JimsAstronomy

Saturday, June 2, 2018

Space is not nothing.

-- 1773 - Space is what separates things? What else is it? We continue to discover what space is and we are far from finished. The whole Earth can be reduced to the size of a sugar cube if you remove all the “space” between the atoms. Of course, the sugar cube would still weigh 59,700 trillion, trillion tons after removing all that weightless space.

----------------- 1773 - Space is what separates things? What else is it?

- Can you believe the whole Earth can be reduced to the size of a sugar cube if you remove all the “space” between the atoms. The sugar cube would still weigh 59,700 trillion, trillion tons after removing all that weightless space.

- Space as in Outer Space is mysterious . It can’t be “ nothing” because light waves travel through it. And, “ waves” require some medium in which to have oscillations. Therefore, space can’t be just a vacuum. At least that is what was thought.

- But, way back in 1887, the famous Morley-Michelson experiment realized that if light waves went through a medium they could be measured at different speeds traveling in different directions through the medium. The Earth is traveling around the Sun at 67,000 miles per hour. If light’s velocity was measured going in the same direction and then in the opposite direction of travel light should have a different speeds. There was no difference, therefore, there was no medium, no ether.

- In 1905 Albert Einstein’s Theory of Special Relativity showed us that light being electric and magnetic oscillations, actually pulses of photons, needed no medium and could travel through the vacuum of space.

- When spectroscopy was used to study space we learned that space was full of dust, particles, atoms. They were mostly hydrogen atoms ( proton and electron), but, the average was one particle per cubic centimeter of space. Each sugar cube volume of space contained one atom on average.

- Around the Sun space is bombarded with a “ Solar Wind” of particles that has an average density of 3 to 6 atoms per cubic centimeter. This Solar Wind is strong enough to create a comet’s tail.

- Outer space also bombards us with Cosmic Rays. Cosmic Rays are mostly protons, (hydrogen nuclei) , but, sometimes some heavier atomic nuclei. A mystery lies behind the fact that 99% are positive charged protons, or nuclei, but, what happened to their negative charged electrons? They must be out there somewhere in space?

- We are also bombarded from space by 3 varieties of neutrinos. Their masses so tiny they fly right through us and through the Earth back into space.

- One conclusion must be that space is full of particles.

- Space is also full of “ fields”, magnetic fields, electric fields, gravity fields, or waves. These fields are traveling energy. There is another mystery in an anti-gravity traveling energy, a “ vacuum energy”, that is expanding all of space. Even accelerating the expansion.

- This vacuum energy was demonstrated in the lab in 1930s known as the Casimir Effect. This mysterious energy is thought to be caused by particles and anti-particles filling space and constantly going into and out of existence. If true, than space is not empty at all but really full of particles.

- Today this vacuum energy is given the name Dark Energy and it is credited to ever expanding space at an accelerating rate.

- Space is what we humans use to separate things. It is measured as distance between things. That distance may be full of stuff, but, it works to keep things separated. Just as time is used to keep things from all happening at once.

- Space as a separation of things extends from the very smallest to the very largest.

------------------ 10^-35 meters is believed to be quantum space and the smallest space can be divided.

----------------- 10^? meters is the length of Quarks separated by Muons

----------------- 10^-14 meters is the size of a carbon nucleus, 14 protons, and 42 Quarks

----------------- 10^-11 meters is the size of a carbon atom with the nucleus and 14 electrons.

----------------- 10^0 is us

----------------- 10^6 is the Earth

----------------- 10^8 is Moon’s orbit

----------------- 10^11 is Earth’s orbit

----------------- 10^13 is the Solar System

----------------- 10^21 is the Milky Way Galaxy

----------------- 10^58 is the Observable Universe

----------------- 10^? is the actual Universe including Cosmic Inflation.

- All things are separated in space, from the smallest to the largest. Somehow they are separated but still all interconnected? There is a Quantum Theory called “ Entanglement” that states there is “ something” in space tying all things together.

- Two particles with Entangled properties remain connected even at opposite ends of the Universe. An electron with spin up has a twin with spin down. If one reverses the other reverses instantaneously regardless of their enormous separation. The communication is faster than the speed of light. There is something about space the remains interconnected.

- The Theory of relativity states that space and time are also interconnected. As velocity approaches the speed of light space shrinks and time slows. The star Procyon is 11 light years distance. But, if we could travel at 99% the speed of light , space would shrink, and it would take only 2 years to get there. The size of space depends on how fast you are going.

- What do we conclude about space?

--------- Space is not empty

--------- Space gives us distances that is variable depending on the velocity and the strength of gravity.

--------- Space still interconnects entangled bodies.

---------- Space at the smallest level may be a discrete package the can not be divided further, a quantum particle of space.

--------- Space may have more than 3 - dimensions. There may be extra dimensions wrapped up so small we cannot detect them.

--------- Space is not nothing. At the bare minimum it can tie your brain into a knot.

