seems to be whirling round you. If you stand still,everything seems to be motionless. It is an illusion produced by the senses and the brain.
What would it be like to see the universe through the eyes of God,instead of the eyes of a grasshopper or earth-bound human?
P.Z. Pizza and cold weather don't make you thoughtful ;they just makes you numb!
Watch out for light-headedness at high altitudes.
Life-sustaining breathable air gets scarce up there!
There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.
---Albert Einstein
---
These two things,the spiritual and the material,though we call them by different names,in their origin are one and the same. This sameness is a mystery--the mystery of mysteries. It is the gate of all spirituality.
The search for an ultimate "theory of everything" that could unify all the forces and laws of nature
(Life is a journey of Wonder) (Learning to understand Relativity)
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2005 19:59:13 -0800 (PST)
From: "bill dality"
Subject: Conceptual Riddles/Perceptual Illusions
(thinking/imagining the unseeable;seeing the unthinkable/unimaginable)
To:tomas @yahoo.com
Unconscious(concealed) assumptions:
The unconscious ,being an unknown realm that cannot be seen,is equally a part of the hidden/unobservable universe.For there is more to the universe than the part we can see/sense--even with our most sophisticated instruments/sensors.(see "the undiscovered universe")
Astronomers say they study stars and galaxies ,but all they really see is light--patterns of light from wch the brain constructs perceptual images and forms.
We assume that light travels in a straight line ,and that an object/star is where we see it.But light has a finite calculatable mass-equivalent (m=e/c2) and when it comes under the influence of a gravitational field ,it's path is bent/curved/refracted/distorted.And every scrap of matter exerts a gravitational force/influence upon it (light).The longer a beam of starlight's journey through space ,the greater the probability that it will come within the vicinity of a significant mass and be affected/deflected by it's gravitational attraction--that is, it's path will be bent/distorted(gravitational lensing).
The speed of light changes depending on the temperature of the space/medium it passes through(most of space is within a few degrees of absolute zero).
Therefore we have no way of inferring the trajectory of light or knowing the actual position of any light-emitting object in the night sky.In every case we assume that the light that we see has reached us by a linear (non-bent)path (that the universe is mostly empty and therefore light interactions with matter are insignificant),and that we can by projecting back along this path identify it's point of origin in the universe.Unless we knew every mass that it passed on it's way to us, and were able to calculate and compensate for all such possible distortions (directional changes) of the light's path, we can never know it's actual point of emission or how the position of the emitting object has shifted.
According to Einstein photons are affected by gravitational fields not because photons have mass,but because gravitational fields change the shape of space-time. That is, the photon's path is distorted(non-linear) by the curvature/warping of the geometry of space-time.
And how is it that a material object once captured by a gravitational force field is subjected to an acceleration of it's velocity ,while a photon (a photon is a bundle of pure energy)wch can be viewed as a material particle (particle of light)by virtue of it's mass-equivalence and susceptibility to gravity does not accelerate under the influence of gravitational force but maintains a constant uniform velocity (while gaining energy through being blueshifted)?Why should the gravitationaal effect on light be different than it's effect on any other particle/atom of matter?If this were the case, it would violate the principle of mass-energy equivalence!
According to "gravitational redshift", light moving away from a gravitational field experiences a lenghtening of it's wavelenght (i.e. a redshift) ,and a concommitant loss of energy (the longer the wavelenght ,the less energy). If the gravitational force is very large as in the case of a Black Hole, the wavelenght shift is so great that all the photon's energy is lost/dissipated. What happens to the lost energy? Does the photon simply vanish (cease to exist)? Is this an alternative explanation of why light is unable to escape a Black Hole?
How can an electron which has a size of 10^-15 m. emit and absorb photons with a wave-length of thousands of metres(radiowaves have wavelenghts of 10^3 meters)
Also when an electron drops to a lower energy level and a photon is released/created(how is inertia conserved in this transformation of matter into energy and vice versa?), does this photon instantaneously accelerate from zero velocity to the speed of light?What propels light instantaneously to the speed it travels at?If it takes an infinite amount/quantity of energy to get a mass to the speed of light, how does light get there?Remember according to Einstein's theory of relativity it is equally valid to describe the relative motion between the photon and the atom from wch it is emitted in terms of the photon being in a rest frame-of-reference and the atom from wch it is ejected as speeding away at light speed.From the point of view of the photon,it remains stationary and it ejects an atom wch moves away from it at light velocity.Unfortunately we are not capable of assuming the point of view of the photon to see what an atom or the earth looks like from this frame of reference.But from the photocentric perspective both would appear to be ejected by the photon and would be moving away/receding from the photon at light speed.From the point of view of the photon the earth (or atom) would become invisible. It would be as if they ceased to exist for their existence would be undetectable since no light from those objects could ever catch up with the photon.
And what about the reciprocal phenomenon when a photon is captured and loses it's identity by transferring it's energy to an atom?
What happens to inertia --a fundamental property of matter,defined by it's gravitational influence on other bodies--when light stops dead?Is this not a violation of the principle of inertia as described in Newton's First Law?In being transformed from kinetic energy into the potential energy of matter,does a photon not decelerate/collapse to zero velocity in coming to a dead stop(rest)?But according to Einstein ,the velocity of light--unlike any other velocity--is unchanging/absolute, and not capable of accelerating or decelerating.
The speed of light is not constant ,but changes according to the density of the medium it is traveling through.
Light has a constant speed of 3 x 10^5 km/second = 299,792,458 meters/second = (186,282 miles/second) =(9.5 trillion kilometers /year)(If something sped by us that fast, we wouldn't even see it!--way too fast for the eye to detect. Assuming that most of the light in the universe is traveling at right angles to our "line of sight",we are not even aware of it.) through the medium of a vacuum or empty space(according to quantum physics even a perfect vacuum is not empty,but teeming with virtual particles that are popping in and out of existance over very short time frames.This suggests that so-called "empty space" is actually permeated with unobservable energy and invisible forces that are inaccessible to our senses.The energy density of empty space is immense.If we could tap into this hidden store of energy we would have an unlimited source of fuel/energy.However no one has yet come up with an experimental method to weigh a cubic meter or more of "empty" space in order to measure the weight/mass-equivalence of the virtual particles contained therein).How can massless energy materialize into a particle with mass and inertia?
