Thursday, July 21, 2022

The Vital Importance Of Supernova In Exoplanets

There has been a lot in the news lately about how the James Webb Space Telescope is expected to discover many more exoplanets, and then examine them much more closely than was ever possible before. These are planets in other solar systems.

This posting is part of the compound posting, "The Configuration Of The Solar System Made Really Simple".

It seems to be taken for granted by some that there will automatically be water wherever a solar system forms. But this is not necessarily the case. It all depends on the supernova that formed the solar system.

All solar systems, meaning planets in orbit around a star, form because of the explosion of a star in a supernova. A star forms when enough matter comes together by gravity to overcome the electron repulsion that keeps atoms apart. Smaller atoms are crunched together into larger ones. The new larger atom has less overall internal energy than the smaller atoms which were crunched together to form it. This leftover energy is released as radiation and is why stars shine.

The star is an equilibrium between the inward force of gravity and the outward pressure of this energy released by fusion. As time goes on successively larger atoms are fused together in the center of the star. This upsets the equilibrium with more outward pressure.

The new imbalance in the equilibrium may cause the star to blast off it's outer layers, which would reduce the gravitational pressure driving fusion and thus restore the original equilibrium, or even to explode altogether from the center. This occurs only in the largest stars, with the greatest inward gravitational pressure. I define a nova as a blasting off of the outer layers of the star and a supernova as the star exploding from the center.

Our Solar System formed when a large star exploded in a supernova. Some of it's matter fell back together by gravity to form our sun and planets, but the sun is nowhere near as large as the previous star that exploded. We know that the sun is such a second-generation star because it contains heavy elements that are beyond it's current stage in the fusion process.

All energy on earth that is not solar or nuclear fusion came from this exploded star. Tidal energy is from the energy of the mass that was thrown outward by the supernova and coalesced by gravity to form the planets and moon. Nuclear fission energy comes from the heavy unstable elements that were put together from lighter atoms by the energy released by the supernova, this applies to nuclear fission and the radioactive decay that produces heat inside the earth but not to fusion energy generated on earth. Hydrogen on earth is usually diatomic, two atoms bonded together, when we burn hydrogen as fuel we are releasing the energy of that bond that was put together by a nova from the previous star that ultimately exploded in a supernova. Furthermore this previous star is so important to us because every atom in our bodies was once part of it.

Ordinary fusion of atoms in stars only goes as far as iron, because it takes more energy to break an iron atom apart than is released when it fuses. This is known as the S-process of fusion, for "slow". There is also the R-process, for "rapid".

Fusion by the R-process only takes place during the brief time that the star is actually exploding in the supernova, by the tremendous energy being released. The R-process is how all elements heavier than iron form. This is why iron and lighter elements are exponentially more common than the heavier elements. Some of the R-process elements are less-than-stable and gradually give off particles or radiation in order to reach a more stable condition. These emissions are known as radioactivity.

My theory is that the previous star underwent three nova, blasting off of the outer layers, before exploding from the center as a supernova. But I am absolutely certain that it underwent at least one nova.

A nova is a much-less powerful explosion than a supernova. A supernova releases such energy that it actually fuses atoms together into heavy elements that wouldn't have formed otherwise. A nova, in contrast, fuses the lighter atoms that are naturally found in a star's outer layers into molecules. This is how common light molecules like water, ammonia, methane and, diatomic hydrogen form.

This is why I conclude that there were three nova in the life of the previous star, before it finally exploded from the center in a supernova. Comets are formed of ices of light molecules, including water. The water on earth came from one or more comets. This explains why our Solar System has two distinct zones of comets, the far distant Oort Cloud and the nearer Kuiper Belt. The matter thrown out by the first nova would have been thrown further because it had a higher starting point. I conclude that the third nova threw the light molecules outward that formed the ammonia and methane that is so abundant in the outer planets of our Solar System.

Finally the previous star exploded from the center as a supernova. Some of the matter fell back together by gravity to form the sun. Some of the heavier rocky and metallic material remained in orbit around the sun. This is what forms the inner planets and the cores of the outer planets.

So what about the exoplanets, in orbits around distant stars, that are being discovered? We know that the only way that solar systems form, including ours, is from a large star that exploded in a supernova. But we see here that there was most likely three nova before our previous star exploded in the supernova that formed our Solar System. The supernovas that formed other solar systems may have unfolded quite differently than ours, and that is what I see as so important here.

We seem to take it for granted that there must be water in these faraway solar systems. But that may not be so. I see water molecules being put together by the energy released by a nova which preceded our previous star's supernova. What if a solar system formed by a star that just exploded in a supernova, without any preceding nova? Water would likely not exist.

Even if there were one or more nova preceding the supernova the molecules that it's energy put together from the light atoms in the outer layers of the star may not have come together at all like it did in our Solar System. In our case, large amounts of water, ammonia and, methane were formed by nova. But completely different molecules may have formed in other solar systems, even if the formation process was similar.

One thing that we can be reasonably sure of is that, if we find large planets of relatively low density, there surely was one or more nova before the supernova in the previous star of that solar system. A nova is what forms the molecules from light atoms that would produce such a low-density planet. A Neptune-like exoplanet was in the news and we can be sure that nova were necessary for it's formation, before the final supernova.

The major components of our atmosphere are nitrogen and oxygen, both of which are diatomic or consisting of two atoms bonded together. Having two atoms bonded together makes the nitrogen and oxygen heavier than it would be otherwise. There is energy in this diatomic bond and it comes from one of the nova that preceded the supernova that formed our Solar System. Hydrogen is also diatomic, for the same reason, and when we burn it as fuel we are releasing the energy of that nova. Without the weight of the two atoms together the earth's gravity may not be strong enough to hold onto it and we might not have our atmosphere as we know it.

Aside from nova the necessary supernova to form a solar system may not have turned out exactly the same as the one that formed our Solar System. In our Periodic Table there are 92 naturally-occurring elements, number 92 being uranium. But there may be more or fewer elements in other solar systems, although their relative proportions would likely be similar to ours. Scientists can create a number of elements in the laboratory that are heavier than uranium and do not occur naturally in our Solar System, even if they are radioactive and may only last for a fraction of a second. As for isotopes of the elements, the possibly varying number of neutrons in the same element, each element would likely have much the same isotopes although their relative proportions may be much different.

The most important factor in how faraway solar systems may differ from ours is how the supernova that must have formed it played out, and were there nova, a blasting off of the outer layers of the star, that preceded the supernova? If the exploding star that formed our Solar System had just been a supernova, with no preceding nova, the planets would likely be rocky and metallic, like the inner planets, without the large amounts of ammonia and methane that make up most of the giant outer planets.

I concluded that salt, sodium chloride, is another light molecule that was formed by a nova in the previous star. That is why salt and water are always associated together on earth, the two arrived on earth in the same comet.

The compound posting about the entire story of how the Solar System came to be is through the following link:

https://markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-configuration-of-solar-system-made.html?m=0

Sri Lanka

With regard to the overthrow of the Rajapaksa Dynasty, in Sri Lankan politics, is anyone concerned about the supply of tea? Sri Lanka produces quite a bit of the world's tea. Tea is life.

Sri Lanka is the island nation, shaped like a teardrop, just off the southeast tip of India. The world atlas that I had when I was a boy had it's name as Ceylon. It's ancient name was Serendip. The name was changed to Sri Lanka in 1972.

