Lightspeed

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
John C. H. Spence
Keyword(s):  
Frame Of Reference ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Speed Of Light ◽  
Finite Speed ◽  
Global Clock ◽  
International Collaborations ◽  
Absolute Frame ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Looking Back ◽  
Faster Than Light

This book tells the human story of one of mankind’s greatest intellectual adventures—how we understood that light travels at a finite speed, so that when we look up at the stars we are looking back in time. And how the search for an absolute frame of reference in the universe led inexorably to Einstein’s famous equation E = mc2 for the energy released by nuclear weapons which also powers our sun and the stars. From the ancient Greeks measuring the distance to the Sun, to today’s satellite navigation and Einstein’s theories, the book takes the reader on a gripping historical journey. How Galileo with his telescope discovered the moons of Jupiter and used their eclipses as a global clock, allowing travellers to find their longitude. How Roemer, noticing that the eclipses were sometimes late, used this delay to obtain the first measurement of the speed of light, which takes eight minutes to get to us from the Sun. From the international collaborations to observe the transits of Venus, including Cook’s voyage to Australia, to the extraordinary achievements of Young and Fresnel, whose discoveries eventually taught us that light travels as a wave but arrives as a particle, and the quantum weirdness which follows. In the nineteenth century we find Faraday and Maxwell, struggling to understand how light can propagate through the vacuum of space unless it is filled with a ghostly vortex Aether foam. We follow the brilliantly gifted experimentalists Hertz, discoverer of radio, Michelson with his search for the Aether wind, and Foucault and Fizeau with their spinning mirrors and lightbeams across the rooftops of Paris. The difficulties of sending messages faster than light, using quantum entanglement, and the reality of the quantum world conclude this saga.

Introduction

Lightspeed ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
John C. H. Spence
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Weapons ◽  
Frame Of Reference ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Speed Of Light ◽  
Finite Speed ◽  
Global Clock ◽  
International Collaborations ◽  
Absolute Frame ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Looking Back

This book tells the human story of one of mankind’s greatest intellectual adventures - how we understood that light travels at a finite speed, so that when we look up at the stars we are looking back in time. And how the search for an absolute frame of reference in the universe led inexorably to Einstein’s famous equation E = mc2 for the energy released by nuclear weapons, which also powers our sun and the stars. From the ancient Greeks measuring the distance to the sun, to today’s satellite navigation and Einstein’s theories, the book takes the reader on a gripping historical journey. How Galileo with his telescope discovered the moons of Jupiter and used their eclipses as a global clock, allowing travellers to find their Longitude. How Roemer, noticing that the eclipses were sometimes late, used this delay to obtain the first measurement of the speed of light, which takes eight minutes to get to us from the Sun. From the international collaborations to observe the Transits of Venus, including Cook’s voyage to Australia, to the extraordinary achievements of Young and Fresnel, whose discoveries eventually taught us that light travels as a wave but arrives as a particle, and the quantum weirdness which follows. In the nineteenth century we find Faraday and Maxwell, struggling to understand how light can propagate through the vacuum of space unless it is filled with a ghostly vortex Aether foam. We follow the brilliantly gifted experimentalists Hertz, discoverer of radio, Michelson with his search for the Aether wind, and Foucault and Fizeau with their spinning mirrors and lightbeams across the rooftops of Paris, competing to be the first to measure the speed of light on earth. The difficulty of sending messages faster than light using quantum entanglement, and the reality of the quantum world conclude this saga.

Einstein

Lightspeed ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 144-158
Author(s):  
John C. H. Spence
Keyword(s):  
Frame Of Reference ◽  
Relativity Theory ◽  
Theoretical Physics ◽  
Simple Explanation ◽  
Flowing Water ◽  
Theory Of Relativity ◽  
Speed Of Light ◽  
Nuclear Explosions ◽  
Absolute Frame ◽  
The Universe

The confused state of theoretical physics in 1900 and the great unresolved issues are summarized, one of which led to the birth of quantum mechanics, and the other to relativity. How it seemed impossible to reconcile Bradley’s measurements of the speed of light with Fresnel’s Aether drag hypothesis, which was well supported by Fizeau’s measurements in Paris of the speed of light in a moving medium (flowing water). Maxwell’s equations predicted a constant speed of light, suggesting an absolute frame of reference in the universe, but did not “transform” in the same way as Newton’s equations from one moving observer to another. How Einstein made sense of all these rival theories and experimental results with his unifying theory of relativity, based on two assumptions. His life and work is discussed, and a simple explanation given of his relativity theory. How the failure of this search for an absolute frame of reference in our universe led him inexorably to perhaps the most famous equation in physics E = mc2, giving the energy release from nuclear explosions and the stars.