But it's speed diminishes with increasing density of the medium through wch it travels.(At what density of matter would the velocity of light become zero?).
Light slows to about 225,000 km (140,000 miles) per second when it goes through water,and about 206,000 km (128,000 miles) per second when it goes through quartz crystal and 124,000 miles per second through glass. A diamond, , will slow light to 125,000 km (78,000 miles) per second--this is less than half the speed through vacuum!).
But photons don't really slow down.rather each hits an atom,gets absorbed and another gets emitted. This process takes different amounts of time depending on the medium,hence the delay.The photon that strikes the window is not the one that emerges on the other side.Is this a complete explanation of the mechanism by wch light slows down when it enters a denser medium?
Light moving through a Bose-Einstein Condensate ( a state of very condensed matter found at near absolute zero)travels at very slow speed. What determines this difference between how much light is slowed?
Lene Hau was able to slow light to 17 metres per second by passing it through a transparent superfluid --Bose-Einstein Condensate--a state of matter that only exists at near absolute zero temperatures.Dr. Hau and her associates at Harvard University have successfully transformed light into matter and back into light (was able to momentarily stop/capture a beam of light)using Bose–Einstein condensates. Details of the experiment are discussed in the February 8, 2007 publication of the journal Nature (see entry in this journal titled "Light and Matter United")
Since most of space is within a few degrees of absolute zero (the temperature at wch Bose-Einstein Condensates occur)it is not outside the realm of possibility that light has traversed such a state of matter in reaching us .Such an occurrence would necessarily have slowed it's speed unpredictably and makes "distance to origin" calculations of questionable accuracy!
This means that light passing through a cloud of dust,gas , plasma,or a Bose-Einstein Condensate (i.e.,non-empty space) would have it's path refracted and/or slowed thereby giving an observor a false position for the emitting object.Can we ever accurately know the exact (versus apparent ) position of light-emitting objects in the night sky?.
The highest velocity encountered in ordinary ballistics, for example, is about 1.6 km/sec (about 1 mi/sec), the highest velocity obtainable by a rocket propelled by ordinary chemicals is a few times that, and the velocity of the earth as it moves around the sun is about 29 km/sec (about 18 mi/sec); .
Thus, for ordinary everyday terrestrial phenomena, the relativistic corrections are of little importance. When velocities are very large, however, as is sometimes the case in astronomical phenomena, relativistic corrections become significant. Similarly, relativity is important in calculating very large distances or very large aggregations of matter.
Energy content of a photon is inversely proportional to its wavelength
Shorter wavelength, more energetic is photon
Longer wavelength, less energetic is photon
Equation for energy content: Ephoton = hc/l
where h = Planck's constant
and c = velocity of light
and l = wavelength
Electromagnetic waves have wavelengths that range from 1 nanometer (10-9 meter) for x-rays (what is the smallest possible wavelenght for a photon?)to 1kilometer (103 meters) for radiowaves. Wavelengths of visible light are in the range of 400 to 700 nanometers (nm).
The relativity of motion:all motion is relative:
No particular object or point in the universe is an absolute frame of reference that is at rest with respect to space.Any object (such as the center of the solar system) is a suitable frame of reference,and the motion of any other object can be referred to or measured relative to that frame.. Thus it is equally correct to say that the train moves past the station ,or that the station moves past the train.Remember that the station is also moving ,due to the rotational motion of the earth on it's axis and it's orbitng the sun.
Einstein stated that the relative motion between any observor and any ray of light is always the same--300,000 km/sec--and thus two observors ,moving relative to one another even at a speed of 160,000 km/sec,each measuring the velocity of the same ray of light ,would both find it moving at 300,000 km/sec.
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At light velocity a spatial dimension is lost (ceases to exist) as space collapses from three dimensions into two (why do width and height remain unaffected?). Since light travels at this velocity it behaves as if there were no space or time.That is, at light speed space and time collapse!
In a similar way, the rate of "time flow" is not constant or absolute but changes with velocity(the speed at wch time flows is relative to the speed of the observor),and at the speed of light time stops(the dimension of time disappears).That is, time does not flow at the same rate/velocity everywhere.The intuitive assumption that clock time is universally invariant must be relinquished.
(What exactly is the nature of time? Is not the flow rate of time identical to a measure of velocity?Do we not speak of the motion or flow(or the rate of propogation ) of time?Otherwise how could we make sense of Einstein's notion that the rate of time flow can slow down/decelerate and speed up/ accelerate?And why does time move in one direction? only).
The speed at wch time moves/travels is relative to the motion of the observer.(time dilation). Does it make sense to speak of the "velocity" of time?
The faster you travel ,the slower time moves,and at light speed time stops moving(stands still).If time stops at the speed of light,then time for a photon stands still!
At the speed of light both space and time collapse to zero. This means rhat velocity defined as space/time(space divided by time)also collapses to zero.
Upon merging with and becoming one with light ,space and time are annihilated(cease to exist)(disappear). From the "frame of referemce " of light, space and time do not exist!
Also under the influence of a gravitational field, time slows down,and the stronger the gravitational field ,the slower time flows.What would be the critical mass /gravitational force reguired to bring time to a stop?(taken to the limit the flow of time would be arrested)
If space and time become distorted then everything we measure with metersticks and clocks-- including the speed of light--will also be distorted.
(But Einstein claimed that no matter how fast you are moving toward or away from a source of light, the speed of that light beam will appear to be the same--a constant 186,282 miles/second.
At singularities when space and time collapse ,the laws of physics breakdown--or at least the concepts and theories wch are the foundation of our understanding break down.Perhaps singularities of infinite density and zero volume do not exist in reality but indicate a limitation in the theories and conceptual frameworks wch we use to describe reality.(such as ,when we travel East on the surface of a sphere we end up in the West).Or perhaps the universe wishes to keep to itself the secrets of its origin and to conceal it's deeper realities!