The island is very centrally located for trade, and for the conduit of new ideas. The majority group in Sri Lanka today are the Sinhalese and are Buddhist. But the population is about 15% Hindu Tamils. There are also minorities of Moslems and Christians.

Prince Vijaya is said to have been the first king of the island, in the Sixth Century B.C. He is believed to have arrived from India with a large group of followers.

Around 250 B.C. Mahinda, a son of the Indian emperor Ashoka, arrived with the message of Buddhism. Ashoka was known for his devotion to Buddhism. We do not usually think of India as a Buddhist country today, but it is actually the homeland of Buddhism and the circle on the Indian flag is the wheel of Buddhism. The wheel is named for Ashoka.

The island of Sri Lanka was not always united. There was the Jaffna Kingdom in the north and the Kingdom of Kandy was the last Sinhalese monarchy.

Anuradhapura was the capital of the island for about 1400 years.

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Jayawardene Pura is the capital area of Sri Lanka's largest city of Colombo. It has been a good harbor since ancient times, and a useful place for ships crossing the Indian Ocean to stop.

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Independence Square is the center of Colombo. The square is named for Sri Lanka's independence in 1948.

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This is the World Trade Center in the business center of Colombo.

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The Temple of the Sacred Tooth, in the city of Kandy, holds a tooth that is claimed to be from the Buddha. Kandy is in the central part of the island.  The tooth indicated rule of the Kingdom and the Temple was within the complex of the former Royal Palace.

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This is central Kandy. It is a medieval city that was once the capital of the island. The capital was moved to Colombo during the colonial era, as it is on the coast and faces toward Europe.

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The island is famous for Ceylon Tea. During colonial days, Ceylon was the British name for the island. Tea is grown especially in the central highlands but there are other varieties of tea grown elsewhere.

One of the best-known brands in the world is Lipton Tea. If all of the Lipton Tea that I have ever had was put together, it would surely fill a sea.

Sri Lanka was once known for coffee production. An agriculturalist named James Taylor though of bringing tea to the island. A fellow Scot named Thomas Lipton marketed the product and now it is a global name.

This is Sri Lanka's tea-growing country.

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Tamils arrived in Sri Lanka from India around the Third Century B.C. Unlike the Sinhalese Buddhists, the Tamils are Hindu by religion.

Nallur, within the northern Sri Lankan city of Jaffna, was the medieval capital of the Jaffna Kingdom.

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Jaffna Fort was a colonial-era fort, built in the Seventeenth Century. It was first Portuguese, then Dutch, then British. It is in the far-northern part of the island.

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Jaffna, in the north of Sri Lanka, was the center of the Tamil population of the island, with their religion of Hinduism. Kandy is a Sinhalese center, with the Buddhist religion.

https://www.google.com/maps/@9.6562683,80.0235177,3a,75y,90h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s3R7d0qh3gezI4RTFGMZrXg!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D3R7d0qh3gezI4RTFGMZrXg%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D42.696518%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

There used to be harmony between Tamils and Sinhalese, but relations deteriorated after independence in 1948. The Tamils, in the north and east of the country around Jaffna, demanded an independent homeland to be called Tamil Eelam. "Eelam" being the old Tamil name for the island. It could be called an effort to revive the Jaffna Kingdom.

A military group called the "Tamil Tigers of Tamil Eelam" was formed, usually abbreviated as LTTE. As anyone who has followed the news for the past few decades knows, what followed was a very nasty 26-year civil war, lasting from 1983 to the final victory of the Sri Lankan Army over LTTE in 2009.

India had peacekeepers in Sri Lanka from 1987 to 1990. The city of Jaffna suffered especially heavily during the civil war. The city was held by LTTE. Indian peacekeepers temporarily took back control of the city. The Sri Lankan Army finally regained control of the city in the mid-1990s.

Whether or not LTTE is a terrorist group depends, of course, on one's perspective. But it was very effective, in military terms, and has been studied by similar groups across the world.

Rajiv, Gandhi was the prime minister who sent Indian peacekeepers to Sri Lanka's Civil War. He was the son of Indira Gandhi, who had been assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards in 1984 due to another conflict. The Gandhis of Indian politics were not related to Mahatma Gandhi, the hero of India's 1947 independence. India Gandhi was the daughter of the country's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. She happened to marry a man named Gandhi, but the name probably didn't hurt her political career and the family's Congress Party used to really dominate the politics of the country.

In 1991, after the Indian peacekeepers had been withdrawn from Sri Lanka, Rajiv Gandhi was campaigning near Chennai. A crowd was there to greet him. A teenage girl got close to him and bowed as a greeting, but she had a bomb concealed in her clothing. It turned out that the girl was a supporter of the Tamil Tigers.

The Rajiv Gandhi Memorial is on the site, in southern India, where Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in 1991, because of the Indian Peacekeeping force that was sent to Sri Lanka during it's Civil War.

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Thursday, July 14, 2022

Washington D.C.

Washington D.C. was especially built as America's capital city because, at the time it was built, it was roughly centered between the northern and the southern states. Land was taken from both Maryland and Virginia for the new national capital. The D.C. is an abbreviation for District of Columbia. This district was created so that the capital city is not in any state, and is also not a state unto itself. Washington has a mayor while the District of Columbia does not have a governor, since it is not a state, but is run by a council.


The selection of the site for Washington D.C is very reminiscent of King David selecting Jerusalem as his capital because of it's central location and lack of connection to any one tribe. Ottawa follows the same principal as being between French- and English-speaking regions. In a similar way, Canberra was specially built as the capital of Australia as a compromise halfway between the two major cities of Sydney and Melbourne, neither of which was about to agree to the other being the capital.

The original designer of the city was Charles L'Enfant, a Frenchman, and it is easy to see how the layout of the city resembles that of Paris. The Mall being equivalent to the Champs Elysees, the Washington Monument to the obelisk in Place Concorde and the diagonal streets linking squares in the city.

George Washington replaced Charles L'Enfant with Andrew Ellicott, as the main planner of the city. He was the brother of Joseph Ellicott, who designed cities such as Buffalo and Batavia and whose name is all over western New York State, but who unfortunately suffered from mental illness.

The street pattern of Washington is divided into four quadrants by compass direction. The center is the Capitol Building. East-west streets are named with letters. North-south streets are named with numbers. Then there are diagonal avenues superimposed on the grid pattern that are often named for states. The two best-known of these avenues is Pennsylvania Avenue, which runs from the White House to the Capitol, and Massachusetts Avenue, where "Embassy Row" is located.

We saw the dome of the Capitol Building, America's legislature, and the White House on the travel photos blog of North America. These represent two of the three branches of the U.S. Government. The executive branch is the president, who lives in the White House. The legislative branch is the Congress, which meets in the Capitol Building. The third branch is judicial, the top of which is the Supreme Court.

The Congress is bicameral, meaning that it has an upper and a lower house. The upper house is the Senate, each of the fifty U.S. states has two senators, one from each of the two main parties. The number of seats that a state has in the lower house, the House of Representatives, depends on it's population.

This is the dome of the Capitol Building. The statue is of former president James Garfield.

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5492/3756/1600/dc_250979.jpg

Here is the White House. This side of the White House, facing south toward the Washington Monument, is actually the back. There is room for a helicopter to land. The front of the White House, with the columns and the triangular pediment, faces north.

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The first of the following scenes is looking along the National Mall, with the Second World War Memorial in one direction and the obelisk of the Washington Monument in the opposite direction. The Washington Monument was the tallest structure in the world until the Eiffel Tower, which was built by the same designer that gave the U.S. the Statue of Liberty.

Two prominent presidents have memorials made of white stone with columns. The Thomas Jefferson Memorial is circular, with a dome, and at water's edge. The Abraham Lincoln Memorial is similar, but is rectangular and is at the end of the Reflecting Pool along the National Mall.

There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow, ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >, After clicking the up arrow, you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish.

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The following scenes begin inside the White House. The adjacent Eisenhower Executive Building, just west of the White House, holds a lot of government offices. The Treasury Building is on the east side of the White House. Remember that the north-facing side of the White House with the triangular pediment supported by four columns is actually the front.

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This is the Lincoln Memorial, at the end of the National Mall and Reflecting Pool with the Washington Monument in the opposite direction. This is where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made his "I Have A Dream" speech in 1963.

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The Smithsonian is an organization which operates a number of museums. The best-known of the Smithsonian network is the Air and Space Museum.

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The eastern end of the National Mall is the Capitol Building. Just east of that, the U.S. Supreme Court and the Library of Congress, America's national library, are across the street from each other. The first of the following scenes begins there. The first building that you see is the Library of Congress. The white building across the street is the Supreme Court. in the Capitol Building south of the dome is where the lower house, the House of Representatives meets, north of the dome is where the Senate meets. Did you know that the dome of the Capitol looks like it's made of stone, but it isn't?

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Democracy doesn't always work smoothly. But the ideal is that no one is special or above the law. What America's Watergate Scandal showed is that the leader of the country, the president, has to obey the laws just like everybody else. The same law is to be written down for everyone.

The modern complex of buildings in the following scenes, with the curved facades, is the Watergate Complex. This is where a burglary took place in June 1972 in an effort to get information on the Democrat National Committee, which had it's headquarters in the complex. The root of it was the obsession with Cuba. Several of the burglars, sent by the Republicans, had ties to the anti-Castro movement among Cubans and were apparently looking for evidence that the Democrats were receiving funds from, or had ties to, Cuban Communists.

The building had doors that were latched so that they opened from the inside but not the outside. Someone put tape over the latches so that they could reenter the building at night from the outside. A security guard removed the tape but then later noticed that someone had replaced it, and called police.

Five burglars were caught and the ensuing effort to cover it up brought down the presidency of Richard Nixon. What was so absurd about it was that Nixon won the 1972 election, getting reelected to his second term, in an absolute landslide. Any such sneaky effort to find out information about their opponents was completely unnecessary. Journalists exposed it and it made the journalism profession very highly respected.

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.8998116,-77.0552918,3a,75y,221.57h,96.67t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1ssjWaQD23e9JvHsMcgDTSeQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DsjWaQD23e9JvHsMcgDTSeQ%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D272.54608%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en

This is America's National Cathedral. It looks like one of the Gothic cathedrals of Europe although, of course, it isn't as old. The denomination of the cathedral is Episcopal. This is an American denomination formed after America separated from Britain.

The Anglican Church was formed, as one of the four main branches of the Reformation, as an attempt at compromising between Calvinistic Puritanical Protestants and Catholics. It kept some of the form and liturgy of the Catholic Church. But it didn't please everybody, some Protestants wanted nothing to do with anything that even resembled Catholicism. Many of these were the Pilgrims and Puritans who left to form their own society in Massachusetts.

The Anglican Church was widespread in the American colonies. But when America became independent, it's Anglican Church was cut off from outside, and it was renamed the Episcopal Church. But the Episcopal Church has since rejoined the global Anglican network, known as the Anglican Communion. In a similar way, there are the "Southern Baptists" because the Baptists split at the time of the U.S. Civil War, and have never gotten back together.

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.9305333,-77.0709417,3a,75y,221.63h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNzCzJHvboXQGXnR-V2njt8NQuIOtN1Gxx_C-_C!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNzCzJHvboXQGXnR-V2njt8NQuIOtN1Gxx_C-_C%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya214.66132-ro0-fo100!7i5376!8i2688

Massachusetts Avenue NW is the famed "Embassy Row". Remember how the grid of the city has east-west streets named with letters and north-south streets named with numbers, and the diagonal avenues usually named for U.S. states. The following scenes begin outside the Embassies of India and Turkey. Embassies used to really decorate themselves in the way of the host country. But now the tendency seems to keep a lower profile.

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.9165256,-77.0566629,3a,75y,270h,90t/data=!3m5!1e1!3m3!1sUnMbiYjjYN_w55yqqMw2JQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DUnMbiYjjYN_w55yqqMw2JQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D132.6001%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100

South of the Potomac River is Arlington National Cemetery and the Pentagon. This is America's national cemetery and the headquarters of it's military. The first of the following scenes is from the highway between the cemetery and the Pentagon.

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.8716325,-77.0593425,3a,75y,110.96h,90t/data=!3m5!1e1!3m3!1sLRjwNWn-OvnvEbErVAKb8Q!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DLRjwNWn-OvnvEbErVAKb8Q%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D116.20371%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100

Washington D.C. isn't all about the U.S. Government. It is also a city where ordinary people live. Following is an everyday neighborhood of Washington.

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.8947728,-76.9860648,3a,75y,89.16h,88.83t,0.65r/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sdFUz86ua3NLsLfzc8nxrdg!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DdFUz86ua3NLsLfzc8nxrdg%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D186.3025%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192

The Biological Relativity Of Time

This is not about Einstein's Relativity. There is another kind of relativity of time that does not get much attention. It could be described as the perception of how quickly, or how slowly, time passes. We tend to consider time as somewhat fixed but it is actually entirely relative.

Since the rate of falling by gravity is constant near the earth's surface, 32 feet or 9.8 meters per second squared, we can use this as an example of Biological Time Relativity. We perceive objects as falling at a certain rate, but this is very relative and dependent on our biological processes. 

There could be a creature whose internal biological processes move much faster than ours. The creature might live only a few weeks, by our perspective, but might see it's own lifespan as lasting what we perceive of as a hundred years. We would see the creature as moving extremely fast, while it would see us as moving extremely slow. 

The creature would see raindrops as suspended in the air like stars, and moving toward the earth's surface only very, very slowly. It would see the water in rivers as moving at a glacial pace, like we see slowly-moving ice floes. Though we would see it's lifespan as very short, it would see itself as living for a long time. The laws of physics wouldn't be different but everything would move much more slowly, because the biological perception of time is relative.

On the other hand there could be a creature whose biological processes moved much more slowly than ours. We might not even be aware of it as a living thing. The creature would only catch fleeting glimpses of us as we sped by. Night and day would seem like a flashing light show. Winter and summer would seem like the warmer and cooler parts of a day. But the very fast-moving universe all around would seem just as normal to it as our view does to us.

What it comes down to is the rate at which the creature's internal biological processes operate. What about what we consider as a "moment"? A moment has no exact definition but is the shortest fragment of time during ordinary thinking.

How about a "second"? A second is our shortest named interval of time. A second is roughly the same thing as a "moment", although a second is officially defined while a moment isn't. What is interesting about a second is that it isn't based on any natural process. Despite it's importance a second is an apparently arbitrary unit of time.

But what about our heartbeat? The heartbeat of the average fit younger person is about a second. It makes sense that our heartbeat ultimately defines time for us because it is the pace of our heartbeat that drives our biological processes, and thus our perception of time. Notice how our pace of breathing, whether during exertion or at rest, roughly corresponds to our heartbeat.

The rate that our heart has to beat to sustain life ultimately depends on the laws of physics, relative to our scale. But this means that other creatures might have completely different perceptions of the biological relativity of time than we do. If our heartbeat was faster we would see the world around us as moving slower, and if our heartbeat was slower we would see it as moving faster, although the laws of physics would be the same.

The same concept, of course, applies to distance as well as to time. We consider atoms as being extremely tiny and electrons as nearly infinitesimal. But that is just as much a matter of perspective, because we are made of atoms, as time. From another point of view atoms are on the scale of the entire Solar System, as we see it now, and electrons are as big as we perceive the moon.

Thursday, July 7, 2022

Remembering The Solstice Gap

We have recently passed the longest day of the year, June 21, and the day when the earth is furthest from the sun, July 4. According to celestial mechanics the two should align. But they don't, there is a two-week gap between the two dates.

The reason, which I had never seen explained, is that the earth moves faster in it's orbit when it is closer to the sun. The earth turns at a constant rate, 24 hours, but it doesn't move around the sun at a constant rate. The result is what I refer to as the "Solstice Gap".

Here is a link to the original posting:

www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2019/12/the-solstice-gap.html?m=0

America's Old West

With guns being such an issue in America let's have a look at it's old west. I believed that the fabled "Shootout at the O.K. Corall" was a nascent war of independence for the American West, although I have never seen it described or defined as such. The shootout was over the right to carry guns, and when the establishment side emerged victorious it ensured that these territories would one day be part of the United States. 

Here is a link to "The Would-Have-Been Nation Of Westland":

www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2017/07/the-would-have-been-nation-of-westland.html?m=0

Thursday, June 30, 2022

Philadelphia

Philadelphia was founded by William Penn, for whom Pennsylvania is named (Penn's Woods). Think of Philadelphia as a grid. The main north-south street is Broad Street. The main east-west street is Market Street. Where these two streets meet, in the figurative center of Philadelphia, is City Hall. Nearby is Independence Hall, where the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence were drafted. The following scenes begin in the courtyard of Philadelphia City Hall.

There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow, ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >, After clicking the up arrow, you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9524048,-75.1635508,2a,75y,160.37h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1smNC4dWXFJvEcIA0coWH-gw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DmNC4dWXFJvEcIA0coWH-gw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D164.70935%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

This is Logan Square, through which runs Ben Franklin Parkway. On the square is the Franklin Institute. Ben Franklin also began the University of Pennsylvania which teamed with the British Museum to amaze the world by excavating the ancient city of Ur. The Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, made of dark red stone, was visited by Pope John Paul not long after he became pope.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9581218,-75.170475,2a,75y,317.22h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s7qW7XdW8vUGjZHLxjeuwmg!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3D7qW7XdW8vUGjZHLxjeuwmg%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D324.6478%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Remember that we saw in "America And The Modern World Explained By Way Of Paris" how the Philadelphia Central Library on Logan Square is a replica of the building on Place Concorde, Hotel Crillon, where Ben Franklin first got diplomatic recognition for the new United States from a foreign country.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkway_Central_Library#/media/File:The_Free_Library_of_Philadelphia.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H%C3%B4tel_de_Crillon#/media/File:DSC_7353-Hotel-Crillon-Pari.jpg

The Art Museum is Philadelphia's version of the Louvre. From the Art Museum you can see along Ben Franklin Parkway, through Logan Square to City Hall. The Franklin Institute is a science museum.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9643393,-75.1792341,2a,75y,316.89h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sVAntUWD7cQ7L2hmpkIhTfg!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DVAntUWD7cQ7L2hmpkIhTfg%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D324.34454%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

The U.S. Marines actually began in a tavern in Philadelphia, the Tun Tavern. This is near Independence Hall. The following scenes are of that site and the nearby waterfront.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9473403,-75.14257,3a,15y,200.17h,90.8t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s0wWa1jB8rAcAYAaET237aA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

This is in central Philadelphia, beginning outside the Reading Terminal Market.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9536816,-75.1578846,3a,75y,105.13h,90t/data=!3m5!1e1!3m3!1srrpnUYcPu0k1_kSctieC7w!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DrrpnUYcPu0k1_kSctieC7w%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D109.431816%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100

This is the district known as Brewerytown.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9743356,-75.1815464,3a,75y,321.56h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sBjiR6v710FzGAaP-CHLbxg!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DBjiR6v710FzGAaP-CHLbxg%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D328.68506%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

I once had a meal at the Broad Street Diner in South Philadelphia. There are so many of those old-style row houses that Philadelphia is known for.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9365716,-75.1670233,3a,75y,112.4h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1szbuP929TvgHxiw_KMMirWw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DzbuP929TvgHxiw_KMMirWw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D118.255974%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

The Delaware River forms the state boundary between Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In the Philadelphia metropolitan area, but across the river in New Jersey, is the city of Camden. The first thing that Camden brings to mind is Campbell's Soup. It is directly across from downtown Philadelphia. The suspension bridge connecting the two is the Ben Franklin Bridge.

The following views begin on board the U.S.S. New Jersey. Camden used to be world-renowned for shipbuilding. Most of the views are looking across the river at the skyline of Philadelphia.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9394484,-75.1330734,3a,75y,106.55h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipOrpJlwRweAGd5_g04d3dQxqDthrUULIkmoWH1v!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipOrpJlwRweAGd5_g04d3dQxqDthrUULIkmoWH1v%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya111.18861-ro-0-fo100!7i8000!8i4000

The following scenes are of Camden.

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9424313,-75.1168391,3a,75y,148.41h,90t/data=!3m5!1e1!3m3!1sbB_jTTlTlvtUL3ZcHLT_Rw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DbB_jTTlTlvtUL3ZcHLT_Rw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D154.7586%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100

Just north of the Philadelphia metropolitan area is Trenton. It is the state capital of New Jersey.

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.2201315,-74.7640516,3a,75y,6.71h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sHPjCsbl7aUoQgbdX5U6jaw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DHPjCsbl7aUoQgbdX5U6jaw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D5.135036%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

"MR. PHILADELPHIA"

Ben Franklin, one of the founders of the United States, could be given the title of "Mr. Philadelphia", although he was not born there. He was never president but, with the exception of George Washington, his name is the best-known of the early Americans today. His name is certainly better-known than the presidents who followed Washington, John Adams, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, and even Thomas Jefferson.

I actually think it would have diminished his legacy if he had been president because he would have been defined by what happened during his term as president and it would taken his attention away from the other things that he did.

Ben Franklin only went to school for a few years but he relentlessly educated himself by reading. One of his many interests was electricity. He was the one who named the positive and negative electric charges. I consider that as more important than anything else that he did. My cosmology theory has the entire universe being made of these two electric charges that Ben Franklin defined.

Another thing that he did was to chart the Gulf Stream. It was known before his time but he is the one who charted it. Ships took longer to move westward through the English Channel because they were going against the current.

There was once a U.S. state named Franklin, until it became part of Tennessee.

Just as Moslems have prayers five times a day, Ben Franklin wanted to start similar daily prayers in the United States. But it seems as if his plan was for only once a day.

America Allows The Banning Of Abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court ruling this week overturned the 1973 ruling in favor of abortion. The Religious Right is delighted. A really important posting is " The Great Revolution Of Our Time", January 2017. What has really happened is that the Iranian Revolution has arrived in America.

Thursday, June 23, 2022

History Repeats Itself Again

Did you notice a simple example this week of how history repeats itself? History is so important because we tend to repeat it, often without realizing it.

It was in the news this week that a Russian intelligence agent attempted to gain access to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Netherlands, by applying to be an intern.

What do you notice here? This follows exactly the same pattern as Peter the Great, the best-known tsar of the Romanov Dynasty, moving to the Netherlands and getting a job working incognito in a Dutch shipyard, in order to learn ways to best modernize his own country.

Here is a link to the compound posting on this blog, "How History Repeats Itself":

www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2019/11/how-history-repeats-itself.html?m=1

Thursday, June 16, 2022

Inflation Then And Now

Inflation is the highest that it has been in forty years. What I would like to do is compare inflation now to that in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Inflation, a general increase in prices, can be caused by a number of factors. Whatever the cause the usual way to combat inflation is to raise interest rates, which makes borrowing more expensive. This has the effect of increasing the value of money, relative to that of goods, thus lowering inflation.

While the inflation of today brings back memories of forty years ago, I find that the root cause of the inflation is very different. What is interesting is that, while all of the western countries were wracked with inflation, forty years ago it was lower in America while today it is higher in America, when compared to other western countries.

The inflation of forty years ago was based on wages. Labor unions were powerful and kept pushing for pay raises. The result is that millions of well-paid unionized factory workers were earning more than their labor was really worth, according to the Law of Supply and Demand, and the economy adjusted by way of inflation. It is certainly no coincidence that inflation and the number of people working in manufacturing both peaked in the same year, which was 1979. 

Margaret Thatcher, in Britain, and then Ronald Reagan, in America, both went after powerful labor unions. A turning point for the power of unions in America was Reagan's firing of the striking air traffic controllers, in 1981. 

Both purposely induced nasty recessions because that was the only way to stop inflation. By the mid-1980s inflation had been tamed but Ronald Reagan unfortunately stuck to his rightward economic policies well after the problem had been solved, and that is what caused the market crash of 1987 by hindering consumer spending.

For decades the word "inflation" brought back memories of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Now inflation is back with a vengeance, but it's root causes are different.

Handing out money for pandemic relief is certainly among the causes of today's inflation, as is probably increases in the minimum wage in recent years. But the main cause of the inflation today is the cost of fuel. 

Forty years ago the cost of fuel was still low, but when fuel gets expensive it makes everything else expensive. When you buy an item at the store the price has to include the cost of transporting the raw materials to the factory, and then of transporting the finished product to the store. Forty years ago we had primarily wage-based inflation while today we have primarily fuel-based inflation.

Just as the recession of the early 1980s was artificially induced because it was the only way to stop inflation, we might wonder if at least part of the soaring cost of fuel is also artificial, for the purpose of pushing people to buy electric cars.

We can see that this is fuel-based inflation by the fact that it is generally higher in America than in other western countries, whereas forty years ago it was the reverse. Most other western countries, particularly in Europe, are geographically compact. This greatly lowers the cost of transportation when fuel gets expensive.

Canada and Australia are comparable to America geographically but the population of Canada is very concentrated along it's border with the U.S. making it, in effect, more compact. The population of Australia is heavily concentrated near the east coast, east of the Great Dividing Range, and the cities that aren't, such as Perth and Adelaide, are on the coast so that they are accessible by ship. The cities of America, in contrast, are geographically dispersed and far apart. That is why America leads in this fuel-based inflation. It costs a lot of money to move things from one part of America to another.

Straight Lines And The Shape Of The Universe

There are often discussions as to the "shape" of the space in the universe. An illustration of what the space of the universe might be shaped like revolves around what happens to a spacecraft, or a beam of light, that travels outward into space.

If the light or the spacecraft, moving at a constant velocity, continually gets further and further away, at a constant rate, then the shape of space in the universe is considered to be "flat".

If the light or the spacecraft, moving in a straight line, eventually returns to it's starting point then the shape of space in the universe is referred to as "closed". The question of whether the universe is "flat" or "closed" is related to the question of whether it is finite or infinite. With a flat universe it could be infinite but a closed universe implies that it is finite.

There is also a debate as to whether the universe is "open" or "closed", although this is not the same thing as the shape of space in the universe, it refers to the expansion of the universe. If the matter of the universe will ultimately fall back together by it's mutual gravity, the universe is referred to as "closed", if not then it is "open".

The analogy that is naturally used for the closed universe is the surface of the earth. From any given perspective on the earth's surface it appears to be flat. But if we continue in a straight line for long enough we eventually end up back at our starting point. This means that the earth's surface is closed and finite, even though it has no boundaries.

Although the shape of space appears to us, at first glance, to obviously be flat the argument in favor of a closed universe is that the default gravitational form in the universe, for stars and planets, is a sphere. Since these spheres are within the space of the universe, then shouldn't that space have the same form? 

Einstein's General Theory of Relativity, as opposed to the Special Theory which deals with the speed of light, explains how space is curved by gravity. An object in orbit is defined as actually moving in a straight line but through curved space. The space being curved by the mass of the star or planet around which the orbit is taking place.

The space of the universe does not necessarily have to be either "flat" or "closed", these are just the examples at either end of the scale. The space of the universe might have a negative curvature, as opposed to the positive curvature of a sphere, this would give it a "saddle" shape. There are other ideas that the space of the universe might have some kind of torus shape. This means, like the closed sphere, that the space of the universe is finite yet has no boundaries. 

The mathematical rules of geometry are different for different shapes of space. Ordinary textbook geometry is known as "Euclidean" geometry, for the ancient Greek named Euclid. A presumption of Euclidean Geometry is that the surface is flat. Euclidean Geometry does not apply for surfaces that are not flat, and non-Euclidean geometries have been developed for non-flat surfaces.

As a simple example in Euclidean Geometry the three interior angles of a triangle always add up to 180 degrees. But if we take a curved surface, like the surface of the earth, the rules change. If we consider a triangle of two lines of longitude, from the equator to the north pole, and the stretch of the equator between them, the angles add up to more than 180 degrees. The intersection of each line of longitude with the equator forms two 90 degree right angles, so we already have 180 degrees, plus the angle between the two lines of longitude at the north pole, giving us more than 180 degrees.

The general consensus today is that the shape of space in the universe is "flat". This means, again, that a rocket or beam of light that is sent out into space in a straight line will forever continue getting further and further away from us. But what I wanted to do today is to add my input to it.

What we have to consider, in deciding on the shape of space in the universe, is the actual nature of straight lines. A straight line being defined as the shortest possible distance between two points. A straight line is not as absolute as it may seem.

Straight lines are a matter of dimensions. If we, confined as we are to three-dimensional space, see a straight line it may in fact be curved in higher-dimensional space and we would in no way be aware of it. 

If there could be a two-dimensional sheet of plastic, and a two-dimensional being lived inside the sheet of plastic, it would always perceive itself as moving in a straight line in going from one side of the plastic to the other. No matter how we might bend and twist the sheet of plastic the being could not be aware of it, since that would require the two-dimensional being to be aware of the third dimension.

A straight line can also mean the least energy expenditure between two points, although in space that would usually mean the same thing as the shortest distance between the two. If an electron could think it would always perceive itself as moving in a straight line as it moved through a wire as part of an electric current, no matter how the wire might zig-zag across the floor.

The trouble with our general conclusion that the space of the universe is "flat" is that we rely on light and other electromagnetic radiation, specifically the leftover radiation from the Big Bang, to bring us our information about the universe. But we get our very definition of what a straight line is by the path of light. 

Since we rely on light, and other electromagnetic radiation for information, we will always perceive that radiation as moving in a straight line. While it is true that the light would follow the path of least expenditure of energy, because we know that the universe always seeks the lowest energy state, there may be other possible definitions of what a straight line is.

Just as an example humans are of the scale that we are and this gives us a certain perspective. We define the electromagnetic spectrum as ranging from very short-wavelength gamma rays to longwave radio waves. But couldn't there be, due to our scale perspective, still longer waves that we cannot detect? Isn't it possible that the shorter waves that we depend on for information, particularly visible light, are affected by the longer wavelengths as they move through space? What if the shorter wavelengths "ride" the longer wavelengths, somewhat like a duck paddling across the waves in water so that it also moves up and down as it proceeds along?

That would mean that light actually "zigzags" through space. But since we are dependent on light for information we will always perceive it as moving in a straight line. 

Einstein's General Theory of Relativity showed that gravity bends light. So why shouldn't there be other things that bend light that we haven't yet found? What about magnetism? It has been found that the sun lacks a south magnetic pole. We know that the sun is a second-generation star and this means that it has come back together gravitationally but not magnetically. 

The former south magnetic pole of the star that preceded the sun, until it exploded in a supernova, must exist somewhere else. Since electromagnetic radiation is so-called because it is electric and magnetic in nature, couldn't this affect it from moving in what would otherwise be defined as a straight line?

Now, let's get back to the debate about the shape of space in the universe. Since we are dependent on electromagnetic radiation for information about the universe, and since this means that we will always perceive electromagnetic radiation to be moving in a straight line, this will always make it seem as if the space in the universe is "flat", since that is the only model of space where light moves in straight lines.

Just for something to ponder suppose that the space in the universe is "closed". This means that a beam of light sent out into space will eventually return to us from the opposite direction. Just as if you traveled in a straight line on the earth's surface you would eventually return to your starting point from the opposite direction. 

This means, at least theoretically, that, if we had a powerful enough telescope, we should be able to see our own earth by looking out into space. But that gets complicated too. If the number of different objects made of matter is finite, but yet the universe is infinite, this means that objects made of matter must repeat themselves. This then would mean that there would have to actually be an infinite number of identical earths in identical solar systems, in orbit around identical suns.

The point of all this is that we cannot be so quick to say that the shape of space in the universe is flat.

Vladimir Putin And The Romanovs

Vladimir Putin recently compared himself to Peter the Great. Putin is from St. Petersburg and we saw in the visit, "St. Petersburg And The Romanovs" October 2021, that this was the city that was specially built as the Romanov capital and named for Peter the Great. The Romanovs were ultimately displaced by the Communists but, as we saw in that visit, the Communist flag is gone and the Romanov flag again flies over Russia.

That would make Putin the tsar of Russia. We saw in the posting, "The Theory Of Kings" April 2022, that nations have been ruled by kings for thousands of years and monarchy is not going to just go away. A leader can be a king-in-fact no matter what his actual title and, as we saw in that posting, Putin definitely falls into the "king" category.

Thursday, June 9, 2022

Tribute To Queen Elizabeth

The celebration of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee was outstanding. The Elizabeth Line, of the London Underground, was completed just in time to be named for our Queen as the celebration began.

The Queen wore just the right colour (color) for her surprise appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

Credit: Screenshot from BBC news video.

Heliocentrism And Modern Physics

"Heliocentrism" means that the earth, and the other planets, revolve around the sun.

Since ancient times people have studied the night sky and made detailed records of the stars, which varied widely in brightness. Five objects were visible that moved among the stars. These came to be known as "planets", for the ancient Greek word for "wanderer".

All kinds of interpretations were given for the movement of the planets against the many immovable stars. These interpretations are collectively known as astrology. The stars are randomly scattered across the night sky but groups of stars that reminded people of things were given names. These patterns of stars are called constellations. Astrology was the interpretation of the planets moving against the backdrop of the constellations.

The most obvious objects in the sky were the sun and moon. Day and night were clearly caused by the presence or absence of the sun. It was observed that days and nights vary in length, relative to each other, but always add up even over the course of a year.

It was known that the daily path of the sun across the sky gradually shifted northward and southward throughout the course of a year. Days were longest, and shadows were shortest, when the sun was highest in the sky. Shafts facing skyward could be constructed so that the sun would shine directly down the shaft on only one day out of the year.

Eclipses were well-known. By making observations over long periods of time the cycles of both lunar and solar eclipses was charted. Some ancient civilizations were able to predict eclipses.

The sun, throughout the course of the year, and the planets did not move at all at random. They followed a predictable path across the sky. This path was called the Ecliptic and the constellations of stars along the ecliptic were known as the Zodiac. All planets had predictable movements, but all of the planets moved through their cycle of movement at different rates.

There was a dense band of mostly-faint stars across the sky. This band of stars became known as the Milky Way. But it wasn't at all in the same plane across the sky as the Ecliptic.

But yet no one knew exactly what the stars were. A predominant theory was that there was some kind of canopy high in the sky, with light beyond it, and the stars were holes in that canopy which let light in from beyond.

The stars were not actually static. Aside from the planets moving against the fixed stars, but at rates which differ from one another, there were unpredictable comets. Sometimes a "new star" would appear which came to be called a "nova", meaning "new". Sometimes it seemed that stars were falling to earth, which were called simply "falling stars". At predictable times of year there would be showers of such " falling stars". But when it was over the same fixed stars would still be there.

The sky was a mystery that was thousands of years old. But there was some clues as to what was really going on, starting on earth. It was easy to measure how high in the sky the sun was simply by pushing a stick into the ground. The longer the shadow it cast the lower the sun was in the sky. On any given day of the year there was a point, on a north-south line, where the sun was highest in the sky. If we went either directly north or directly south of that point the sun got progressively lower in the sky. What that seemed to indicate was that the earth was a sphere.

The next clue was that the moon goes through a cycle of phases, from new moon to full moon and back again, which lasts 29 days. The moon's position in the sky, relative to the sun, varies during this lunar cycle. What we can see is that the further the moon is from the sun in the sky the more of the moon's surface is lit. The full moon is only seen when the moon is diametrically opposite the sun in the sky. If the earth is spherical then this makes it seem like the moon is revolving around the earth, and the sun is further away.

Another clue as to what is really happening with regard to the night sky is that the stars we see from night to night do not remain completely constant. There is a different set of stars for each of the four seasons, which starts over again with the following year.

Finally a scientist named Copernicus introduced the idea that the sun, rather than the earth, was at the center and that the earth revolved around the sun, rather than the earth being at the center as had previously been believed. The moon revolved around the earth, going through it's phase cycle due to the light from the more distant sun. 

The movement of the planets was thus explained as the earth being one of them and all revolving around the sun, but at different rates according to their distance from the sun. Eclipses, both solar and lunar, happened periodically when the earth, moon and, sun all lined up. That doesn't happen every 29 days because the geometric planes of the earth's orbit around the sun, and of the moon's orbit around the earth, are not exactly the same.

The reason that the stars in the sky are different through the course of the year is that the earth is facing different directions in space as it revolves around the sun. But the stars close to the celestial north and south poles, known as "circumpolar", remain the same throughout the year. The planets, as well as the sun and moon, seem to adhere to a path across the sky against the background stars, known as the ecliptic, because the planets revolve around the sun in roughly the same geometric plane.

This was not an entirely new idea, having first arisen in ancient Greece along with the idea that the earth is spherical, rather than flat. The earth's seasons were thus explainable by the earth being tilted on it's axis, by 23 1/2 degrees, as it revolves around the sun.

Later it was found that the sun was just a typical star, which was part of a great structure of stars known as a galaxy. There were more stars in our galaxy than we could possibly count. Our galaxy was determined to be a barred spiral galaxy and the dense band of faint distant stars, that we refer to as the Milky Way, is looking along the plane of our galaxy. Although this galactic plane is not the same thing at all as the ecliptic.

Not only was our sun just a typical star among countless stars in our galaxy, but our vast galaxy was just one among countless galaxies throughout the universe. In fact, it was found that there are actually more galaxies in the universe than there are stars in our galaxy.

Nuclear physics explained why stars shine. Electron repulsion usually keeps adjacent atoms apart, as the electrons of both atoms are negatively-charged. But when a tremendous amount of matter is brought together by it's mutual gravity it is possible to overcome the electron repulsion and force atoms together. The new larger atom has less overall internal energy than the smaller atoms that were crunched together to form it. The excess energy is released as radiation, and that is why stars shine.

As this fusion process in the center of the star continues, with successively-heavier elements being fused together, more energy per time is released. This upsets the equilibrium between the inward pressure of gravity and the outward pressure of the energy released by fusion. This can cause the star to blast off it's outer layers, known as a nova. If that does not restore the equilibrium, by slowing down the fusion process by reducing the inward force of gravity, the entire star can explode from the center in a supernova, although this only happens in the largest stars.

When a large star explodes in a supernova it's component matter, including the heavier elements that were fused in it's core, are scattered across space. Some of the matter may fall back together again, by it's mutual gravity, to form a second-generation star. We know that the sun is such a second-generation star because it already contains heavier elements that are beyond it's current stage in the fusion process, which is fusing four hydrogen atoms into one helium atom and releasing the excess energy as radiation.

The heavier elements from the previous star is what forms most of the mass of the planets. The ordinary fusion process, the S-process for "slow", only goes as far as iron, which is why iron is so abundant in the inner Solar System, and is the most abundant element in the earth by mass. Elements heavier than iron are formed only during the brief time that the supernova is actually taking place, the R-process for "rapid". 

This is why elements that are heavier than iron, such as gold, silver and, uranium, are exponentially less common than elements below iron. Some of these heavy elements that are forced together by the energy released in the supernova are less-than-stable and gradually release particles or radiation while trying to reach a more stable state. These emissions are known as radioactivity. 

Light molecules that are abundant in the Solar System, such as water, methane and, ammonia, were put together by the energy of the one, or more, nova that preceded the supernova. A nova that preceded the supernova of the large star that preceded the sun is why elements in our atmosphere, such as oxygen and hydrogen, are found in diatomic, or molecular, form. When we use hydrogen as fuel we are releasing the energy that was originally released by the nova of the previous star.

So the mysteries of the universe, that were thousands of years old, started to fall into place with the realization that we need to get outside our own perspective. It seemed to us that the earth was flat and that everything in the sky revolved around it. But that view made it impossible to explain the universe, even though detailed measurements were made of it, and it's motions could be predicted. It was only when we found our way outside our own perspective that the universe started to fall into place for us.

Today we understand the structure of the universe but we have found more that cannot be explained. Just like back in ancient times we have science that we can predict, and take careful measurements of, but yet cannot explain.

There are the newer sciences of Relativity and Quantum Physics. Both have tenets that cannot be explained by ordinary physics, but yet can be demonstrated and proven beyond a doubt by experiments. Not only are both Relativity and Quantum Physics incompatible with ordinary science, in addition the two contradict each other. But yet the tenets of both can be clearly demonstrated by experiments.

There are two separate theories of Relativity, both by Albert Einstein. The Special Theory of Relativity, from 1905, describes how the speed of light is absolutely unchanging, and other things are variable if we travel at velocities approaching the speed of light. The General Theory of Relativity, from 1915, describes how gravity curves space. An object in orbit actually is moving in a straight line, but through curved space.

In the Special Theory of Relativity, which has been abundantly proven to be correct, the speed of light is always constant. As an object nears the speed of light it requires an ever-increasing amount of energy to accelerate it to greater velocities. At the speed of light it would require an infinite amount of energy to accelerate the object to greater velocities which is, of course, impossible. It would show up as the object's mass increasing until reaching infinity at the speed of light. This means that nothing can ever move faster than the speed of light.

Not only does the mass of an object approach infinity as it approaches the speed of light, time slows down until it stops altogether at the speed of light. The length of the object shortens, until it reaches zero at the speed of light. None of this can be explained by conventional physics but yet has been abundantly proven to be correct.

Many have tried, with little success, to unite Relativity and Quantum Physics. The great dividing line between the two is the speed of light. In Quantum Physics, the speed of light is not even a factor at all. Information moves between two entangled photons instantaneously, no matter how far apart they are, with no speed of light limitation.

Furthermore, in Quantum Physics even the act of observing or measuring something affects it's outcome. In the famous double-slit experiment, if we do not observe light passing through two parallel slits we can see by the diffraction pattern that photons of light passed through both slits. But if we do observe it, the absence of a diffraction pattern shows that photons passed through only one of the two slits. This is completely alien to both classical physics and Relativity.

My cosmological theory actually has a simple explanation. A basic presumption of science is that we have an unbiased view of the universe, we can completely rely on our measurements and observations. One of the most important points of my theory is that we do not have an unbiased view of the universe, we see the universe as we do not only because of what it is but also because of what we are.

There are two possible universes that we might see:

A) The universe with us.

B) The universe without us.

We know that the earth is not flat and that the astronomical bodies do not revolve around the earth. But then why do we see it that way if we know otherwise?

The answer is that to see the earth as spherical and revolving around the sun, we have to get ourselves out of the picture. If we see with our own eyes, with ourselves in the picture, we will see the earth as flat with the astronomical bodies revolving around it.

The flat earth with all of the astronomical bodies revolving around it is the universe with us.

The spherical earth revolving around the sun is the universe without us.

Now, let's move on to the development of Relativity and Quantum Physics. The two are not compatible with classical physics, or with each other. But considering the above example of the apparent flat earth and earth-centered universe, wouldn't it be logical that this is another case of "The universe with us" against "The universe without us"?

We know that the classical physics of the spherical earth revolving around the sun, and not vice-versa, represents "The universe without us" that displaced the flat earth with everything apparently revolving around us of "The universe with us". Given that, wouldn't it seem that the first place to look at why Relativity and Quantum Physics have such a contradiction with classical physics is that maybe those two represent "The universe with us"?

For another thing, none of these three branches is able to explain that time actually is. Relativity explains how time is affected as an object moves at speeds approaching the speed of light, but still doesn't tell us exactly what time is. Classical physics and Quantum Physics don't have much at all to say about what time is.

What about my cosmology theory? Have you ever thought that maybe what we perceive as particles of matter, such as electrons, are really strings in four-dimensional space and our consciousnesses are moving along the bundles of strings comprising our bodies and brains at what we perceive as the speed of light? That is why the speed of light is so absolutely constant and everything seems to revolve around it and no one can explain what time is in terms of physics.

Relativity is "The universe with us", which is why it cannot be explained by the classical physics of "The universe without us". Time is something that is within us, which is why it has never been explained by classical physics. That is why I named my cosmology theory "The Theory Of Stationary Space", because everything is really still and it is only our movements and the movement of our consciousness that is the only "new" motion in the universe.

Electrons are one-dimensional strings in space. Light is two-dimensional waves in the multi-dimensional background matrix of alternating negative and positive electric charges that comprise empty space. The only way that we can see, or measure or receive light in any way, is to have it interact with matter. 

When light interacts with matter it must absorb some of the energy in the light. Electrons are in orbitals around atoms so light interacting with matter usually means with an electron. But since light is a two-dimensional wave while electrons are only one-dimensional strings, that means that matter can absorb only one of light's two-dimensions.

Quantum physicists describe light as having both a wave and a particle nature, which seems contradictory and alien to classical physics. But since matter interaction, including seeing, involves contact with one-dimensional electrons, that means that one dimension of the light must be left over. Since my cosmology theory has what we see as particles as really one-dimensional strings, that explains the particle nature of light and the particles that we see as photons.

A photon is light where one of the two dimensions has been absorbed by interaction with matter. That explains the mysterious double-slit experiment. The only way that we can observe or measure light is to have it interact with matter, and this means absorbing one of it's two dimensions.

The speed of light is not a factor in Quantum Physics because time is really within us, the movement of our consciousness along the bundles of strings comprising our bodies and brains, and while that is a factor when we are moving, it is not a factor when we are seeing. Quantum physics is also "The universe with us", which is why it can never be explained by the classical physics of "The universe without us".

Relativity and Quantum Physics both, unlike classical physics, involve our perspective.

The Special Theory of Relativity is the effects that we observe revolving around the fact that our consciousness is moving along the bundles of strings that compose our bodies and brains at what we perceive as the speed of light. Matter is really strings in four-dimensional space but we perceive them as particles, such as electrons, in three-dimensional space because we perceive the fourth dimension of space as time.

Quantum Physics is the effects that we observe revolving around the fact that light, or any electromagnetic radiation, consists of two-dimensional waves, while the electrons in orbitals around the atoms in our eyes and measuring devices are one-dimensional strings. When light interacts with matter an electron absorbs energy from the light. But it can absorb only one of the two dimensions and this leaves the one-dimensional "particles" of light that we refer to and perceive as photons. This explains the wave-particle duality of light.

What we perceive as particles are really one-dimensional strings because we perceive one of the four dimensions of space as time. This is why information can move instantaneously between two entangled photons, without being bound at all by the speed of light.

I see my cosmology theory not as another branch, but as the way to link these three branches together.

This concept of two views of the universe, one with us and one without us, means that we have to be more careful about deciding that one scientific theory is correct, while another is incorrect. it might be that one is describing the universe with us while the other is the universe without us.

If humans once could make intricate measurements of what they saw in the sky but simply couldn't explain it, at least until they found their way outside their own perspective, then what should be unusual about finding ourselves in that situation again as science advances?

We can make intricate measurements in the new sciences of Relativity and Quantum Physics, but we simply cannot explain them. Doesn't it make sense that we need to get outside our perspective again? We will never explain these new sciences with ordinary physics because what we are seeing is our own nature reflected back at us.

Relativity and Quantum Physics is like a prehistoric person seeing a strange form in water. It is impossible to explain the form but yet there it is. Until one day the person realizes that the form is his own reflection.

This is a link to the posting that I use to introduce my cosmology theory:

Thursday, June 2, 2022

Commentary On Mass Shootings

Here is a commentary on two mass shootings, one recently and the other fifty years ago.

THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE UVALDE SCHOOL SHOOTING

There is something about the recent horrible school shooting in Uvalde, Texas that the media doesn't seem to have caught. It is about how history repeats itself. Crimes like this are an area where history is especially repetitive.

The modern era of senseless mass shootings is generally considered to have begun with the shooting from the tower of the University of Texas, in 1966. Charles Whitman, who looks like the last person who would do something like this, first killed his wife and his mother. Then he climbed to the top of the tower, barricaded himself, and then began shooting at people below. The siege lasted about 90 minutes until the shooter was shot and killed.

The Uvalde School Shooting was a virtual reenactment of the University of Texas shooting, except that it was done in an elementary school and there was no tower. But both shootings took place in a school.

Charles Whitman first killed his wife and mother and then proceeded to the shooting site. The Uvalde school shooter first shot his grandmother and then proceeded to the shooting site.

Both shooters barricaded themselves in the school, Charles Whitman barricaded the entrance to the tower and the Uvalde school shooter barricaded himself in a classroom and in a closet in the classroom.

The layout of both shootings is similar, law enforcement eventually getting through the barricade and killing the shooter. In the case of the Uvalde shooting it was getting the classroom door unlocked. Both shooting scenarios lasted roughly the same amount of time, about 90 minutes.

Another interesting fact about reenactments is that just before the Uvalde School Shooting was the Alabama Prison Escape, of a female deputy with a male prisoner. The two were eventually caught, in Indiana, when police and Marshals managed to force their car into a ditch. When the Uvalde school shooter drove to the site of the shooting he also drove his vehicle into a ditch. The two ditches were very similar, except that the one in Texas was lined with concrete.

THE LOD AIRPORT MASSACRE OF 1972

We have just passed the fiftieth anniversary at what was then-called Lod Airport, at Tel Aviv in Israel. The shooting massacre was planned by the PFLP, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The attack was actually carried out by three members of the Japanese Red Army, who carried their weapons in musical instrument cases.

The airport, now named for Israel's founding father and first prime minister, David Ben Gurion, is the busiest airport in Israel. Five years before Israel had captured the Old City of Jerusalem, in the 1967 Six-Day War, and pilgrims were arriving from all over the world to visit the holy sites.

Israel's security forces were naturally watching for Arabs who might launch an attack. The use of Japanese attackers not only caught the Israelis off guard but also meant that, from that point on, they had to greatly increase security measures to check every visitor, from all countries. This was done to provoke a more hostile atmosphere for pilgrims, and dissuade people from visiting.

Most of the victims of the attack were not Israelis but foreign visitors, including seventeen pilgrims from Puerto Rico. This was also done purposely, to scare people away from visiting Israel.

Why did the attack happen when it did, in May 1972? The Olympics were soon to be held, in Munich, and another organization, Black September, was going to attack there. The two attacks go together, although I am not sure how much coordination there might have been between the two groups.

Israeli athletes were massacred at the Munich Olympics. The message was clear, and it complemented the message of the airport attack. Any country that was hosting Israelis, such as an Olympic team, was making itself a target.

We can see the same kind of objective in the attacks of 9/11. The hijackers were from countries that were traditionally considered as allies of America. Fifteen of the nineteen were Saudis. The other four were from the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and, Lebanon, and investigators had no great difficulty determining their identities.

This was done purposely, the objective being to turn Americans against their allies in the Middle East. It would also produce a backlash against those Moslems who would go to live in the west. It would help to shut globalization down, by making people afraid to fly, and might get America to throw it's democratic principles away. