Post by JeRegretRiens on Jan 9, 2009 17:36:47 GMT -5
www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/elegant/program.html
As suggested to me by Empress Palpatine, I watched The Elegant Universe, Hour 1: Einstein's Dream. I'll be watching the rest of it later, maybe later tonight if I have the energy. At the moment I'm hyped up on coffee and the adrenaline from having seen something that makes so much sense.
But at the same time...it makes very little sense to me. The duality there doesn't sound logical, but trust me it is.
On the intellectual level...I'm out-leagued, out-classed, and overall sitting on the sidelines going "Duh-whaa?" at it. But some part of me...namely the part of me that feels the Force more strongly than it identifies with my purely logical side (ah but what I wish that were the -only- part of me, but I'm at a point in my journey where it's only a part of me, but that's beside the point)....this part of me says YES YES YES GET EXCITED NOW!
Here are my notes on the program, and I invite everyone to watch the program and critique my notes, poke at me, or share their notes. It's pretty much a summary of the program, but it's got my thoughts in one important, if discreet, place. Can anyone suggest a basic primer on physics for someone with a high level of intelligence, but a very low level of schooling on the subject?
Anyway. Notes!
Albert Einstein spent the last 20 years of his life researching "The Theory of Everything"--a theory that would describe all the workings of the universe in a handful of mathematical equations. His goal is referred to as 'Unification'. He died before he could complete it.
String Theory is the newest proposal to do exactly that. String Theory states that we live in a universe of eleven dimensions with parallel universes co-existing with us. It proposes that everything in the universe is made from tiny vibrating strands of energy, known as strings. This energy may well be the energy we all know as the Force.
In 1665, Sir Isaac Newton proposed the theory of Gravity; that the force that pulled apples to the ground and keeping the moon in orbit were one and the same. It unified the celestial and the terrestrial. But he didn't know how or why.
At age 26, Einstein discovered that the velocity of light is the fastest speed possible in the Universe. Not even -gravity- could exceed it. And that presented a direct conflict to Newton's theory of Gravity. Einstein suggested that there were four dimensions--the known length, width, and height; and also the dimension of -time-. The fabric of unified space-time is warped and stretched by heavy objects, like planets and stars, and this curving creates what we feel as gravity.
Therefore, a planet is kept in orbit not by instantaneous gravity pull, as per Newton's theory, but because it follows the curves in space-time caused by the weight of the sun. Therefore, gravity flows in space and time at the same speed as light. This theory is called 'general relativity'.
Einstein's next goal was to unify gravity with the only other known force at the time--electromagnetism.
Electromagnetism was a newly-unified concept at the time. James Clerk Maxwell had noted that electricity could affect magnets, and tried to express this relationship with mathematics. Four equations unified electricity and magnetism.
Einstein admired Maxwell for his work, and believed unifying gravity with electromagnetism would solve the Theory of the Universe. Unfortunately, their differences outweighed their similarities. A large point of contention between the two was their strength.
Gravity is percieved to be a powerful force, but compared to electromagnetism, it's quite weak. The negatively-charged shell of an atom can repel another atom with a force far more powerful than gravity.
While Einstein was puzzling this over, a new group emerged, led by Niels Bohr. This group discovered that atoms were made up of the smaller particles we know today as protons, neutrons, and electrons. But no existing theories explained them. Physicists developed quantum mechanics to describe these interactions.
Quantum mechanics states that atoms and particles have an inherent element of chance--that anything at the subatomic level can only be looked at in terms of probability. But all possible outcomes happen--in different parallel realities.
Einstein, however, still believed that the universe behaves in a certain and predictable way.
Other scientists had discovered that gravity and electromagnetism were not the only forces ruling the universe. Study of the atom yielded two more forces at work--the Strong Nuclear Force, which binds the nucleus of the atom together, and the Weak Nuclear Force, which allows neutrons to become protons, thereby producing radiation as a byproduct. These two forces overshadow gravity at the subatomic level.
Laws of Nature are supposed to apply everywhere, however current theory splits physics into two groups--Quantum Physics, which applies only at the subatomic and atomic levels; and Relativity, which applies mostly to massive, heavy objects like stars and galaxies.
One point which may be the key to unifying the two theories is the existence of black holes. Karl Schwarzschild proposed that an enormous mass, such as that of a large star, compacted into a tiny area could warp the fabric of space-time so badly that nothing, not even light, could escape its gravity. Black holes are massive in weight, making Relativity applicable, but atomic in size, making Quantum Physics apply as well.
String theory proposes to unify Quantum Physics with Relativity. However, it is a controversial area of study, as strings are too small to be proven to exist at this time. They cannot be studied or viewed, therefore cannot be proven.