The faster you go....time slows,space contracts,amd mass increases.
According to the principle of relativity,descriptions of events are relative to the observor/subject,but the laws of nature are invariant--they operate the same for everyone no matter where they are or how they are moving.Thus within a moving frame of reference,measurements of time,lenght or mass (weight) are the same no matter how fast the frame is moving. But to an external observor time gets slower the faster you move, lenght contracts, and masses increase as you approach the speed of light. Thus as a train accelerates to near light speed,time on the train will appear to slow down to an observor not moving with it, and the train will appear to get shorter (length contracts in the direction of a moving object)and heavier(more massive)
The concept of "velocity" requires the separation/uncoupling of "space" and "time": When we measure the relative motion between two objects we are measuring the rate of change in the distance(spatial separation)between them.That is ,space/time!
But how meaningful is the everyday concept of "velocity" wch is defined in terms of time and space as distance/time ,when both these dimensions collapse to zero or are unified ?Does not the coupling or unification of space and time render the concept of velocity meaningless? If the concepts of "space" and "time" are not distinguished and distinct then the concept of "velocity" is rendered meaningless. In fact the phrase "velocity of light " (c = distance/time)becomes meaningless if time and space are not separate! If distance and time in the above simple equation become zero, how can C remain a finite constant? It just doesn't make arithmatic! "C" must also collapse to zero!
Does this mean there is an internal inconsistancy or flaw in the logical structure of the theory of Relativity, or perhaps that our understanding of the theory of Relativity is incomplete--Einstein's claim that the speed of light is absolute-- a fixed never-changing constant(the constancy of the speed of light for all observors at any constant speed)?(The speed of light is not relative to the speed of the observer.If light always travels at one fixed velocity,then distance and time must vary(.v= d/t )Does it expose a shortcoming or limitation in Einstein's theory?Or does it simply mean that the theory of relativity is no more accurate at short distances (quantum dimensions)than Newtonian theory was when applied to macrocosmic events and high velocities?Or does it mean that when we observe anything in the universe outside our own rest frame of reference ,all we can see is a perceptual illusion brought about by the properties of light through wch our information is obtained?But perhaps the beauty of Relativity theory is that it enables us to correct for the illusory nature or distortion of our perception(perceptual distortions)wch occur when we observe events/objects moving at high(near light )velocities.
Einstein said that spatial lenghts and clock rates(time flow) are intimately linked (they are interdependent,continuous and inseparable)and the notions of space and time can be merged into a single concept (just as matter and energy can be merged into a single concept),"spacetime".
According to Newton the force of gravity acts instantaneously;but according to Einstein the force of gravity travels /propogates at the speed of light.
Furthermore according to Einstein,gravity can be explained not as a force that emanates from a mass,but can be described as a warping or distortion of spacetime.(Gravity is not a force?)*
But if these two dimensions are merged/collapsed into One, what happens to the concept of "velocity"? It is glaringly obvious that you cannot unite/merge space and time without changing/destroying the notion/meaning of "velocity" .And yet I have never come across any discussion on the effect of this unification on the fundamental idea of "velocity".When distance and time blur together,what happens to speed/velocity?
The "collapse of space and time" is the same as stating that "subject" and "object" of observation/perception merge into one ,and the duration of transmission between subject and object becomes zero/instantaneous,
* If gravity can be redefined in this way ,can we not also alternatively describe the relative motion of one object in relation to another not in terms of the relative motion of the objects,but rather in terms of the movement (a contraction or expansion) of the space between the objects.
It is very clear from the simple equation for velocity (v=c=d/t),that for the velocity of light (c)to remain constant any expansion of space (increase in distance) as inferred from the observed redshift of light,must be accompanied by a contraction or decrease(slowing down) in time. Thus the apparent spatial expansion of the universe may be caused by and must be accompanied by, the contraction or slowing of time.
Twin paradox: The observation of time flow slowing with speed is another perceptual illusion.
Imagine a twin on a rocket ship that blasts off at a speed near that of light while the other twin remains back on earth.Through a telescope the earth twin sees that his rocket twin has aged more slowly and appears younger than himself.When the rocket twin comes back to earth,the earth twin has aged more;the rocket twin is much younger.
But from the vantage point of the rocket twin as he took off from earth,it appeared as if he were at rest and that the earth moved away from him (at near light speed). thus to himit is the earth twin who has traveled at great speed and became younger,while the rocket twin has aged.So when they are once again standing side by side back on earth, who really is younger and who is older?
Another thought experiment:
Supposing that a beam of light is emitted fom the earth and one were able to hop onto one of it's photons thereby assuming the point of view (frame of reference)of the photon?
Because the speed of one's own uniform/unchanging motion is impossible to detect ,there is a subject-centered bias to regard one's own observational frame of reference as being at rest relative to the object of observation.Hence from the perspective of the photon ,one would feel oneself to be at rest ,and it is the earth wch would be perceived to be receding at the speed of light.(But hang tough for just one moment: didn't Einstein say that no "object" can reach the speed of light--by the way ,how does light itself manage to do so?--, it would have an infinite amount of mass)But if only light can travel at light speed and the earth is now behaving as if it were light, would it not in fact appear to be light?Indeed it would be impossible to distinguish it from any other photon.
(Actually the image of the earth would simply disappear as if the earh ceased to exist becuz light from it would never reach us)
So what does this mean?Is light itself an illusion that emerges at extreme/critical velocity?
The divinity of Light: ...if "God is Light", then "Light is God"
...and the Creator said, "Let there be light!"
But of course the greatest illusion of all is that there is anything that appears to be "non-light"!(that there is anything other than light!) Light is the deity whose command all creation obeys.God is the eternal light wch pervades the universe and is the elemental substance/constituent out of wch the universe is made.
Nothing is more fundamental ,nothing is more elemental than light. Light is the primordial substance out of wch everything in the universe is made.There is no "other" substance! Does it even make sense to ask "What is light made of?" or "What existed before light?"
