Category Archives: Science

Inertial Frame of Reference

February 2, 2014 – 8:39 AM
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Wikipedia describes the Inertial Frame of Reference as follows:

In physics, an inertial frame of reference… is a frame of reference that describes time and space homogeneously, isotropically, and in a time-independent manner.

All inertial frames are in a state of constant, rectilinear motion with respect to one another; an accelerometer moving with any of them would detect zero acceleration. Measurements in one inertial frame can be converted to measurements in another by a simple transformation (the Galilean transformation in Newtonian physics and the Lorentz transformation in special relativity). In general relativity, in any region small enough for the curvature of spacetime to be negligible, one can find a set of inertial frames that approximately describe that region.

Underlying this frame of reference is the concept of Inertia.

Inertia is the resistance of any physical object to any change in its state of motion (including a change in direction). In other words, it is the tendency of objects to keep moving in a straight line at constant linear velocity. The principle of inertia is one of the fundamental principles of classical physics that are used to describe the motion of objects and how they are affected by applied forces. Inertia comes from the Latin word, iners, meaning idle, sluggish. Inertia is one of the primary manifestations of mass, which is a quantitative property of physical systems…

In common usage the term “inertia” may refer to an object’s “amount of resistance to change in velocity” (which is quantified by its mass), or sometimes to its momentum, depending on the context. The term “inertia” is more properly understood as shorthand for “the principle of inertia” as described by Newton in his First Law of Motion: that an object not subject to any net external force moves at a constant velocity. Thus, an object will continue moving at its current velocity until some force causes its speed or direction to change.

On the surface of the Earth inertia is often masked by the effects of friction and air resistance, both of which tend to decrease the speed of moving objects (commonly to the point of rest), and gravity. This misled classical theorists such as Aristotle, who believed that objects would move only as long as force was applied to them.

Newton called inertia “innate force of matter,” and “power of resisting.” Einstein’s concept of inertia remained unchanged from Newton’s original meaning. But Einstein redefined gravity in terms of a new concept of “curvature” of space-time, instead of the more traditional system of forces understood by Newton.

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Inertia plays a key role in the KHTK model of Cosmology, as described below:

  1. The resonance of some primeval field appears as this universe.

  2. The undisturbed primeval field defines the theoretical ground state of zero for this universe.

  3. The disturbance of this primeval field produces motion.

  4. The keys aspects of motion are space, time and inertia.

    We seem to see motion occurring in space and time. However, that space and time obtains its characteristics from the ‘disturbance level’ of motion.

  5. The ‘disturbance levels’ of motion may be defined by plotting their frequency on a logarithmic scale.

    The frequency of Disturbance Level 1 (DL1) may be defined arbitrarily as ‘1’. The subsequent Disturbance Levels are then defined by doubling of this frequency (2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and so on). The Disturbance Level ‘n’ shall have a frequency of 2n-1.

    The electromagnetic waves may be defined on this Disturbance Scale per their frequency. The radio waves shall appear around DL28 (Disturbance level of 28), the visible light around DL50, and the gamma rays around DL66.

  6. Each disturbance level shall have its own spacetime and inertial characteristics.

    The motions at DL28, DL50 and DL66 shall be different from each other in their fundamental characteristics. Einstein postulated ‘c’ (speed of visible light) as the fundamental characteristic of motion that is universally constant.

    However, this model predicts the radio waves to have a speed greater than ‘c’, and the gamma rays to have a speed lower than ‘c’.

  7. The higher is the disturbance level the greater is the inertia.

    Momentum provides an index of inertia.  Inertia expresses itself in terms of discreteness. Photons may not have mass but they have momentum and inertia. At much higher disturbance levels inertia seems to manifest itself as mass.

  8. The universe is made of multi-layered spacetime and inertial frames of reference.

    Let’s suppose the disturbance level of a solid object is around DL100. Its fundamental characteristics of motion shall be very different from that of visible light at DL50. Because these two inertial frames of reference are so different, we cannot reasonably compare the speed of light with the speed of solid matter.

  9. The inertial frames of reference are a function of disturbance levels as described in this KHTK model.

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By vinaire | Comments (60)

Quantum versus Classical Reality

January 26, 2014 – 8:59 AM
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We assume an electron to be like a Ping-Pong ball. We then apply the Heisenberg’s principle of uncertainty to its location around the nucleus of an atom. This is Quantum reality.

