JimsAstronomy: May 2018

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Infinity and Blackholes?

- 1794 - Infinity and Blackholes? How are these two connected? Can infinity really exist? Blackholes are defined by infinities. As a region of space-time takes its gravitational field and temperature to infinity it becomes a blackhole. The equations of General Relativity fall apart because they cannot deal with these infinities. The most incomprehensible thing about this is that we are even here trying to comprehend it.

------------------------------------ 1794 - Infinity and Blackholes?

- Previous reviews 1790 to 1793 were also topics of weird physics, space-time, Relativity, Nonlocality, Indeterminism, and here is another one, Infinity.

- We all know that infinity describes something the goes on forever, without end, without limits.

- Does infinity really exist? Does forever really exist? Is infinity time without end or space without end? Does eternity really exist? Does the Universe have a beginning and an end?

- If space-time is flat than it could stretch out to infinity ( conceptually). If space-time is curved it may fold back on itself and end in another Big Bang. There may be a infinite number of universes doing the same thing. But, if they all stretched to infinity wouldn’t they overlap?

- In math infinity is a term given to any non-finite number, or string of numbers. It can not be characterized mathematically because there is no end to it. When it shows up in the denominator of a fraction it is called indeterminant.

- When math gets into “ Set Theory” we learn there are multiple types of infinities. Some bigger than others. (now wrap your mind around that one).

- Some infinities are “ countable” and some are” uncountable”. Countable is defined as anything that can be lined up and numbered making one-to-one correspondence with the string of natural numbers.

- Infinity should not even be considered a number.

- The number 2 is considered a “ countable infinity”. It can be constructed with an infinite number of fractions.

- The square root of 2 is an “uncountable infinity”. These are called “ irrational numbers” like pi, and the natural logarithm. These irrational numbers are uncountable because they can not be numbered.

- Infinity minus 1 can not be a real number because you can not add infinity to 1 and not get a real number.

- In math the sequence 1.1, 1.01. 1.001, 1.0001, etc converges to the real number 1.

- Blackholes are defined by infinities. As a region of space-time takes its gravitational field and temperature to infinity it becomes a blackhole. The equations of General Relativity fall apart because they cannot deal with these infinities.

- Blackholes are predicted to eventually evaporate, as radiation escapes across the Event Horizon and exits into space. At the horizon an electron and positron can separate shooting one into space and the other into the Blackhole.

- The Universe is defined to have the properties that produce Blackholes. These properties also produce life. If the cosmological constant, the speed of light, the strength of the weak and strong nuclear force, etc are changed ever so slightly than the Universe of stars, galaxies, Blackholes and us would be unable to form.

- Is life simply a side show in the grander process of the evolution of the Universe?

- Where does God come into the picture?

- God made it so the laws of nature are geared towards making life happen. The Universe is fine-tuned to spawn biological organism. Me being one.

- Whatever Universe we come up with it must take into account the creation of those observing it. Therefore, we can only observe a universe that is friendly to life. God made it so.

- The most incomprehensible thing about this is that we are even here trying to comprehend it. Thinking about it is like comprehending infinity. Mind blowing!

- Other reviews:

- #849 Inflation, the Expanding Universe.

- #824 Cosmic Inflation

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------------------------- Wednesday, May 30, 2018 --------------------------------

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Deteminism, Randomness to Reality

- 1793 - Quantum Physics of Determinism. Our natural world is deterministic yet the building blocks that make it up are indeterministic, totally acting at random. The logic of physics says that indeterministic microphysics can lead to deterministic macrophysics. Quantum randomness indeterminism averages out to reality.

-------------------------------- 1793 - Quantum Physics of Determinism.

- Some things just happen at random. With no rhyme nor reason. Randomness seems to be a built in feature of our natural world at its foundation.

- Radioactive decay of atoms is totally random.

- Photons striking a mirror reflect or pass through randomly.

- The theory being that quantum mechanics is “ indeterministic”, it all depends on the statistics of randomness.

- Einstein came up with the theory in 1905 that light could be both a particle and a wave. The wave function that determines this is in a perfectly deterministic equation, called the Schrodinger Equation. His equation is the “determinism” of a wave function.

- Heisenberg viewed the wave function as a probabilistic “haze” of potential existences. He concluded that only when you observe a particle does it materialize somewhere. Before observation the wave function was spread over a huge region of space. At observation it collapses into a narrow spike at a single position and becomes a “ particle”. However, we have no laws in physics that govern this collapse. It just happens at random?