As suggested to me by Empress Palpatine, I watched The Elegant Universe, Hour 1: Einstein's Dream. I'll be watching the rest of it later, maybe later tonight if I have the energy. At the moment I'm hyped up on coffee and the adrenaline from having seen something that makes so much sense.
But at the same time...it makes very little sense to me. The duality there doesn't sound logical, but trust me it is.
On the intellectual level...I'm out-leagued, out-classed, and overall sitting on the sidelines going "Duh-whaa?" at it. But some part of me...namely the part of me that feels the Force more strongly than it identifies with my purely logical side (ah but what I wish that were the -only- part of me, but I'm at a point in my journey where it's only a part of me, but that's beside the point)....this part of me says YES YES YES GET EXCITED NOW!
Here are my notes on the program, and I invite everyone to watch the program and critique my notes, poke at me, or share their notes. It's pretty much a summary of the program, but it's got my thoughts in one important, if discreet, place. Can anyone suggest a basic primer on physics for someone with a high level of intelligence, but a very low level of schooling on the subject?
Anyway. Notes!
Albert Einstein spent the last 20 years of his life researching "The Theory of Everything"--a theory that would describe all the workings of the universe in a handful of mathematical equations. His goal is referred to as 'Unification'. He died before he could complete it.
String Theory is the newest proposal to do exactly that. String Theory states that we live in a universe of eleven dimensions with parallel universes co-existing with us. It proposes that everything in the universe is made from tiny vibrating strands of energy, known as strings. This energy may well be the energy we all know as the Force.
In 1665, Sir Isaac Newton proposed the theory of Gravity; that the force that pulled apples to the ground and keeping the moon in orbit were one and the same. It unified the celestial and the terrestrial. But he didn't know how or why.
At age 26, Einstein discovered that the velocity of light is the fastest speed possible in the Universe. Not even -gravity- could exceed it. And that presented a direct conflict to Newton's theory of Gravity. Einstein suggested that there were four dimensions--the known length, width, and height; and also the dimension of -time-. The fabric of unified space-time is warped and stretched by heavy objects, like planets and stars, and this curving creates what we feel as gravity.
Therefore, a planet is kept in orbit not by instantaneous gravity pull, as per Newton's theory, but because it follows the curves in space-time caused by the weight of the sun. Therefore, gravity flows in space and time at the same speed as light. This theory is called 'general relativity'.
Einstein's next goal was to unify gravity with the only other known force at the time--electromagnetism.
Electromagnetism was a newly-unified concept at the time. James Clerk Maxwell had noted that electricity could affect magnets, and tried to express this relationship with mathematics. Four equations unified electricity and magnetism.
Einstein admired Maxwell for his work, and believed unifying gravity with electromagnetism would solve the Theory of the Universe. Unfortunately, their differences outweighed their similarities. A large point of contention between the two was their strength.
Gravity is percieved to be a powerful force, but compared to electromagnetism, it's quite weak. The negatively-charged shell of an atom can repel another atom with a force far more powerful than gravity.
While Einstein was puzzling this over, a new group emerged, led by Niels Bohr. This group discovered that atoms were made up of the smaller particles we know today as protons, neutrons, and electrons. But no existing theories explained them. Physicists developed quantum mechanics to describe these interactions.
Quantum mechanics states that atoms and particles have an inherent element of chance--that anything at the subatomic level can only be looked at in terms of probability. But all possible outcomes happen--in different parallel realities.
Einstein, however, still believed that the universe behaves in a certain and predictable way.
Other scientists had discovered that gravity and electromagnetism were not the only forces ruling the universe. Study of the atom yielded two more forces at work--the Strong Nuclear Force, which binds the nucleus of the atom together, and the Weak Nuclear Force, which allows neutrons to become protons, thereby producing radiation as a byproduct. These two forces overshadow gravity at the subatomic level.
Laws of Nature are supposed to apply everywhere, however current theory splits physics into two groups--Quantum Physics, which applies only at the subatomic and atomic levels; and Relativity, which applies mostly to massive, heavy objects like stars and galaxies.
One point which may be the key to unifying the two theories is the existence of black holes. Karl Schwarzschild proposed that an enormous mass, such as that of a large star, compacted into a tiny area could warp the fabric of space-time so badly that nothing, not even light, could escape its gravity. Black holes are massive in weight, making Relativity applicable, but atomic in size, making Quantum Physics apply as well.
String theory proposes to unify Quantum Physics with Relativity. However, it is a controversial area of study, as strings are too small to be proven to exist at this time. They cannot be studied or viewed, therefore cannot be proven.