Why can’t we assume an electron be like a piece of wave that extends in space like a snake. Then we can do away with the Heisenberg’s principle of uncertainty. That would fit more with the classical reality.

Einstein was opposed to Quantum reality. He would have preferred this snake analogy for an electron. The following ia a quote from the excellent book EINSTEIN – HIS LIFE AND UNIVERSE by Walter Isaacson, Chapter 20, Quantum Entanglement.

Einstein’s fundamental dispute with the Bohr-Heisenberg crowd over quantum mechanics was not merely about whether God rolled dice or left cats half dead. Nor was it just about causality, locality, or even completeness. It was about reality. Does it exist? More specifically, is it meaningful to speak about a physical reality that exists independently of whatever observations we can make? “At the heart of the problem,” Einstein said of quantum mechanics, “is not so much the question of causality but the question of realism.”

Bohr and his adherents scoffed at the idea that it made sense to talk about what might be beneath the veil of what we can observe. All we can know are the results of our experiments and observations, not some ultimate reality that lies beyond our perceptions.

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But Einstein seems to be protesting against what he himself contributed to with his idea of photon and his Theory of Relativity.

It seems that quanta of light (photons) shall be packets made up of finite number of wavelengths. In that case, a photon will also be shaped more like a snake than a Ping-Pong ball. If the number of wavelengths per photon is constant then low-energy ELF photons shall be like very long snakes, and high-energy gamma photons shall be like very short snakes. We may then call very long snakes as waves, and very short snakes as particles.

Furthermore, Einstein denied any need of a medium for light. He denied the Newtonian absoluteness of space and time but replaced it by the absoluteness of the speed of light, thus upsetting the reality of classical physics. But Einstein seemed to backtrack from his mathematical reality later in life.

The above quote continues as follows.

Einstein had displayed some elements of this attitude in 1905, back when he was reading Hume and Mach while rejecting such unobservable concepts as absolute space and time. “At that time my mode of thinking was much nearer positivism than it was later on,” he recalled. “My departure from positivism came only when I worked out the general theory of relativity.”

From then on, Einstein increasingly adhered to the belief that there is an objective classical reality. And though there are some consistencies between his early and late thinking, he admitted freely that, at least in his own mind, his realism represented a move away from his earlier Machian empiricism. “This credo,” he said, “does not correspond with the point of view I held in younger years.” As the historian Gerald Holton notes, “For a scientist to change his philosophical beliefs so fundamentally is rare.”

Einstein’s concept of realism had three main components:

1. His belief that a reality exists independent of our ability to observe it. As he put it in his autobiographical notes: “Physics is an attempt conceptually to grasp reality as it is thought independently of its being observed. In this sense one speaks of ‘physical reality.’ ”

2. His belief in separability and locality. In other words, objects are located at certain points in spacetime, and this separability is part of what defines them. “If one abandons the assumption that what exists in different parts of space has its own independent, real existence, then I simply cannot see what it is that physics is supposed to describe,” he declared to Max Born.

3. His belief in strict causality, which implies certainty and classical determinism. The idea that probabilities play a role in reality was as disconcerting to him as the idea that our observations might play a role in collapsing those probabilities. “Some physicists, among them  myself, cannot believe,” he said, “that we must accept the view that events in nature are analogous to a game of chance.”   

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What happened in 1905 was that mathematical reality replaced physical reality starting with the Theory of Relativity. This has continued with Quantum Mechanics even to this date. The article The Philosophy of Cosmology attempts to reverse this trend and reestablish the realism of physical reality.

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By vinaire | Comments (65)

The Philosophy of Cosmology

January 22, 2014 – 10:52 PM
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Reference: Disturbance Theory

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Recently I discovered that my thought process, unbeknownst to me, has wandered into the realms of the philosophy of cosmology – a new field that was established within the philosophy of Physics just recently in December 2011.

This article from The Atlantic What Happened Before the Big Bang? The New Philosophy of Cosmology provides a nice introduction to this latest venture in philosophy.

