PART X – X-RAYS AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO THE RIDDLE OF MATTER
Chapter 51: Interference Phenomena – Max von Laue (1879 – 1960) Walter Friedrich (1883 – 1968) Paul Knipping (1883 – 1935) Interference phenomena for X-Rays. Ingenious idea of using the atoms forming the lattice structure of a crystal as a diffraction grating for X-rays of extremely short wavelength. From X-ray diffraction pattern, one can not only calculate the wavelength of the X-rays but also find out a great deal about the structure of the crystal.
Chapter 52: Bragg’s Law – William Henry Bragg (1862 – 1942) William Lawrence Bragg (1890 – 1971) The Reflection of X-Rays by Crystals. This research showed (1) that the X-ray emission spectrum of an element is characteristic of that element, and (2) that X-rays can be used as a powerful and precise means of crystal analysis.
Chapter 53: Atomic Number – Antonius van der Broek (1870 – 1926) The Number of Possible Elements and Mendeleev’s “Cubic” Periodic System. The number of the place each element occupies in the periodic table is proportional to the square root of the number of scattered -particles.
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POSTULATE: The short wavelength of X-rays provides greater insight into the structure of atoms.
I started looking into Sadhguru only recently, since the end of August 2020. I have been researching on the interface between physics and metaphysics and I find Sadhguru’s responses in this area most insightful. Mostly I am impressed by the clarity of his responses to topics that range from common to esoteric. I am, therefore, studying him in depth.
At first I looked him up on Wikipedia. Then I read the book Sadhguru More than a Life (2010, 242 pages) by Arundhathi Subramaniam. This is a very well-written and informative book. Here is quick time-line that may be corrected and expanded upon as I get feedback.
1957 – (September ) Born in Mysore in a Telugu speaking family 1970 – Took Yoga Lessons 1978 – Bachelor’s degree in English, Irreverent attitude to school education, took to business 1982 – ’Spiritual experience’ (23 Sept), Age 25, then travelled extensively for a year 1983 – Yoga Teacher, taught his first yoga class 1984 – SSY teacher training under Guruji Rishi Prabhakar in Gommatagiiri near Mysore 1984 – Married to Vijji 1985 – Started a center under the direction of Guruji Rishi Prabhakar in Hyderabad 1987 – Planned to start his own center in Coimbatore. 1989 – He conducted his first class in Coimbatore. 1990 – (March) Birth of daughter, Radhe 1991 – (May) Conducted a silence programme called Samyama for the first time 1992 – Incorporated Isha Foundation 1994 – Set up Isha Yoga Center and started Yoga programs 1994 – (August) Transformed from Jaggi into Sadhguru 1996 – Vijji resigned from her job in Bangalore and moved to Coimbatore. 1996 – (June) Sadhguru initiated Vijji and Bharathi into a process of intense practice 1996 – (June) Sadhguru and Vijji, along with their daughter, visited Swami Nirmalananda. 1996 – Course for the Indian Hockey Team 1996 – (Nov) the edifice of the lingam arrived in the ashram 1996 – (Dec) Sadhguru took Vijji to visit Swami Nirmalananda. 1996 – (Dec) Sadhguru took Vijji and Bharathi on a tour to places of past life. 1996 – Dhyanalinga Yogic Temple construction started 1997 – (Jan 23) Wife Vijji passed away in Mahasamadhi 1997 – Started conducting classes in USA 1998 – Dhyanalinga constructed 1998 – Conducting classes in Tamil Nadu prisons 1999 – (June 23) Dhyanalinga consecration completed 2000 – Addressed United Nation’s Millennium World Peace Summit 2007 – Spoke at World Economic Forum for the first time 2010 – Addressed British parliament’s House of Lords 2012 – Addressed MIT-India Conference 2012 – Addressed International Institute for Management Development, Switzerland 2015 – 21 ft statue of Adiyogi unveiled at Isha Foundation in Tennessee, USA 2017 – 112 ft bust of Adiyogi inaugurated at Isha Foundation in Coimbatore, India 2017 – Padma Vibhushan, India’s second highest civilian award
So far my understanding of Sadhguru is as follows:
(1) From his childhood Sadhguru has never been religious. He was not even spiritual prior to having, at age 25, the mind-blowing experience where he could not tell the difference between his self and his surroundings.
(2) Prior to that point his modus operandi had simply been to give his full laser-sharp attention to things that interested him. He was quick in understanding the broad aspects of things and then he focused on details that didn’t make sense to him until he understood them.
(3) He was not interested in schooling. He just made sure that he had passing grades to move to the next class. He was interested in Yoga from age 12 but not from any spiritual perspective. Yoga simply helped him exercise his body and attention.
(4) He was fortunate to grow up in an environment where the food was nutritious and wholesome, the family was stable and caring, and he was allowed to be himself.
(5) His later spiritual approach is holistic in the sense that it focuses on practice of attention and not on thinking. This attention is to be put on both physical and mental health. It focuses on the step by step understanding of what brings about physical and mental health, and its practice.
(6) The major difference between Sadhguru’s ‘spiritual’ approach and Scientology is that Sadhguru’s entire emphasis is on attentive observation and not on messing around with one’s past memories and thoughts.