James Bradley, Sailing on the Thames

Lightspeed ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 49-57
Author(s):  
John C. H. Spence
Keyword(s):  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Theory Of Relativity ◽  
Speed Of Light ◽  
Astronomical Observations ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Independent Estimate ◽  
The Universe ◽  
At Home

The story of the astronomical observations of James Bradley in the eighteenth century, whose measurements of the small movements of a star throughout the year provided an independent estimate of the speed of the Earth around the Sun relative to the speed of light. His work provided the first experimental evidence in support of Copernicus’s theory that the earth is in motion, and against the idea that it is stationary at the center of the universe. His simple telescope at home, his brilliant idea and perseverance, and his life’s work and influence. The importance of his result for the development of Einstein’s theory of relativity and for theories of the Aether in the following centuries.

Albert Michelson and the Aether Wind

Lightspeed ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 112-143
Author(s):  
John C. H. Spence
Keyword(s):  
Group Velocity ◽  
Frame Of Reference ◽  
Speed Of Light ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Absolute Frame ◽  
American Scientist

The life of the gifted American scientist who devoted his life to detection of the Aether wind which the Earth should be moving through, and to the measurement of the speed of light. The struggle to understand how light could propagate through a complete vacuum. Michelson’s invention of his interferometer. Michelson’s great experiment at Case University showing that the speed of light is the same in all directions, independent of the Earth’s velocity. His communication with Maxwell, Kevin, and Rayleigh, and sense of failure over his inability to detect the Aether wind or to locate the Aether as an absolute frame of reference. The Aether drag theories and their tests. Rayleigh’s work on the difference between phase and group velocity. Heaviside’s life and work. Fitzgerald, Einstein, Lorentz, and Michelson.

scholarly journals The Absolute Frame of Reference

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ninh Khac Son
Keyword(s):  
Reference Frame ◽  
Chaotic Motion ◽  
Maximum Velocity ◽  
Frame Of Reference ◽  
Linear Motion ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Reference Frame Transformation ◽  
Frame Transformation ◽  
Absolute Frame ◽  
The Universe

The manuscript found the formula to calculate the real velocity of the earth and the maximum velocity in the universe, the values of the quantities after calculation as follows:V_earth = 1.852819296∗10^8 m/s.C_max = 4.8507438399∗10^8 m/s.In order to calculate the above results, the manuscript has built a reference frame transformation suitable for all types of motion(suitable for both linear motion and chaotic motion of the reference frame). This means that we will calculate the velocity of an object without using the distance S quantity of the object.

Much Ado about (Practically) Nothing

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Energy Source ◽  
Atomic Nucleus ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Scientific Journals ◽  
Rare Gases ◽  
Important Work ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Life On Mars ◽  
The Universe

There are eight columns in the Periodic Table. The eighth column is comprised of the rare gases, so-called because they are the rarest elements on earth. They are also called the inert or noble gases because, like nobility, they do no work. They are colorless, odorless, invisible gases which do not react with anything, and were thought to be unimportant until the early 1960s. Starting in that era, David Fisher has spent roughly fifty years doing research on these gases, publishing nearly a hundred papers in the scientific journals, applying them to problems in geophysics and cosmochemistry, and learning how other scientists have utilized them to change our ideas about the universe, the sun, and our own planet. Much Ado about (Practically) Nothing will cover this spectrum of ideas, interspersed with the author's own work which will serve to introduce each gas and the important work others have done with them. The rare gases have participated in a wide range of scientific advances-even revolutions-but no book has ever recorded the entire story. Fisher will range from the intricacies of the atomic nucleus and the tiniest of elementary particles, the neutrino, to the energy source of the stars; from the age of the earth to its future energies; from life on Mars to cancer here on earth. A whole panoply that has never before been told as an entity.

Galileo Unbound

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David D. Nolte
Keyword(s):  
Free Fall ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Quantum Field ◽  
Many Worlds ◽  
Quantum Particles ◽  
Light Rays ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Insight Into

Galileo Unbound: A Path Across Life, The Universe and Everything traces the journey that brought us from Galileo’s law of free fall to today’s geneticists measuring evolutionary drift, entangled quantum particles moving among many worlds, and our lives as trajectories traversing a health space with thousands of dimensions. Remarkably, common themes persist that predict the evolution of species as readily as the orbits of planets or the collapse of stars into black holes. This book tells the history of spaces of expanding dimension and increasing abstraction and how they continue today to give new insight into the physics of complex systems. Galileo published the first modern law of motion, the Law of Fall, that was ideal and simple, laying the foundation upon which Newton built the first theory of dynamics. Early in the twentieth century, geometry became the cause of motion rather than the result when Einstein envisioned the fabric of space-time warped by mass and energy, forcing light rays to bend past the Sun. Possibly more radical was Feynman’s dilemma of quantum particles taking all paths at once—setting the stage for the modern fields of quantum field theory and quantum computing. Yet as concepts of motion have evolved, one thing has remained constant, the need to track ever more complex changes and to capture their essence, to find patterns in the chaos as we try to predict and control our world.

scholarly journals III. On the nature and construction of the sun and fixed stars

1795 ◽  
Vol 85 ◽  
pp. 46-72 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Central Body ◽  
Planetary System ◽  
Considerable Progress ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Great Satisfaction ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The World ◽  
Celestial Bodies ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Made In

Among the celestial bodies the sun is certainly the first which should attract our notice. It is a fountain of light that illuminates the world! it is the cause of that heat which main­tains the productive power of nature, and makes the earth a fit habitation for man! it is the central body of the planetary system; and what renders a knowledge of its nature still more interesting to us is, that the numberless stars which compose the universe, appear, by the strictest analogy, to be similar bodies. Their innate light is so intense, that it reaches the eye of the observer from the remotest regions of space, and forcibly claims his notice. Now, if we are convinced that an inquiry into the nature and properties of the sun is highly worthy of our notice, we may also with great satisfaction reflect on the considerable progress that has already been made in our knowledge of this eminent body. It would require a long detail to enumerate all the various discoveries which have been made on this subject; I shall, therefore, content myself with giving only the most capital of them.

INFLATION, QUINTESSENCE PROBLEM AND VARYING SPEED OF LIGHT

2002 ◽  
Vol 17 (05) ◽  
pp. 295-302
Author(s):  
SUBENOY CHAKRABORTY
Keyword(s):  
Cosmological Constant ◽  
Accelerated Expansion ◽  
Speed Of Light ◽  
Expansion Of The Universe ◽  
The Universe

In this paper it is shown that the present accelerated expansion of the Universe can be explained only by considering variation of the speed of light, without taking into account the cosmological constant or quintessence matter.

Cosmic Deer as an Archaic Symbol in the Narratives and Rituals of the Tungus-Manchus

2020 ◽  
pp. 112-121
Author(s):  
Татьяна Юрьевна Сем
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Time Model ◽  
Space And Time ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Cosmic Scale ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Universe ◽  
The Bronze Age

Статья посвящена мифологическому образу космического оленя в традиционной культуре тунгусо-маньчжуров. В работе рассматриваются материалы фольклора, шаманства, промысловых и календарных ритуалов, а также искусства. Впервые систематизированы материалы по всем тунгусо-маньчжурским народам. Образ космического оленя в фольклоре эвенов имеет наиболее близкие аналогии с амурскими народами, которые представляют его с рогами до небес. Он сохранился в сказочном фольклоре с мифологическими и эпическими элементами. В эвенском мифе образ оленя имеет космические масштабы: из тела его происходит земля и всё живущее на ней. У народов Амура образ оленя нашел отражение в космогенезе, отделении неба от земли. Своеобразие сюжета космической охоты характеризует общесибирскую мифологию, относящуюся к ранней истории. В ней наиболее ярко проявляется мотив смены старого и нового солнца, хода времени, смены времен года, календарь тунгусо-маньчжуров. В результате анализа автор пришел к выводу, что олень в тунгусо-маньчжурской традиции моделирует пространство и время Вселенной, характеризует образ солнца и хода времени. Космический олень является архетипичным символом культуры тунгусо-маньчжуров, сохранившим свое значение до настоящего времени в художественной культуре This article is devoted to the mythological image of cosmic deer in traditional Tungus-Manchu culture. It examines materials of folklore, shamanism, trade and calendar rituals as well as art and for the first time systematizes materials from all of the Tungus-Manchu peoples. The image of cosmic deer in the folklore of the Evens has its closest analogy in that of the Amur peoples, reflected in the image of a deer with horns reaching up to the sky. This image is preserved in fairytales with mythological and epic elements. In the Even myth, the image of a deer is on a cosmic scale, as the cosmos issues from its body. Among the Amur peoples, the image of a deer is also related to cosmogenesis, to the separation of the earth from the sky. The plot of a cosmic hunt is reflected in pan-Siberian mythology, dating back to the Bronze Age. It clearly illustrates the motif of the change of the old and new sun, the passage of time, the change of seasons, the Tungus-Manchu calendar. The author comes to the conclusion that deer in the Tungus-Manchu tradition, in depicting the image of the sun and the passage of time, model the space and time of the Universe. The cosmic deer is an archetypal symbol of Tungus-Manchu culture, which has retained its significance in artistic culture to the present day.

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