Not Up to Fatima & black holes

Brian Dean errancy@infidels.org
Fri, 13 Aug 1999 00:35:47 -0400 (00934536947, 37B3A0A2.4A29F12A@worldnet.att.net) 


> > BRIDEAN

> > If I remember correctly they had formulas to go on.  Isn't that some "kind"

> > of understanding?  Do you have any formulas applicable to travelling great

> > distances over space in a reasonable amount of time?  Hmm, didn't think so.

>

> RICHARD

> I'll give you the short version, since I doubt anyone wants to hear too

> much about the gory details.  If you want them, ask and I'll send you

> every last differential.

>

> The big problem that set the foundation for QM was the "Ultraviolet

> catastrophe".  Bascially, the equations of the day were incorrect when

> calculating the amount of energy produced by a radiating black body at

> high frequencies (the equations predicted that as the frequency increased,

> the energy released would head towards infinity, since a black body

> radiates on all frequencies, that would imply an infinite energy in a

> finite space, which is ridiculous).  Plack _violated_ one of the

> _fundamental_assumptions_ of classical physics when he reasoned that

> energy could only occur in "packets" -- this was based off of the

> wave-like properties of energy, applied to a closed system, and later

> generalized (not by him)  to open systems.  From this assumption, he

> (and a few other people) developed the set of equations that we now call

> quantum mechanics.  The various constants were filled in by empirical

> observation.

>

> So to answer your first question, they were not simply deriving equations

> from earlier equations.  Without Planck's reasoning, that fundamental leap

> of logic, his reasoning about something he didn't understand, we still

> would not have any sort of foundation for modern chemistry or subatomic

> physics.

>

> To answer your second question, yes I do.  They're called the relativistic

> equations.  I can calculate the speed at which I have to travel to get

> from one star to any other point in a week or less (from my POV), if you

> want me to.  If you travel at speeds like (1 - 10^-1000000000000000)*c

> you'll experience essentially no time passage for travel between any two

> stars in our galaxy.


BRIDEAN
Hmm, ever heard of tachyons?