(7) In my opinion, Sadhguru’s approach may be summarized as follows: Start as broad as possible in your observation of life and situations. Grasp the details without missing anything. Practice on being “your” best in whatever you do.
I find that my practice of SUBJECT CLEARING is in tune with Sadhguru’s approach.
Chapter 43: Strange Results from -Particle Scattering–Hans Geiger (1882 – 1945) Ernest Marsden (1889 – 1970) On a Diffuse Reflection of the Alpha-Particles. Deflections occurred that were too big to be consistent with Thomson model of atom.
Chapter 44: The Nuclear Atom –Ernest Rutherford (1871 – 1937) The Scattering of Alpha and Beta Particles by Matter and the Structure of the Atom. The large deviations observed experimentally must have been caused by single direct collisions. The alpha particle approached as much as 3 x 10-10 cm close to a point of enormous force in the atom.
Chapter 45: Atomic Structure–Niels Bohr (1885 – 1962) On the Constitution of Atoms and Molecules. Planck’s discovery of the quantum of action and Einstein’s concept of the photon could be combined with Rutherford’s discovery of how particles are scattered by atomic nuclei to derive a self-consistent planetary atomic model.
Chapter 46: The Quantum Theory is Tested–James Franck (1882 – 1964) Gustav Hertz (1887 – 1975) Collisions between Electrons and Mercury Vapor Molecules and the Ionization Potential of Such Molecules. An atom can take on energy from collisions only in discrete amounts.
Chapter 47: The discovery of Isotopes–Frederick Soddy (1877 – 1956) The Radio-Elements and the Periodic Law. The radioactive transformations produced atoms of the same chemical species but of different weights.
Chapter 48: The Positive Rays–J. J. Thomson (1856 – 1940) Rays of Positive Electricity. There are many different kinds of particles in the positive rays. Development of a method to obtain a mass spectrum.
Chapter 49: Transmutation of an Element–Ernest Rutherford (1871 – 1937) Collision of Alpha Particles with Light Atoms.Nuclei of atoms could be disrupted and changed into other nuclei.
Chapter 50: The Diversity of Atoms–Francis William Aston (1877 – 1945) Positive Rays and Isotopes. Development of mass spectrometers and the discovery of isotopes at the lighter end of the periodic table.
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POSTULATES
The size of the atom is of the order of 10-8 cm.
The size of the nucleus is of the order of 10-10 cm.
The mass of the atom is concentrated in the “point” nucleus at the center.
The volume of the atom is made up of electrons.
Electrons are in a dynamic equilibrium in a plane around the nucleus.
The nucleus of the atom is positively charged, while the electrons are negatively charged.
The total negative charge of the electrons is equal to the positive charge of the nucleus.
Electrons are in a state of perpetual motion within the atom (like the atoms are in a fluid).
It takes energy to push the electron closer to the nucleus.
A chemical element can have different atomic weights.
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ASSUMPTIONS
The bound electron within the atom is same as the individual unbound electron outside the atom.
Mass of the electron is negligibly small in comparison with that of the nucleus.
The velocity of the electron is small compared to that of light.
Electron, settled in a circular, stationary orbit around the nucleus, can be treated by ordinary mechanics.
Passing of the systems between different stationary states cannot be treated by ordinary mechanics, but by emission of a homogenous radiation, per Planck’s theory.
During the binding of the electron a homogenous radiation is emitted (equal to half the frequency of revolution of the electron in its final orbit).
Chapter 41: The Discovery of Cosmic Rays – Viktor F. Hess (1883 – 1964) Penetrating Radiation in Seven free Balloon Flights. When these very energetic particles strike the earth’s atmosphere, they give rise to vast showers of other atomic and subatomic particles.
Chapter 42: The Cloud Chamber – Charles Thomson Rees Wilson (1869 – 1959) On an Expansion Apparatus for Making Visible the Tracks of Ionizing Particles in Gases and Some Results Obtained by Its Use. The marvel of seeing the path of charged atomic particles and of atomic collisions was realized through the trails of fog-like droplets that the particles left in their wakes.
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POSTULATE: Sub-atomic particles are essentially rays and not waves.
Chapter 37: The “Thomson” Atom – J. J. Thomson (1856 – 1940) An Arrangement of Corpuscles in the Atom. The electrons are assumed to be corpuscles because their charges are quantized.
Chapter 38: The Determination of Avogadro’s Number – Jean Perrin (1870 – 1942) Brownian Motion and Molecular Reality. It suggests that every fluid is formed of elastic molecules, animated by a perpetual motion.
Chapter 39: The Alpha-Particle and Helium – Ernest Rutherford (1871 – 1937) The Nature of the Alpha-Particle from Radioactive Substance. Direct proof that alpha-particles are indeed ionized helium atoms
Chapter 40: Atoms of Electricity – Robert Andrews Millikan (1868 – 1953) The Atomic Nature of Electricity. Direct experimental measurements to show the constancy of charge and its value.
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POSTULATE: Unlike the material particles, the sub-atomic particles are fuzzy.
