From Preschool to Theoretical Physics - Coach Roland on Life Long Learning

WHAT IS A WAVE? from The Evolution of Physics by Albert Einstein and Leopold Infeld A bit of gossip starting in London reaches Edinburgh very quickly, even though not a single individual who takes part in spreading it travels between these two cities. There are two quite different motions involved, that of the rumor, London to Edinburgh, and that of the persons who spread the rumor. The wind, passing over a field of grain, sets up a wave which spreads our across the whole field. Here again we must distinguish between the motion of the wave and the motion of the separate plants, which undergo only small oscillations. We have all seen the waves that spread in wider and wider circles when a stone is thrown into a pool of water. The motion of the wave is very different from that of the particles of water. The particles merely go up and down. The observed motion of the wave is that of a state of matter and not of matter itself. A cork floating on the wave shows this clearly, ...

"radiation transmits inertia between emitting and absorbing bodies" Albert Einstein "The equation E=mc^2 connects intangibility and tangibility and by making them equivalent, joins them as one. Energy and mass are different and it is the speed of light that brings them together." Einstein 1905 The Standard of Excellence John S. Rigden Rather than saying that the speed of light is constant, though it is generally so, it is more accurate to say that the speed of light is the speed limit for the universe. In fact, nothing is permitted to go even that fast, except light itself. If time and gravity, as I have said, are how we feel the pre-time force which is the luminiferous ether (that Faraday and Maxwell quite properly believed exists), then light is that matter with the least mass. It is quite possibly the direct precursor to the smallest quantum level particle destined to become subatomic particles, then atoms, then more complex structures. A local disturbance in th...

About HyperPhysics Rationale for Development HyperPhysics is an exploration environment for concepts in physics which employs concept maps and other linking strategies to facilitate smooth navigation. For the most part, it is laid out in small segments or "cards", true to its original development in HyperCard. The entire environment is interconnected with thousands of links, reminiscent of a neural network. http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/hframe.html Merlot Classic Award winner for 2005 "Hyperphysics was honored because of its comprehensive coverage of most of physics, the creative use of multimedia and linking, and the impact it has had on students worldwide. Online tutorials cover a wide range of physics topics, including modern physics and astronomy. Material is organized through extensive concept maps."

Question: If the universe is expanding, does that mean atoms are getting bigger? Is the Solar System expanding? Mrs Felix: Why don't you do your homework? Allen Felix: The Universe is expanding. Everything will fall apart, and we'll all die. What's the point? Mrs Felix: We live in Brooklyn. Brooklyn is not expanding! Go do your homework. (from Annie Hall by Woody Allen) Dr. Roland's comments: Woody Allen is funny. Right now I will not say whether it is expanding or not. However, I tend to agree with Albert Einstein's 1917 paper on general relativity and cosmology. In a 4 dimensional curved geodesic space, using Reimannian geometry to describe gravitational movement, the only line that cannot be drawn is an infinitely straight line, which suggests a universe with mass is a finite sphere. But is the sphere expanding, like the surface of a balloon being inflated? If the universe is expanding, and it well might be, perhaps it is because God is still creating. Th...

"For the record, Einstein's Theory of Relativity does not uphold moral relativism. If anything, the theory is an expression of absolutism: the speed of light is absolute and invariant, i.e., the same for all observers." (webmaster, the Augustine Club, Columbia University 2002) As distinguished physicist and Templeton Prize winner Stanley Jaki pointed out in his lecture The Absolute Beneath the Relative: Reflections on Einstein's Theories , the choice of the word "relative" for the Theory of Relativity is one of the most unfortunate in the history of physics. Einstein was actually looking for (and found) the constant, the universal, the absolute and the invariant. He didn't find the relative--he found the universal that is behind and applies in any relative frame of reference. One of his guiding principles was that the laws of physics must be the same in all frames of reference. Likewise, the speed of light is a constant, when viewed from any frame of ...

Kids need more time to tinker, daydream, and play. Kids need less school, not more. They shorter school days, not longer. Fewer classes not more. Shorter school years, not longer. Faraday, Curie, Edison, Jobs, Wozniak, Hewlett and Packard were tinkerers. More useful and cutting edge science has been discovered in a cluttered lab than any classroom. More inventions have taken place in the garage than in a conference room. Einstein didn't pay attention and skipped classes. He was bored with school (except for subjects that interested him). He was a dreamer. He also enjoyed tinkering, and his dad had a warehouse full of electrical equipment. I have an earned MS and a Doctorate and taught graduate level classes at universities for 20 years. I am not against education, but it must also include plenty of time for discovery. Here's another interesting fact. Einstein didn't even talk until he was 8. Those of you who are debating whether to put your kids in preschool might want to ...

NASA reports: As World Turns it Drags Time and Space 10.21.04 An international team of NASA and university researchers has dramatically improved the accuracy of the first direct evidence that the Earth drags space and time around itself as it rotates. The measurements used the latest gravity models obtained from NASA's GRACE mission. The research, reported in the journal Nature, is the most accurate direct measurement to date of the Lense-Thirring Effect--a bizarre effect of general relativity, which predicts a rotating mass will drag space around it. The Lense-Thirring Effect is also known as frame dragging. Frame dragging is like what happens if a bowling ball spins in a thick fluid such as molasses. As the ball spins, it pulls the molasses around itself. Anything stuck in the molasses will also move around the ball. Similarly, as the Earth rotates, it pulls space-time in its vicinity around itself. This will shift the orbits of satellites near Earth. http://www.nas...