Little wonder that man came to honour and worship this primal force as "God"...for without it nothing would exist.The logos is the rock,the foundation, of the universe--out of wch incomprehensible potency all things/forms come into being/creation(out of wch all form is fashioned).
The entire universe--in all it's multipicity--is a phantasmagora of Light!
All the complexity and diversity in the universe is brought to us through the magic of light!
The universe owes it's existence to an invisible power.If the One Power (the source of all that exists)that has brought forth the universe in all it's magnificent complexity and diversity is not worthy of reverence and worship,then what might be?
That power created and sustains everything that exists ,and inhabited the universe with life and awareness (living creatures).Surely the power that created everything that exists is worthy of awe, praise ,and even worship!
If this be not the power we call God then what else might God be?!
Without this divine power nothing would exist--not even nothing!
God is the Ultimate Mystery!
How could everything emerge out of a void--out of nothingness (ex nihilo)?!
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<, the unification of matter and energy:mass-energy equivalence:
The classical distinction between the concepts of "matter" and "energy" can no longer be upheld.Yet we continue to treat matter and energy as separate and distinct entities. E=mc2 Mass is energy. Energy and matter are like liguid and solid states of the same "stuff"--just different ways of describing the same thing.Matter and energy are not separate entities--they are one "stuff".They are interchangeable forms of one "stuff".
This "stuff" seems to have dual nature,but more correctly it does not have a dual nature but is capable of being described or conceptually represented in two different ways.It is not a case of one thing being two things but rather one thing(the universe is of one substance) wch is capable of being described in two equally valid alternative ways. Matter is a compressed/condensed form of energy.
Whether we describe a glass as being "half full" or "half empty",we are not describing two distinct and distinguishable phenomena,but rather using two equally valid alternative descriptions/representations of one and the same phenomenon.In one case our focus/emphasis is upon the "fullness" property of the glass;in the second complementary case we draw attention to it's degree of "emptiness".In the same way when we refer to the "stuff" of the universe as energy we are focusing upon it's dynamic,kinetic property. Whereas when we represent the same "stuff" as matter we draw attention to it's stability and solidity.
Light (electromagnetic radiation)is the fundamental ingredient(building block) of the universe.Light assumes material form(in this transformation it acquires mass and inertia) at it's own will and desire.Light is the source of all worlds and holds all worlds within itself.Light is the unchanging eternal essence at the base of the ever-changing universe.There is no "other" substance! But what is the nature of light?What is Light? We know that Light is produced/created when atoms release their stored energy.If all the energy/light contained within a material patricle were released ,there would be nothing left of it. The energy content of matter can be unlocked/released(a small amount of mass can be converted into an enormous amount of energy) and converted into a kinetic/active form;or conversely energy can be captured and held in a comparatively static form wch we call "matter".Matter can be defined as light travelling at zero velocity. It is possible to transform matter into energy and energy into matter. If energy/light was antecedent to matter ,the answer to "wch came first" is definitively "light"! The unification of the wave/particle (wavicle?)dichotomy/duality is the foundation of Quantum Mechanics(quantum theory --deals with the forces acting at subatomic distances and rules the microcosmic world of subatomic/nuclear particles/forces just as Relativity rules the world of the large(macrocosm).When energy goes from it's kinetic/dynamic state as electromagnetic radiation to it's potential form as matter, what is the mechanism by wch this transition or transduction is accomplished? A mass will turn into energy if it travels at the square of the speed of light.But a mass cannot even reach the speed of light...let alone the speed of light squared! For a mass to attain even the speed of light would already require an infinite amount of energy. Paradoxically moving objects acrue/gain mass--as their kinetic energy of motion increases ,so does their mass-equivalence. In addition to the equivalence of energy and matter, and the unification of the concepts of space and time,Einstein postulated the equivalence of acceleration/inertia and gravity. General Relativity unifies the descriptions of gravitation and inertia. A mass defined as the amount of material in a body can be described by the inertial properties of the body or by it's gravitational influence on other bodies. Mass resists acceleration and we call this resistance "inertia".Is "inertia" an emergent property that arises with the creation of a mass? There is no way to distinguish the behaviour of a mass pressed to the floor of an accelerating rocket ship,and that of a mass pulled to the floor of a stationary room in a gravitational field.The two are the same thing."Acceleration" (due to an external force) and "weight" (due to a gravitational field) are identical.The effect of acceleration is the same as the effect of gravity.An upward acceleration in space is equivalent to (indistinguishable from) a downward force due to gravity.The experience of being accelerated through space is indistinguishable from experiencing the effect of gravity.(But is not the "weightless" experience of free -fall in a gravitational field also equivalent to that of floating in a gravity-free (zero gravity)region of space?If one closes one's eyes in free-fall there is no awareness of gravity at all,but a sensation of weightlessness) By this principle of equivalence Einstein was able to link the problem of gravity and extend Relativity to all obsevors--even those who are accelerating. What people standing on the surface of the earth perceive as the "force of gravity"is a result of their undergoing a continuous physical acceleration caused by the mechanical resistance of the surface on wch they are standing. If mass(mass is a quantitaive measure of the amount of matter bundled into a finite space) is measured in units of weight(kilograms) it will vary with gravity,.Clearly the weight of an object (measured in Newtons)will vary according to where in the universe it is measured. Thus an object on the moon will have 1/3 the mass /weight that it has on earth.(Also a spoonful of neutrons weighs a whole lot more than a spoonful of ordinary atoms wch are mostly empty space.)Hence it's energy content (according to e=mc2 )will also vary depending upon the gravitational force it is exposed to.In the absence of gravity, though an object/body may be weightless it is not massless.
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The past is now: We see what existed before us and out of wch we have become.The universe carries it's past into the present,and even into the future.
Looking out into space is also looking back in time.
The farther out into space we look ,the further back in time we see.
The evidence of past events is carried into the present by the messenger of light
We cannot see the universe as it exists now!
This is because it takes time for light (and the information it carries) to travel through space.
