- 2051 - Physics prior to Isaac Newton was essentially
2 dimensional. Einstein brought it to
4-dimensions with the concept of space-time. Physics today is trying to apply quantum
ideas to Einstein's gravitational equations.
A gravitational field is a tensor field. Quantum Mechanics forced physics to give up
the deterministic picture. When Quantum
Theory tries to merge with Relativity Theory quantities that ought to be finite
are actually infinite.
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------------------------------------------ 2051
- Paul Dirac’s Physics
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Paul Dirac born in Bristol, England in 1902 was probably the second
greatest theoretical physicists short of Albert Einstein. He went to public schools, got an electrical
engineering degree (1921), switched to mathematics (1923) and got a Ph.D. from
Cambridge in mathematical physics. He wrote dozens of technical papers and won a
Nobel Prize in 1933.
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Physics prior to Isaac Newton was essentially 2 dimensional, the plane
that we walk around on and up-and-down motion.
Newton brought the picture to a 3-dimensional symmetry by adding the
gravitational forces.
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-
Einstein brought it to
4-dimensions with the concept of space-time.
His 4-dimensions were not completely symmetrical because of the arrow of
time. When he wrote the equations for
invariant distances, “s”, with respect to time, time had the opposite sign of
3-dimensional space.
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------------------ s^2
= c^2 -
x^2 - y^2 - z^2
-
---------------Differentiate with respect
to time, to get the rate of change of space with respect to time:
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------------- ds^2
= c^2dt^2 -
dx^2 - dy^2 - dz^2
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-------------- s
= invariant distance
-------------- c
= the speed of light
------------- x, y, and z
= 3-dimensional space.
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-------------- ( c^2dt^2 ) does not have the same sign as
the 3 spatial directions.
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To get to 4-dimensions he needed to take a 3-dimensional section and
give it a frame. At a later time we have
a different 3-dimensional section in a later frame.
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Quantum theory complicated this picture further by requiring us to take
the process of observation into account.
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Then Einstein added his General Theory of Relativity and complicated things
even further. He supposed that the space
of physics is curved not the “flat space” that Newton worked with. General relativity curved 4-dimensional
space-time.
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Physics today is trying to apply quantum ideas to these gravitational
equations. A gravitational field is a
tensor field. Quantum Theory is the
discussion of very small things. It
first appeared when Planck discovered that the energy of electromagnetic waves
can exist only in multiple of a certain unit, the Planck Constant of Action times
the frequency of the wave,
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---------------------------------------- E =
h*f.
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This step in physics was necessary to explain the law of blackbody
radiation . Einstein discovered the same
unit of energy occurring in the photoelectric effect.
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The next new picture in physics was Bohr’s picture of the atom. He had electrons moving about the nucleus in
certain will-defined orbits able to jump from one orbit to another.
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In 1925 Heisenberg and Schrodinger introduced Quantum Mechanics.. They
were able to explain experimental data with matrix mechanics. De Broglie introduced the duality of
particles and waves . Schrodinger was
able to describe atomic processes with his wave equation. His equation initially was missing the
knowledge that the electron’s had spin.
Dirac concluded that it was more important to have “beauty” in one’s
equations that to have them fit experiment.
Later spin was added and the data matched the calculations.
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Quantum Mechanics forced physics to give up the deterministic
picture. The theory does not predict with
certainty rather it gives a probability of occurrence of events.
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The present stage of physical theory is a mere stepping stone toward the
better stage in its evolution.
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Quantum Theory gives wonderful agreement with observation. But not all the time, it is still not perfect. We do not make progress going over the
successes again and again. whereas going over the difficulties can bring
progress.
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Quantum Theory does not work when we push the laws to extreme
conditions, high energies and small distances ( Blackholes and Big Bangs).
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One fundamental Constant of Nature left unexplained is the Fine
Structure Constant. Natural constants of
the charge for the electron, Planck’s Constant of Action, and the velocity of
light create a ratio that has no units:
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----------------------- (h /2*pi)
* c / e^2 =
137
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There is no theory of why the result is 137 yet it is fundamental to the
function of atoms. Atoms do not work if
it is any other value. Dirac predicted
that “ e” and “ c “ are truly fundamental constants but that someday “ h/2*pi” will
be derived from the other two. “h/2pi”
is also in the uncertainty relationship between knowing position and momentum
of an atomic particle.
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When Quantum Theory tries to merge with Relativity Theory quantities
that ought to be finite are actually infinite, integrals diverging instead of
converging. “ Renormalization” is a
method invented by physics to insert experimental data into calculating
equations to get rid of the infinities.
Physicists get good agreement with experiment despite the illogical
method. Dirac would say it is not
beautiful therefore not mathematically sound.
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God is a mathematician of a very high order. He used very advance mathematics in
constructing the Universe. Physics needs
to discover more of His equations then the physical pictures will appear behind
them.
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- (1) Dirac worked out equations that requires
there to be an electron and an anti-electron.
The anti-particle had to be the exactly same particle except the
opposite electric charge. Dirac discovered
anti-matter in his math before it was discovered in the laboratories.
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- (2) He retired as professor of physics at Florida
State University, Tallahassee.
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- (3) Dirac grew up with a father that spoke French
and a mother that spoke English. His
father would discipline him whenever he made a mistake with the French language. Therefore he tended to not speak at all. Why use one word when none will do
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Comments appreciated and Pass it on to whomever is interested. ----
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--------------
http://jdetrick.blogspot.com -----
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to: ------- jamesdetrick@comcast.net ------
“Jim Detrick” -----------
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------------------------- Saturday, April 7, 2018
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