- There are more Reviews about space available upon request:

- #1407 - Space is anything but empty

- #1679 - Space dust

- # 1242 How does Space-Time change at the micro-level. At the smallest scales things become bull’s eyes of wave patterns that spread effects over a range of probabilities.

- #1241 How can space and time be related? They are connected by distance / time which is velocity. And velocity is limited to the speed of light, therefore space / time must vary.

- #1258 How much space is in our Solar System

- #781 Much todo about Nothing. The Universe is expanding and more “ nothing” is being created all the time.

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------------------------- Saturday, June 2, 2018 --------------------------------

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Friday, June 1, 2018

Physics wants a theory for everything

- 1605 - Physics wants a theory for everything. Most physicists believe that there is an “objective reality” out there. An external world that has definite characteristics independent of the observer who perceives them. When science obtained the resolution of our world in the 1900’s we got to the level of atoms and electrons. Newton’s theories no longer applied in explaining observations.

----------------------- # 1605 - Physics wants a theory for everything

- Physicists have long sought after the “ Theory of Everything”. Today we have the General Theory of Relativity that provides the physics and math for big things: the Cosmos, light speed, the bending of space-time, gravity,….. We have another Theory of Quantum Mechanics. It works for all the small things: particle physics, the Uncertainty Principle, atoms, the Periodic Table of Elements, …

- These two theories cannot trade places. Neither theory works in the other’s realm.

- Physicists would like to discover one set of fundamental laws that explain both aspects of our perceived reality. Most believe that there is an “objective reality” out there. An external world that has definite characteristics independent of the observer who perceives them. Actually, there is no way to remove the observer from our perceptions of the world.

- Since the 1800’s the physics of Isaac Newton accurately describes our everyday natural world. Most all of it is in harmony with our commonsense. The math works.

- However, when science obtained the resolution of our world in the 1900’s we got to the level of atoms and electrons. Newton’s theories no longer applied in explaining observations. Definite positions and definite velocities for particles could not be calculated. Our own observations altered events. Quantum Physics stated that the past, present, and future only in terms of a spectrum of possibilities.

- We form scientific laws because they agree with our observations. Back in Ptolemy’s day the laws worked will having the Earth as the center of the Solar System. Although the math was complicated. It all worked until Copernicus was able to define elliptical orbits for the planets with the Sun at the center of the Solar System. The math got simpler. We adopted a new frame of reference with the Sun at the center.

- Our brains can only interpret 2-dimensional data on our retina’s imaging 3-dimensional space. In our quest to discover more our brains are struggling today with 11-dimensions space time. Today’s approach to discover a “ Theory of Everything” has invented “String Theory”. The attempt is to bring the force of gravity into the domain of quantum physics.

- One unusual problem occurred when physicists invented 5 different string theories. Which was right? In 1990’s they began to see that each theory was working only under a certain range of conditions. They invented “ M-Theory” to allow 5 different approximations to exist inside a more fundamental theory. M-Theory is more a network of theories, like a map.

- Whenever we develop a model that is successful in matching our observations we tend to attribute the model to represent “ reality”.

- Isaac Newton changed reality when he postulated that motion does not depend on mass. Gravity will force everything to fall to the surface of a flat Earth at the same acceleration. The acceleration of gravity, “g”, is always 10 meters per second per second. Everything falls together - free fall can not be detected. Under uniform motion there is no acceleration.

---------------- Force = mass * acceleration

------------------- F = m*a

- If gravity is the accelerator: F = m*g

- Newton took the law of the Force of Gravity being a proportionality to the product of the masses and inversely to the square of the distance between them to an equality by adding a Gravitational Constant, “G”.

-------------------- Force = m * M * G / r^2

-------------------- G = 6.7 10*-11 meters^3 per ( kilograms* seconds^2)

- Einstein’s Theories changed the force of gravity to the bending of space-time. He further concluded that a particle that is massless has to move at the speed of light, through space at 671,000,000 miles per hour. For everything moving at the speed of light time stops. Space shrinks.

- We now think that the energy of empty space-time is 3 times greater than the energy of matter-gravity. As the Universe expands matter gets diluted. Today there is 10^-29 grams per cubic centimeter, about 1 proton per cubic foot of space. We think that the energy that is expanding the Universe, Dark Energy, is 73% of the total mass-energy out there.

- String Theory has 6 extra dimensions of space that are curled up and only 10^-33 centimeters in length. You see the struggle continues. We have the Universe expanding at an ever accelerating rate at one end. At the other end we have curled up strings 10^-33 centimeters long. Both ends are trying to explain our observed reality. The more we observe the more interesting it gets.

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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

--- to: ------ jamesdetrick@comcast.net ------ “Jim Detrick” -----------

- https://plus.google.com/u/0/ -- www.facebook.com -- www.twitter.com

------------------------- Friday, June 1, 2018 --------------------------------

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Light up your knowledge about light

- 1795 - Light up your brain with new knowledge. Here are interesting facts about the light of day. Just seeing it uses half your brain. What is the oldest thing you have ever seen? No it is not the pyramids. Not even the dirt at your feet that cannot be older than 4,500,000,000 years. You need a telescope and your eyes can see photons that are 12,000,000,000 years old. What you see is a young star but today it is 12 billion years older than that.