(It takes one second for light to traverse 300,000 km)
When we look out into the universe through the instrument of our eyes or telescope,we are looking backward in time.we are looking into the past.The deeper into space that we look, the further back in time we see.
If we could look back into space deep enough (without any instrumental limitations) we could see the start of the universe(Genesis Event/Big Bang) at the beginning of time(zero time). We could observe an event wch occured 14 billion years ago in the past as light energy emitted by that event travels 14 billion light years distance across space to reach us.
But there is a horizon or veil beyond wch we cannot see.This horizon is perhaps not so much a physical obstruction/obscuration such as a wall or a curvature of space out there in the external universe,but it is a perceptual limitation within ourselves.In a sense the past still exists to be observed/seen in the present. In fact because it takes time for light to reach us, all we can ever see of the universe is it's past.The sun that we see now is the sun that existed 8 minutes ago!
The light emitted at any moment in time continues to travel outward from the event and that light carries with it the information and the evidence of the event (although the event itself at it's original locus in space no longer exists). We never actually see present events occuring in the universe in real time--that is, as they occur.However for near events the delay due to the duration of transmission between an event's occurence and our observation of it approaches zero. That is, for everyday purposes there is no temporal separation or delay between the occurence of a near event and our observation of it . Both seem to take place in the present instant of time or instantaneously.
The transmission of information/energy is not instantaneous, but takes time(is limited by the speed of light)Between the point of emission (object event) and the point of reception/observation (subject event) is the "duration of transmission".At extremely small subatomic spatial distances transmission time also approaches zero.If the sun instantaneously ceased to exist,it would take 8 minutes for the sky to darken and for us to become aware of the event's ocurrence.That's how long it takes for energy and information to reach earth from the sun.
Light travels a foot in a nanosecond(a billionth of a second)
We view the past by as many nanoseconds as there are feet separating us from the object we are observing.
Thus we observe a person 20 feet away as they were when they were 20 billonth of a second younger!
The star vega is 25 light years away . So the Vega we see today is Vega as it was in 1984!
To see things as they presently exist would require that there be zero spatial distance separating observer and the observed! ..or that information could traverse space instantaneously.
Thus time ( the duration of transmission of energy/information)is directly proportional to the space separating subject/observer and object/observed. If there was no separation between subject and object(subject and object would be one and indistinguishable) , the transmission of energy between subject and object would be instantaneous (emission and reception would be simultaneous) and time would not exist.This condition is most closely approximated in the quantum realm of subatomic dimensions (when spatial and temporal separations become extremely small/negligible/unmeasureable/unobservable) and at light velocities when both space and time collapse and masses become gravitationally significant..
At extremely small distances (the quantum domain) particles behave as though space and time did not exist,since information transfer and translocation is virtually instantaneous.
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Meta physics ("meta" is Greek for "beyond")
Mind over matter: Idealism vs Empiricism
Theories of physics and cosmology wch reflect our view of the universe have an inherently subjective element. So-called "physical laws of nature" do not describe the objective properties of a physical system,but rather the state and limitations of the observer who probes and interacts with it..How to strip away these subjective aspects of cosmological models to reveal the objective reality? But perhaps if we did so, all that would remain is abstract ,amorphous "white noise' –the sound of raw undifferentiated energy..
Prior to the application of concepts,words,symbols to represent and describe experience as delineated patterns and forms there is only the inchoate energy field of infinite possibilities--pure.formless,raw energy.
Quantum theory does not give an objective picture/representation of the world(object of observation) that is independent of and unconnected to our role as observor/subject.Einstein was bothered by the fact that our observations influence and affect the event/object being observed ,and refused to acknowledge the active and integrally entangled role of the observor in any observation or understanding of the universe.But it is not possible to dismiss or fail to take into account the role of the observor in any attempt to understand the universe.
( According to Heysenberg the very act of observing disturbs/alters the object of observation.). Perhaps Einstein's mistake was in rejecting the inclusion of the observor in descriptions of the quantum world(microcosmic realm)?He believed in a universe/object that exists completely independent of human observation/subject.However the observor does not exist outside the universe he observes.He cannot separate himself from the universe he observes ,and in wch he is embedded.
Physical theories wch attempt to explain observed phenomena are in some ways conceptual riddles.While concepts/ideas/ thoughts do not arise apart from or independent of empirical /sensory experience,neither are they totally based on or derived from observable facts.It seems that the great Truths about the physical world /nature cannot be arrived at by close observation of the external world. Rather theories begin within the mind of the observor and are then tested against observation and experience.In many cases the Truth about Reality is far removed from our commonsense everyday sensory experience.
Nothing is as it appears to our senses...(perception is not reality/seeing is not believing).
Therefore we must always question the correctness of our perceptions and our thoughts.
For example,the apparent east-to-west movement of the sun across the sky is a perceptual illusion caused by the rotational motion of the earth in the opposite direction..The ground we stand on seems stationary(at rest),yet we know that this is only a perceptual illusion(sensory deception) and in actual fact we are in many kinds of motion--the earth whose surface we live upon is rotating about it's axis at 1000 km./hr. and is orbiting around the sun (at 18 miles /second),wch in turn is dragging us along it's own orbit through it's galaxy at the speed of 150 miles per second(It takes 250 million years for the sun to complete one circuit of the galactic hub). And the galaxy itself is in motion relative to other galaxies and galaxy clusters (the Milky Way galaxy is moving towards the Virgil cluster of galaxies at 120 miles per second)).
The apparent east-west movement of the sun across the sky is a perceptual illusion caused by the rotational motion of the earth.
We are blinded by what we know :Thinking outside the box
Our concept-driven minds fit information (raw sensory data) into fixed rigid categories (preconceptions). If we cvould turn that process off momentarily we could see the pattern of dots as they really are (before the sense data are filtered,interpreted, and categorized)and come up with a new synthesis. This would be like seeing the world anew (as a child) before sense data is compared to previous experience and pigeonholed into pre-existing boxes/concepts.We could see things undistorted/unaltered by selection,interpretation and other processing.