- For Einstein wave collapse into a particle required instantaneous action at a distance. He reasoned that no communications could travel faster than the speed of light. Light speed was a Universal Constant at 186,000 miles per second.

- He had trouble with “ measurement” being the “ creation” of reality out of the act of observing it.

- Or, was the wave function collapse not a physical process at all but more simply the acquisition of knowledge inside our brains?

- What physics was trying to demonstrate was that a probabilistic event through the underlying reality was deterministic. ( mind blowing!).

- The logic of physics says that indeterministic microphysics can lead to deterministic macrophysics. Quantum randomness indeterminism averages out to reality.

- A baseball can have atoms behaving randomly yet its flight can be totally deterministic. Gas molecules have random motion that together determine an exact temperature. A “temperature” being the average of a large number of individual vibrating molecules.

- It appears that the real world is a layer cake of indeterminism and determinism.

- The Earth’s climate is dictated by laws of motion, daily, seasonally probabilistic events however, long term trends are still predictable. Biology follows the same logic.

- Human self-determination follows this layer cake logic as well. To truly have “free will” we need indeterminism.

- Macrodeterminism is your decision. Microdeterminism is not.

- One gram of Uranium 238 contains 2.5*10^21 atoms. Each atom is identical and indistinguishable. Yet, 12,600 times per second one of these atoms will decay throwing off an alpha particle. No theory in physics can pre-determine which atom will decay when. It is a totally random process yet it is predictable in the macro sense. Probability calculations can determine accurately how long it takes for half of the atoms to decay (the half-life)

- Casualty means that events can be completely determined by prior states. Is the entire Universe a single determinant system? Is there an unbroken chain of prior occurrences stretching back to the origin of the Universe? Is the future determined completely by preceding events?

- Mathematical models involving differential equations ( equations measuring the rate of change over time) are not deterministic because they involve randomness. Their results have sensitive dependence on initial conditions. Theory implies that even as small as a butterfly flapping its wings can cause a chain reaction that could lead to a hurricane years later.

- Chaos Theory tells us that it is impossible to predict real life events. The Schrodinger Equation uniquely predicts the development of the wave function with time. If the wave function is deterministic then Quantum Mechanics is deterministic and that could imply that there is one single wave function for the entire Universe starting at the origin.

- Our individual atoms are random in motion, yet the enormous mass of atoms that make up our bodies allow us to live and breath. Human decision themselves reduce to the mechanics of atoms in our brains. I have to stop thinking about this. It makes me dizzy.

- Other reviews available on this weird physics:

- #1762 - Delving into extreme physics. How do we know that the reality we perceive is true? There is no way to remove the observer from his perception.

- #1605 - Physics wants a Theory of Everything combining Quantum Mechanics and Relativity.

- #1546 - Paul Dirac’s physics. Quantum Theory does not work when we push the laws to extremes, high energies , or small distances.

- #1183 - Mysteries for science students to discover the answers to.

- #1074 - Physics the way I learned it.

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----- Comments appreciated and Pass it on to whomever is interested. ----

--- Some reviews are at: -------------- http://jdetrick.blogspot.com -----

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------------------------- Wednesday, May 30, 2018 --------------------------------

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Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Local and Non-local Space?

-- 1792 - Local and Non-local Space? How to be in two places at once. Paired atomic particles remain connected regardless of the space between them. How do they communicate? With warped space-time we lose all ability to define a specific location. All locations are relative. We never observe “places” to have absolute locations. Only their relative locations are objective as a consequence of the Theory of Relativity.

---------------------------------- 1792 - Local and Non-local Space?

- Non-locality is how to be in two places at once. Nonlocality in physics is where particles somehow communicate connected states ( properties ) when they are no longer “local” ( close enough for the speed of light to reach between them.).

- For an atom , 2 electrons in orbit, are not allowed to be in the same “ state". If one has “ spin up” and the other has “ spin down” they are connected. If one switches states from up to down or vice versa the other switches states instantaneously. They somehow act as a connected pair.

- Now the weird part. If we remove these 2 connected electrons from the atom they remain connected no matter how much they are separated in space. Somehow they communicate so when one changes states the other changes instantaneously. The separation means that the state change happens faster than the speed of light. Somehow they violate “ locality”. Somehow they transcend space and place and distance no longer have meaning?