“This is a branch of the philosophy of physics, in which you happen to be treating the entire universe –which is one huge physical object– as a subject of study, rather than say studying just electrons by themselves, or studying only the solar system. There are particular physical problems, problems of explanation, which arise in thinking about the entire universe, which don’t arise when you consider only its smaller systems. I see this as trying to articulate what those particular problems are, and what the avenues are for solving them, rather than trying to translate from physics into some other language. This is all within the purview of a scientific attempt to come to grips with the physical world.”

This philosophy has started with a bang by questioning the Big Bang theory. “The state of Big Bang,” it says, “has to be a highly ordered state of low entropy. How can the universe begin in this highly improbable state?”

Current scientific observations show that the universe is expanding. The idea of “Big Bang” came from extrapolating this expansion of universe backwards in time using general relativity. This yields an infinite density and temperature at a finite time in the past. However, this poses the inconsistency identified above in the philosophy of cosmology.

There can be many other scenarios that may be postulated to explain the present condition of an expanding universe. One such scenario could be a resonating field that may start out in a very subtle state. But all such scenarios may contradict the postulates underlying general relativity and later developments.

Here is an interesting criticism of Quantum Mechanics forwarded by this new philosophy.

“Physics has definitely avoided what were traditionally considered to be foundational physical questions, but the reason for that goes back to the foundation of quantum mechanics. The problem is that quantum mechanics was developed as a mathematical tool. Physicists understood how to use it as a tool for making predictions, but without an agreement or understanding about what it was telling us about the physical world. And that’s very clear when you look at any of the foundational discussions. This is what Einstein was upset about; this is what Schrodinger was upset about. Quantum mechanics was merely a calculational technique that was not well understood as a physical theory. Bohr and Heisenberg tried to argue that asking for a clear physical theory was something you shouldn’t do anymore. That it was something outmoded. And they were wrong, Bohr and Heisenberg were wrong about that. But the effect of it was to shut down perfectly legitimate physics questions within the physics community for about half a century. And now we’re coming out of that, fortunately.”

The philosophy of cosmology allows us to look at the big picture outside the constraints of general relativity or quantum mechanics. This leads to interesting conjectures such as the following:

  1. Spacetime is generated from the resonance of some primeval field.

  2. The primeval field may be viewed as some theoretical ground state.

    The space and time associated with this primeval field may be postulated to be infinite. At this level there is no disturbance or frequency. This is marked by the parameter of “Disturbance = 0.”

  3. This model visualizes multi-layered spacetime produced from disturbances of the primeval field described above.

    The first level of spacetime may be identified as “Disturbance = 1″. The nth level of spacetime may be identified as “Disturbance = n″. As disturbance increases the spread of spacetime becomes finite and lesser. There are frequencies and physical constant associated with spacetime. The frequency increaseses with disturbance. Physical constants change too in some harmonic relationship.

  4. Increasing disturbance generates increasing inertia (resistance to motion) in spacetime.

    If the electromagnetic radiation is identified with these disturbances than higher than “speed of light” velocities are predicted at the lower frequencies and lower than “speed of light” velocities are predicted at higher frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum.

  5. Inertia generates discreteness such as that of photon. At sufficiently high disturbance levels, inertia generates particles with mass.

  6. At still higher disturbance levels, particles generated are of increased frequency and complexity, and of reduced velocity.

  7. Thus come about atoms, molecules, compounds, materials, and the solidity and location of planets in the universe.

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By vinaire | Comments (35)

Physics Subject Clearing

January 11, 2014 – 8:34 AM
main-physics
[Reference: Mindful Subject Clearing (MSC)]

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From Wikipedia: 

Physics (from Greek φυσική (ἐπιστήμη), i.e. “knowledge of nature”, from φύσις, physis, i.e. “nature”) is the natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through space and time, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.

This is an open thread where the fundamentals of physics shall be discussed. This post shall be added to with meaningful ideas as the discussion develops.

The fundamental concepts seems be the following (Note: we shall be using SI units):

Mass – kilogram (M), Length – meter (L), Time – second (T)

From these we derive the following concepts in mechanics:

Velocity – m/s (L/T), Acceleration – m/s2 (L/T2), Force – Newton (ML/T2),

Work, Energy – Joule (ML2/T2), Power – j/s (ML2/T3)

In Mechanics, two fascinating concepts are Motion and Inertia.

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In Electricity, I am looking at the following concepts:

Charge – Coulomb (C), Current – Ampere (I), Voltage – Volt (V)

The most fascinating concept is that of Charge.

  1. Charge is quantized as a multiple of the electron or proton charge (e). One Coulomb of charge is the charge which would flow through a 120 watt lightbulb (120 volts AC) in one second.

  2. The influence of charges is characterized in terms of the forces between them. Two charges of one Coulomb each separated by a meter would repel each other with a force of about a million tons!

  3. Charge produces electric field and voltage.

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A more fascinating concept is that of field from Wikipedia:

Maxwell, at first, did not adopt the modern concept of a field as fundamental entity that could independently exist. Instead, he supposed that the electromagnetic field expressed the deformation of some underlying medium—the luminiferous aether—much like the tension in a rubber membrane. If that were the case, the observed velocity of the electromagnetic waves should depend upon the velocity of the observer with respect to the aether. Despite much effort, no experimental evidence of such an effect was ever found; the situation was resolved by the introduction of the theory of special relativity by Albert Einstein in 1905. This theory changed the way the viewpoints of moving observers should be related to each other in such a way that velocity of electromagnetic waves in Maxwell’s theory would be the same for all observers. By doing away with the need for a background medium, this development opened the way for physicists to start thinking about fields as truly independent entities.

A charge produces a field. A brief acceleration of the charge produces a disturbance in the field that propagates at the speed of light. The animation provided at the preceding link is insightful.

When we look at this animation, the viewpoint is covering the whole extent of motion without moving itself. This may be considered the “viewpoint of the universe” with respect to actual propagation of light in cosmic space. The “velocity of the observer” does not enter the picture.

We run into problem when the viewpoint is reduced to that of the “body of the observer” and much smaller than the size of the universe. Now the “velocity of the observer” enters the picture.

Einstein assumes that the viewpoint is limited to the body of the observer and, therefore, the viewpoint has a velocity. But when we expand the viewpoint to the size of the universe then no “velocity of the observer” is necessary.

The special theory of relativity seems to depend on the assumption that viewpoint can have a velocity.

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In mindfulness, there is no viewpoint separate from what is being observed. So, the “velocity” of the viewpoint is the same as the velocity of what is being observed.

Science is observing the universe. So, the correct viewpoint is that of the universe. A universe is all that exists.

The net velocity of the universe shall be indeterminate because there is nothing else to compare it to. The net velocity of the universe relative to itself shall be zero.

So, the velocity of a scientific viewpoint shall be zero.

In other words, the velocity of the scientific observer shall be zero relative to the resultant velocity of the universe. From the viewpoint of the scientific observer, the maximum velocity of light shall always be c.

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The velocity of a wave on the surface of the pond depends on the properties of water filling that pond.

The velocity of sound wave depends on the properties of the medium, such as, air, in which it is travelling.

The velocity of the light wave also depends on the properties of the medium, such as, glass, in which it is traveling. The problem has been that light can travel in space where, apparently, there is no medium.

The medium in outer space is not made up of atoms and molecules. It is made up of the “field” that also exists within an atom, but much concentrated.

The vacuum of space seems to be a field similar to the field existing within the atoms of matter.

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Albert Einstein stated in 1920: ”We may say that according to the general theory of relativity space is endowed with physical qualities; in this sense, therefore, there exists an Aether. According to the general theory of relativity space without Aether is unthinkable; for in such space there not only would be no propagation of light, but also no possibility of existence for standards of space and time (measuring-rods and clocks), nor therefore any space-time intervals in the physical sense. But this Aether may not be thought of as endowed with the quality characteristic of ponderable media, as consisting of parts which may be tracked through time. The idea of motion may not be applied to it.”

To me, this medium is a universal field. This field has indeterminate motion because there is nothing else to compare its motion to. Its motion is zero relative to the universe as a whole. Therefore, this field also acts as the universal frame of reference for all the velocities within the universe.

It requires some primitive form of energy to disturb this field. A disturbance of this field gives birth to space and time with the manifestations of electromagnetic radiation. This disturbance has a frequency. This frequency increases as more energy is pumped in.

At some point frequency causes discreteness (wave packets, photons) to appear. These photons may not have mass, but they have inertia (resistance to motion). This inertia occurs because the speed of the disturbance cannot be increased beyond that allowed by the physical properties (permittivity and permeability) of the field.

As more energy is pumped in, this inertia acquires the appearance of mass. Thus, the following evolution seems to take place:

Energy + Field = disturbance

>>> wave + frequency

>>> photon + inertia

>>> particles + mass

>>> atoms and molecules

Thus, expansion of this space-time universe occurs as energy of some primitive form gets pumped into this field.

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Here is how this conjecture is developing:

  1. The universal field of modern aether is pre-spacetime.

  2. Spacetime is generated from the disturbance of this universal field.

  3. The fundamental harmonic of this disturbance manifests as the basic spacetime, where the frequency of the disturbance is close to zero, the wave-length is almost infinite, and the period is infinite too.

  4. Subsequent harmonics have higher frequencies and shorter wavelengths and period. Each harmonic acts as an overlay of spacetime.

  5. Increasing frequency generates increasing inertia.

  6. At sufficient higher frequencies, inertia generates discreteness, such as that of photon.

  7. At still higher frequencies and shorter wavelengths, inertia generates particles with mass.

  8. There are particles of increasing complexity until electrons, protons and neutrons are generated.

  9. Thus come about atoms, elements, the periodic table, the molecules and compounds.

  10. And, so we have a universe of objects with forms.

This model explains why Michelson-Morley’s experiment shall detect no “aether wind.”

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Conjecture #5 above postulates, “Increasing frequency generates increasing inertia.” Thus the speed of the electromagnetic radiation shall be slower at higher end of the frequency spectrum compared to the lower end. This seems to be confirmed by the following article. 

High Energy Gamma Rays Go Slower Than the Speed of Light?

And also by Wikipedia entry: Markarian 501

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Conjectures #3 and #4 above may be expressed further as follows:

The universal field may be viewed as “Disturbance = 0″. The frequency is 0. The space (wavelength) and time (period) associated with this field are infinite. This is like a theoretical absolute for space and time.

The next level of disturbance is “Disturbance = 1″. The frequency is 1 (20) Hz. The space (wavelength) and time (period) associated with this disturbance has finite value yet to be determined. These would supply some constant units of space and time.

The next level of disturbance is “Disturbance = 2″. The frequency is 2  (21) Hz. The space (wavelength) and time (period) associated with this disturbance would be half of the constants determined above.

The next level of disturbance is “Disturbance = 3″. The frequency is 4 (22)  Hz. The space (wavelength) and time (period) associated with this disturbance would be quarter of the constants determined above.

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The nth level of disturbance is “Disturbance = n″. The frequency is 2n-1  Hz. The space (wavelength) and time (period) associated with this disturbance would be 1/2n-1 of the constants determined above.

And so on.

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The “disturbance” parameter for visible light of frequency 4 x 1014 to 8 x 1014 shall be approximately 49 to 50 compared to the “disturbance” parameter of 1 for a 1 Hz electromagnetic wave. The “disturbance” parameter at the upper end of the electromagnetic spectrum would be about 66-67.

The velocity of light is 3 x 105 km/sec. The velocity of electromagnetic radiation of low level “disturbance” shall be greater than the velocity of light because it has much lower inertia (resistance to motion). The opposite shall be the case for high level “disturbances.”

The “disturbance” levels beyond 70 shall be those of particles with mass variety.

The layer of “Disturbance = 0″ shall have infinite velocity. This would be the layer of fundamental spacetime, which would gradually transition to electromagnetic type disturbance.

Electromagnetism may start from “Disturbance = 1″ but the velocity at this low level shall be much higher than the velocity of light.

Beyond “Disturbance = 67” electromagnetism may gradually transition to disturbances of particles with mass variety such as the electron. Here the velocity shall be much lower than the velocity of light.

Thus the universe seems to be made up of layered “disturbances” that are expanding at different rates. The lower level “disturbances” are expanding at much higher rates than the high level “disturbances.”

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By vinaire | Comments (229)

Scientific Method and Mindfulness

December 6, 2013 – 6:45 PM
SM1

Mindfulness is the application of the Scientific Method to the Metaphysical Universe.

By vinaire | Comments (193)