Concepts constrain/delimit the way we see,describe and understand the world /universe and our experience.
Conceptual/theoretical frameworks impose order upon empirical experience, and often belie and contradict our sense perception.They become entrenched as rigid unquestionable beliefs. We become imprisoned by our conceptual paradigms wch shape our world view , and we become incapable of "thinking outside the box"(i.e.,outside our rigid entrenched beliefs).Not only is our thinking shaped by such concepts but so is our sensory experience.We constrain the raw sense data we receive into delineated patterns,categories,conceptual forms such as "chair" or "tree"(we use words as straitjackets or boxes to contain/circumscribe our experience--we organize our experience into concepts wch are held in common by agreement throughout our speech community)(in some way these linquistic categories determine our perception and our way of thinking), and even the more abstract concepts of "space" and "time",etc..
We assume that such concepts as "space" and "time" refer to elements of the physical universe,but actually they are abstract mental constructs/ symbols --fabrications of the mind.
"Space" and "time" are not physical entities,but part of the brain's software used for organizing,interpreting,and understanding sensory input.
If the spatiotemporal framework is a conceptual framework and not an inherent part of the structure of the universe ,then when we refer to space and time collapse ,it is only the concepts wch undergo collapse!
This is not to say that ideas/concepts are not useful and powerful forces in their own right capable of molding our thinking and changing our lives.We need only recall that Einstein's famous insight of Mass-energy equivalence was not just an abstract mathematical equation(symbols on paper). Not only did it reveal the fantastic quantities of energy stored within the atom, but it was a recipe/formula for the controlled release and harnessing of nuclear power--enabling the release of the strong interaction forces wch hold the nucleus of the atom together. The application of his ideas catapulted mankind into the era of electronic and nuclear technology--and threatens all life on the planet with extinction.
But the problems of "space" and "time" may have more to do with the nature of the human mind and the inner workings of the human brain than with the external universe.
Perhaps the concepts/ideas of "space" and "time" tell us less about the external world than how our brain makes sense of the world.
"Causality" is yet another concept wch dexcribes how events are related to each other in terms of the temporal (time) order in wch they occur. In some way the "effect" is contained within the "cause" (as the tree is contained within it's seed) and the two are inseparably connected. The two are One!Does the dog wag it's tail, or the tail wag the dog?
Old ideas acquire a kind of inertia,rigidity,solidity and a resistance to change.Established ideas become dogma and resistant to change( difficult to overthrow).Old paradigms and world views(cherished beliefs) are difficult to relinquish(for example , we continue treating matter and energy as separate entities) and we often have to be dragged "kicking and screaming" into a new way of seeing (the universe and ourselves)for fear of being cast adrift from traditional moorings and familiar shores.(Paradigm shifts are resisted by the status quo becuz they subvert the established dogma )
To find the Truth we must first lose the one we have! It took 200 years for someone to revise Newton's formulation of nature's laws.
Yet the resolution of the problems and questions that challenge physics today and the formulation of a theory(conceptual framework)unifying all the forces and laws of nature (and all the dichotomies of the mind)is likely to be theoretical/conceptual rather than experimental/observational (black holes were mathematical concepts before they were ever observed in the universe--as indeed was the entire theory of Relativity).
That is, someone is going to have to come up with an innovative theory/idea/conceptual framework (such as a quantum formulation of the nature of gravity;that is ,describing gravity ,like the other three forces of nature,as an exchange of force-bearing quanta)that meets the test of empirical methods(experience).
Einstein's insights and ideas did in a sense change the universe by redefined our perception and understanding of the universe and ourselves.
The way we perceive/see ourselves and our universe must always be open to modification,because our present perception is undoubtedly incomplete and therefore inaccurate and incorrect.It would be beyond arrogance and ignorance to think that what we presently know and understand about the universe is all that there is to know.Future generations will look back upon our time (as we do upon those who came before us) and the current status of our understanding as one of ignorance and savagery.It is much more reasonable to regard what we presently know as primative,superficial,and infinitesimal compared with all that there is to be known/discovered.What we presently know of the universe is not even the tip of the iceberg!Nature will always remain rich in mysteries! We can be assured that wonderful surprises lie ahead!The quest to understand is an endless progression.There will always be more to learn,more to know ,more to discover.Who knows what realms and riddles will be the challenges of tomorrow?Who knows what instruments will be constructed to tear down the veils wch obstruct /limit our vision/perception? Can our vision ever encompass the entire universe,or will there always be a horizon/limit to our vision beyond wch we cannot see and cannot know.The universe wiil always be more wondrous/stranger than we can imagine! We will always continue to explore and discover.There can be no ultimate theory--a perfect theory that explains everything,and is not susceptible to modification in the light of new information/knowledge.The models and conceptual frameworks by wch we represent, describe,and understand the universe will never be perfect but only "good enough" approximations.Theories are formulated/conceived by people who love order and beauty.But the universe is greater and more mysterious than theorists are able to dream of.
We can only hope that mankind can remain united in one common purpose so that our exploration and discovery of the universe can continue---so that grand adventure of discovering the Cosmos will never end.
Prior to the application of concepts,words,symbols,numbers to represent experience as delineated patterns and forms there is only the inchoate energy field of infinite possibilities--pure.formless,raw energy.
We must distinquish between a concept or symbol in our minds (a construct of the mind) and that wch the concept refers to or represents.
The yin-yang (paired opposites) quality of the universe (it is as if the entire universe were programmed with binary code)may have less to do with the nature of the universe than with the nature of language , the human mind, and the triune nature of the brain.Perhaps the apparently dualistic nature of the universe has more to do with the bilateral symmetry of our bodies,and the fact that our brain is divided into two mirror-image hemispheres.(see "the bicameral mind")
All apparent distinctions/differences are creations of the mind.The whole cannot be divided.Does this mean that in the first and final analysis all differences are illusory!?