- If the one of the electrons is sent to the Moon with an atomic clock. The other with an atomic clock remains on Earth. We use a magnetic field to reverse the spin of the one on Earth. The one on the Moon reverses at the same time. We would expect a 1.3 second delay for a signal to reach the Moon telling that electron to switch. That is not the case. The switch is instantaneous with no time delay.

- Everything has a “ place”. In other words everything has “ locality”. Atomic particles that violate locality transcend space. The term is “quantum entanglement“. When particles become paired” somehow they remain paired regardless of separation. Nonlocality synchronizes the two particles regardless of distance or space between them.

- Gravity appears to be a force that acts invisibly over distance. However, Einstein has shown that “force” to be the “curvature of space-time through space“. The speed of gravity is also limited by the speed of light. 186,000 miles per second is always a constant. If the Sun disappeared the Earth would not feel the release of gravity for 8 minutes. If the Earth disappeared the Moon would not feel it for 1.3 seconds.

- How would Einstein explain Entanglement and Nonlocality?

- Space and time are no more stable than the ground beneath our feet. Tectonic plates marginally are changing our position. Likewise, everything in the Universe is in motion and changing positions. Gravity still propagates at the speed of light so the ripples of space-time must also propagate at the speed of light.

- Objects moving freely through space are following the curvature of space-time. Always following the path of least resistance and the shortest time. Even light beams of photons trace out the shape of space as they travel at 186,000 miles per second.

- We tend to think that the Sun’s gravity has bent the light rays of a distant star passing by. But, more accurately light photons are following warped space that is created by the mass of the Sun.

- Earth’s mass does the same thing. All falling objects follow warped space. “Down” is always the direction in which time passes more slowly. Time at sea level passes more slowly than time at the mountain tops. Put your watch on your ankle and time will pass slower than if you wear it on your wrist.

- When you observe a falling object you see it rolling across the contours of time.

- With warped space-time we loose all ability to define a specific location. All locations are relative. We never observe “places” to have absolute locations. Only their relative locations are objective as a consequence of the Theory of Relativity.

- Another consequence is that quantities such as Energy can not be situated in any specific place either. Points in space are indistinguishable and interchangeable. Space will not support any “ particular” location. Space becomes defined by different configurations of the gravitational field were it resides.

- Any field of gravity is not a “local’ phenomenon. Points in space-time are not independent. Our normal day to day lives can ignore this Nonlocality. Physics to us appears to be Local., only limited to the constant speed of light.

- Only under extreme circumstances does Nonlocality become noticeable. Blackholes would be one example of extreme circumstances. For Isaac Newton gravity acted at a distance but space was absolute. For Albert Einstein gravity ripples through space-time with no positions being local.

- Quantum Nonlocality must be something like this. But, we have to explain how it can react faster than the speed of light.

- Nonlocality is sometimes called “ Spooky action at a distance”.

- The “ Pauli Exclusion Principle says that no two electrons in an atom can have the same set of values for the four quantum numbers. Spin being one of these numbers. This principle explains the periodic table of elements each having a different configuration of electrons in different shells.

- Velocity :182,282 miles per second. Moon distance 238,855 miles. Time: 1.3 seconds. 2.6 seconds for the round trip. Sun distance 93 million miles. Time: 510 seconds, 8.5 minutes.

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----- Comments appreciated and Pass it on to whomever is interested. ----

--- Some reviews are at: -------------- http://jdetrick.blogspot.com -----

-- email feedback, corrections, request for copies or Index of all reviews

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------------------------- Tuesday, May 29, 2018 --------------------------------

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Space bends, and Time slows?

- 1790 - Space bends, and Time slows? This review explains why space and time must change in order to adhere to the Theory of Relativity. It all changed in 1905. Space and time were constants, unchanging. Then Einstein proclaimed that space bends and time slows. That changes everything:

----------------- 1790 - Space bends, and Time slows?

- What follows are five reviews that are about Determinism, Non-Locality, Infinity, Space-Time, and Relativity. Let’s start with Space-time. It all changed in 1905. Space and time were constants, unchanging. Then Einstein proclaimed that space bends and time slows. That changes everything:

- Once the equations were written Einstein needed a demonstration, an experiment, that validated the calculations. Mercury’s orbit around the Sun is not exactly the same every year. It is awfully close. Within one part in a million. But, it is consistently off by that same amount each year. As the planet orbits it “precesses“, its orbit offsets, it wobbles due to space-time warping created by the huge mass of the Sun.