--------------------------------------- 1795 - Light up your knowledge about light

- Light did not start to shine until 340,000 years after the Big Bang. Before then the charged particles were so dense the photons just bounced around between them. Space had to expand enough for the photons to be free to expand along with space expanding.

- This first light can still be seen today as Cosmic Microwave Background radiation. The light that started out as short wavelength Gamma Ray radiation has stretched to wider wavelengths as it traveled through expanding space. The light radiation left at 3,000 Kelvin and today it has cooled to just 2.75 Kelvin.

- Light travels at 186,282.4 miles per second. That is in a vacuum. In other medium it appears to travel slower but actually it is still traveling the same speed but moving through a crystal like diamond it is bouncing, absorption, re-emission, all averages out to a traverse speed of 77,500 miles per second. However, it is all that bouncing around that gives the diamond that dazzling sparkle.

- Eyeglasses correct vision because light slows down in glass or plastic in the same way and its path is bent at the transition surface from air to glass and back to air again.

- People glow in light, but, it is mostly infrared light. The glow is caused by the body’s free radical chemical reactions.

- Much greater bioluminescence is common in creatures living in the ocean. Apollo astronaut Jim Lovell used this phenomenon to locate his darkened aircraft carrier that stirred up the luminescence of this biology in its wake. (1954)

- Incandescent bulbs are very inefficient. They only convert 10% of the energy to light. Most of the rest is converted into heat. A 100 watt bulb in a confined space can cook at 325F. When I was living in Indiana my 55 Ford had to be outside. I put a light bulb on top of the engine and it started right up every morning at below zero temperatures. I was never tardy to 8:00 classes with a 20 mile commute in 3 years of college. Thanks to this technique.

- Light has no mass so it must always travel at the same , light speed. Anything with no mass travels at this speed, like muons. However, light does have momentum and therefore has energy. The energy of a photon is:

---------------------------- E = h*f

------------------------- Energy = 6.625 * 10^-34 kg*m^2/sec * frequency

- Apollo astronauts left a mirror on the Moon. Laser beam measurements have determined that the Moon’s orbit is moving outward from Earth at 1.5 inches per year.

- Our eyes see visible light. Fish can see infrared light. Bees, birds, lizards can see ultraviolet light.

- Photography got its name from “photo” - light , “graphy” meaning writing. Writing with light.

- The Auroras light up the night sky because ionized particles from the Sun crash into atmospheric molecules as the charged particles enter the north tic pole. Oxygen shines green, nitrogen shines blue and red.

--------------------- Other reviews available upon request.

- #1389 - The sunlight hitting you is 45,000 times more powerful than the radiation hitting you from the TV tower.

- #1386 - If you were on the Moon you could see a lightning strike in1.3 seconds after it happened. If the sound, thunder, could travel through space you would not hear the thunder for 13 days. ( sound traveling at 750 miles per hour.)

- # 1288 - We take light for granted. Radio and TV and microwave ovens, and cell phones all depend on the same electromagnetic radiation. The wavelengths of radio extend to miles. FM radio wavelengths are at 9 to 11 feet. Microwaves at 12 centimeters (4.7 inches)

---------------------- red light -------------0.7 * 10^-6 meters

--------------------- blue light ------------0.4 * 10^-6 meters

- Visible light occupies only 1 ten-billionth of the electromagnetic spectrum.

- The photons that carry this wave energy in their momentum are traveling at 670,633,500 miles per hour.

- Stand in front of a 60 watt light bulb. This is how fast the photons are hitting you. That is not the worst part. There are 1,800,000,000,000,000,000,000 photons hitting your body every second. (1.8*10^20)

- #1286 - When you look at the stars some of those photons hitting your eye took millions of years to get to you Some left the star before dinosaurs roamed the Earth.

- #1043 - Light travels one foot is a nanosecond ( 10^-9 seconds) Your girl friend standing 20 feet away is 20 billionths of a second older than the image you see of her.

- #940 - The Sun is radiating 65,000,000 watts per square meter per second.

- #934 - Each photon is an energy bundle. The higher the frequency the higher the energy.

- -------------------------------- E = h*f

- #726 - The force of an electric charge is 10^39 times greater that the force of gravity.

- #648 - Light is a physical symmetry for the entire Universe.

- #550 - Light does not know time. Time stops at the speed it is moving. Light is the conversion factor between energy and mass.

- #36 - What is the oldest thing you have ever seen? No it is not the pyramids. Not even the dirt at your feet that cannot be older than 4,500,000,000 years. You need a telescope and your eyes can see photons that are 12,000,000,000 years old. What you see is a young star but today it is 12 billion years older than that.