And yet without conceptual/symbolic differentiations into dichotomies(e.g. materiality/immateriality) and discontinuities(division of the "one" into twos) no representation/description/quantification can be made--and no problem can be formulated ,let alone solved.We remain lost(or perhaps found,since it is easy to become lost in the conceptual dualities of the mind) in a maze of infinite possibilities.Perhaps we should seek to discover how concepts are formed/evolve (linguistics) and the laws by wch they are related.How are our concepts related to the actual world they attempt to represent?Perhaps therein lies the key to our understanding of the phenomena of nature(the phenomenal world).
The observor filters ,organizes,,interprets and imposes/gives order,pattern,form,meaning,and explanation upon the inchoate energy and information(sense data) he observes/senses.Thus the very process of observation/perception has a subjective element that cannot be avoided or eliminated--the way we look at things changes the thinks we look at.
It is only , in that mystical state of "Unity consciousness" (Oneness) when the subject and object of observation merge into One that we escape the bounds of time and space awareness , and experience a timeless state(time stands still).
In other words it is the subject/object(self/not-self) duality wch generate relativity and all relativistic phenomena.And duality is a product of the human mind . Duality and discontinuity does not reflect the true nature of the universe wch is One --indivisible (What cannot be divided?)and continuous! (All duality is illusion. All apparent distinctions/differences are creations of the mind.All apparent contradictions are complementaries and reconciled in the awarenessss of Oneness)
Einstein intuitively sensed (what is the nature of creative imagination?)the fundamental wholeness/unity of the universe ,and driven by this ideal of unity(principle of unification) he sought (quest for unification)the underlying unity of all phenomena ,and to bring together (unify) entities/concepts that had hitherto been separated in the human mind (thereby exposing the illusory nature of these dichotomies). This "first assumption" or conviction (a result of intuition rather than reason or observation) led him to his greatest insights into the fabric of the universe and the nature of reality.
He was able to unite the concepts of space and time ,matter and energy, wch had previously been kept apart.He sought to unify the fundamental laws and forces of nature (unified field theory) into a single comprehensive(all-inclusive) and coherent conceptual/theoretical framework wch would apply equally to the microcosmic/quantum and the macrocosmic/cosmological realms/domains.
He also sensed that all the forces (how many more will the future reveal?If all the matter of the universe was once crammed into a single point,there must be forces we yet have no awareness of)of nature must be equivalent and transformable one into another,but was not able to formulate the precise mathematical relationship betwen them.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< How Big is the Universe?
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2005 14:08:59 -0800 (PST)
From: "bill dality" < namtoo@yahoo.com Subject: diameter of the universe = 2.66 x 10^23 kilometers http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/question.php?number=151 We can't know how big the universe is because even with our most sensitive instruments, we can't see all of it. But we can make some inferences and some theoretical calculations: If the universe began 14 billion years ago, then the entire universe is 28 billion light years in diameter.That's the outer limit of the light/energy wavefront that emerged out of the Big Bang Every explosion has a wavefront,and the Big Bang was the Mother (and Father)of all explosions!--an incredibly powerful burst of energy (energy,radiation,light)! (This was before matter existed.Matter formed later by the condensation of energy.) It is assumed that the frontal blast wave (wavefront)forms the boundary/edge between space and nothingness.
<------d=14 billion light years*-----> 0 <------d=14 billion light years----- present boundary of the universe represented as the surface of a sphere Origin t=0 (the beginning of time and space)
The expansion velocity of the outer boundary is assumed to be the speed of light (This assumes that the expansion rate is limited to (cannot exceed ) the speed of light).Therefore the maximal speed of the outwardly propogated wave front is equal to the speed of light.
If space is expanding and the rate/speed of expansion is increasing,eventually the speed of expansion will reach the speed of light.
*One light year is the distance/space traversed by light in a year of time(or about,
9.5 trillion(9.46 × 10^12) kilometers.)
radius= 14 x 9.5 x 10^21 km = 1.33 x 10^23 km
diameter = 2 x radius =2.66 x 10^23 km
Knowing the radius of a sphere (and taking the universe to have the shape of a sphere)we can calculate the volume of the sphere : 4/3*Ï€*radius3
V = 4/3*¶*r3
A "perceptual horizon" arises when an object is moving away or receding from an observor at the same(or greater)velocity as light emitted from that object is able to move toward the observor.
Light from the emitting object can never reach the observor ,and therefore the object is unobservable/undetectable.
We are blinded from seeing anything before/beyond the Big Bang.Before this , neither time nor space nor energy existed. They were created with the Big Bang.During the first seconds after the Big Bang the forces of gravity did not exist --or at least there was nothing for them to act upon.These forces are secondary and like space and time,emergent phenomena.
If nothing escapes a Black Hole ,how is it possible for a Big Bang (wch contains not only the sum total of all Black holes but the entire mass of the universe)to occur? a mechanism for the Big Bang may perhaps be seen in the explosive burst of a supernova event.Under the extreme pressures of contraction/compression of energy such as are experienced during gravitational collapse(formation of a neutron star) internal forces become so immense that expansion occurs with explosive power.the self-attraction of matter(gravitational force) had to be overcome in the Big Bang by a greater self-repulsive or anti-gravitational force (outward pressure of hot gas etc.?)wch set in motion the expansion of the universe,and is even now accelerating this expansion. What is the nature of this force?
But as the expansion velocity of the universe approaches the speed of light ,the actual expansion would be counteracted/negated/nullified by the spatial contraction predicted by Lorenz! Formerly it was thought that the attractive force of gravity would slow down the expansion of the universe.Much like the earth's falling toward the sun is counterbalanced by an equal counteracting force maintaining a stable orbit.
Remember according to Einstein, acceleration and gravity are the same thing.
Forgot to factor in the fact that space has been expanding since it's beginning.There may not be any limit to the speed at wch space expands. Einstein only placed a limit on the velocity at wch an object can travel within space.
But if space itself is expanding at greater than light speed , then all distances measured within space are being stretched,lenghtened. This appears to contradict the Fitzgerald-Lorenz principle that distance contracts when measured in the direction of motion as an object accelerates towards the speed of light
The fabric of space is stretching;i.e.,space is expanding,and the rate of expansion is increasing.
Space not only deforms/curves in response to gravity but it also contracts and stretches.
What causes this stretching?
If space and time did not exist before the Big Bang ,what did/is space expanding into? Nothingness?
The preceeding calculations were based on a spherical model of the universe (a universe expanding outward equally from a central point of origin). Such a model is attractive for it's simplicity but may be also simplistic.If the universe is spherical in shape and has an outer boundary,what is on the other side of that boundary?!
Light reaching us from the most distant galaxies that we can see to date originated from those objects 12 billion years ago, at a time when the universe was only
2 billion years old and only about one tenth it's present size! And originally the universe was only the size of a point!!
P.Z.Actually experiencing the universe through the senses and the brain of a human being has been a wonderful experience.It has been a lot to take in!
Perhaps the universe's purpose in giving us birth/life and awareness was so it could know through us the magnificence of it's glory!>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2005 16:33:41 -0500 (EST)
From: "tomas "
Subject: Re: subject/object duality generates relativity
To: "bill dality"
The Beyond
"There are portions of heaven too great for the eye of man". -- William Blake
"True religiosity constitutes a knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate" --albert einstein
The quantum domain is the realm of the super-natural
--J.C Bokker
Perhaps it is the same as when you are standing on the shore looking out over the ocean. At some point a ship disappears out of sight over the horizon. But actually there is no horizon. It is just a perceptual illusion or a perceptual limitation.
The ship is still there (it hasn't ceased to exist),but it has gone beyond our capacity to see ...around the curvature of the earth's surface.
From a different observational frame of reference(point of view) such as from a satellite orbiting above the earth at a much greater velocity than the ship,the ship would appear to be moving backwards.
But this again is a perceptual illusion caused by the rotation of the earth about it's axis(just as it seems/appears relative to an observor on the earth's surface that the sun rises each morning in the east and sets each evening in the west,whereas in fact the sun does no such thing)(the illusion of the sun's movement across the day sky is due to the earth's rotation--i.e.,the perceived motion actually belongs to the earth's spin( or is due to the spinning earth.),.( But neither is the sun motionless--it is orbiting around the center of the galaxy at an astounding velocity of 200 km/second--a motion wch we are usually oblivious to!If you look skyward toward the south/southeast, you'll be facing in the direction of the center of the galaxy.
Andromeda ,our nearest neighbor galaxy has a radial velocity of about 300 km/sec )
and the self/subject-centered bias to regard one's own observational frame of reference as being at rest relative to the object of observation.The speed of one's own uniform/unchanging motion is impossible to detect except in relation to/relative to (the relativity of motion) another frame of reference.When we jump off a building or out of a plane, do we fall/accelerate toward the earth ,or does the earth accelerate/come up to meet us? Anyone who has done some long-distance driving has experienced the sensation of the ribbon of highway coming continuously toward one,while we ourselves in our vehicle seem stationary.An object "accelerates" relative to (in relation to) a stationary frame of reference.What we define as the stationary frame of reference is a matter of choice and personal preference rather than objective fact:for example;is the photon speeding away from the earth or is the earth speeding away from the photon (at light speed)?Or perhaps they are both stationary and it is the space (a third observational frame-of-reference)between them that is expanding at light speed?
If you whirl around yourelf the world/universe seems to be whirling round you. If you stand still,everything seems to be motionless. It is an illusion produced by the senses and the brain.
What would it be like to see the universe through the eyes of God,instead of the eyes of a grasshopper or earth-bound human?
P.Z. Pizza and cold weather don't make you thoughtful ;they just makes you numb!
Watch out for light-headedness at high altitudes.
Life-sustaining breathable air gets scarce up there!
There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.
---Albert Einstein
---
These two things,the spiritual and the material,though we call them by different names,in their origin are one and the same. This sameness is a mystery--the mystery of mysteries. It is the gate of all spirituality.
Why do you attribute divinity to light?
ReplyDeleteBecuz its so perfect,its so elemental(the origin of everything that existd).... and without it nothing would exist!
Light is the smallest particle(and therefore the most basic building block) of the universe!
Delete
ReplyDeleteAt it's deepest level, Reality is unobservable and inaccessible to our senses and even to our "highest resolution" sensing instruments.
The visible material world wch is accessible to our senses is supported by an invisible immaterial world that is inaccessible to or senses. (see the Quantum World)
According to empiricism , the only knowable reality is that wch can be accessed through the senses.
Since only material objects are accessible to the senses ,then only matter is real.
Is there an alternative means of knowing (acquiring accurate and reliable knowledge ) wch is not mediated through the senses?
Perhaps our senses can be honed to acquire knowledge of levels of reality that were not previously accessible?
Certainly we can develope sensing instruments of increasing resolution wch will reveal previously concealed/iinvisible aspects of reality.
Our idea and vision of Reality will continuosly change/expand as we expand our knowledge and gain access to what is presently
Beyond our senses and our sensing instruments.
"Reality is merely an illusion..albeit a very persistent one."
Delete--Albert Einstein
Common sense?
DeletePerceptual illusions are neverthless very pursuasive. We cannot deny the evidence of our senses!
However the information gathered through our limited senses does not encompass the whole of reality...and is only partial/limited.
That is why we create instruments to access information that is not accessible to our senses.
But we must nevertheless acknowledge that even these instruments are limited in the information they can access/gatber.
Two men undertake to carry a table along a railroad track.
DeleteThe man in front points into the distance and says : "When we get to the point where those two lines meet we'll stop to rest"
They agree and proceed to carry yhe table down the rail road. After a time the man at the rear suddenly drops his end of the table.
The man at the front turns around and says, "What happened? Why did you drop your end of the table?"
The man at the rear replies:"I happened to look back and saw that we had already past the point where we had agreed to stop for rest!"
Another reason to reverence light:
ReplyDeleteAlmost everything we know of the greater universe we have learned by decoding the information contained in light.
According to this, Relativity Theory does not preclude space itself from expanding faster than the speed of light:
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/myjaVI7_6Is