- No big deal but Einstein’s equations calculated the amount exactly and Newton’s equations calculated exactly the amount of error predicted. The proof that space-time really does warp.

- He proved that time slows with this thought experiment. Design a clock using a flashbulb, a mirror, and a photocell. The flash goes off. Light travels up to the mirror and back to the photocell that triggers another flash. Now the repetitive flashes act as a tick-tock of a clock.

- If the clock is stationary each tick-tock is the exact same amount of time.

- Now, set the whole thing in motion. The light beam that goes up to the mirror and bounces back to the photocell does not go straight up and straight down. The beam going up and coming down traces a longer triangular path as the clock’s moves horizontally. The light beam has to travel further when in motion. The tick-tock slows down.

- The stationary observer sees a saw-tooth pattern to the light beams as the clock passes by. An observer moving with the clock still sees a straight up and down beam. The moving observer sees a faster clock than the stationary observer. The stationary observer sees a slower clock. It all depends on their Relative motion. Moving clocks tick slower.

- The same phenomena occurs simply throwing a ball in the air. Newton’s laws are the same in motion or stationary, but, two observers see different paths for the ball. The stationary observers see a longer path for the ball when the thrower is moving.

- These ideas are behind what is now the Theory of Relativity:

- Moving clocks slow down.

- Moving objects shrink in their direction of motion.

- Moving objects get more massive.

- It has been proven clocks tick slower in orbit than when on Earth. Less gravity has slower clocks because Earth’s gravity is warping space-time less at higher elevations.

- Electromagnetic waves toss electric fields and magnetic fields back and forth with various frequencies. The speed of these waves is always 186,000 miles per second in the direction of travel. The tossing back and forth varies with each different frequency (color).

- Electromagnetic waves range in size from radio waves with 1,000’s of miles in wavelength to Gamma Rays with wavelengths smaller than the nucleus of atoms. Regardless , all these waves move at the same speed, the speed of light. And this speed is always a constant to all observers regardless of their relative motion.

- Speed is a ratio. The only way for speed to remain constant regardless of motion is for distance to shrink and time to slow.

----------------------- speed = distance / time

- To carry this Theory of Relativity into space. A space traveler is weightless. She releases a ball and it is suspended in the same spot as long as the velocity of the ship is constant. If the spaceship is accelerating the floor of the ship rises up and meets the ball. The traveler feels the force of acceleration. The traveler thinks the ball is falling to the floor. The traveler can tell no difference between gravity and acceleration.

- Defying common sense all bodies fall in a gravitational field the same regardless of their mass. You would think that the heavier ball would fall faster than the lighter ball. Not so! The gravitational acceleration is the same independent of mass.

- If the space ship is traveling in one direction and accelerating at exactly 32 feet per second per second, then the falling ball would fall exactly the same as if the space-ship were standing still on the surface of the Earth. The space traveler could not tell the difference between acceleration and gravity.

- The simple principle always applies: The presence of matter distorts the fabric of space-time and objects all travel the shortest time path through this warped space. Space-time distortions are basically unnoticeable , and immeasurable, until motion nears the speed of light, or, objects are near a very large mass.

- In fact, the first demonstration, or experiment, to verify this principle occurred in 1919 when astronomers detected light being deflected as photons passed by the mass of an eclipsed Sun. The same warp of space-time also explained the precessions of Mercury’s orbit introduced in the first paragraph.

- A more modern proof of Relativity occurred when the 24 orbiting satellites in the Global Positioning System ( GPS ) began measuring distances to calculate positions on Earth’s surface using their high precision atomic clocks. These distance measurements only worked when calculations compensated for the differences between slower time in orbit and faster time on the surface of Earth.

- The Theory is 100 years old and only one prediction remains unverified. That is the existence of Gravitational Waves. Several experiments are in the works. Stay tuned, an announcement will be made shortly ,and, Einstein will be proven right once again!

- The next Review #1791 addresses the Consequences of the Theory of Relativity.

- Previous reviews available upon request:

- # 1773 - The size of space depends on how fast you are. Space is not empty. It is full of fields and particles, and what else?

- #1407 Space is in constant motion. Electric charges ( ions) in motion create electric and magnetic fields.

- #1670 - Space dust.

- # 1242 - At the smallest levels things remain connected even though they are separated in space.

- # 1241 - How can space and time be related?

- #1258 - How much space is in out Solar System?

- #781 - Space- much todo about nothing?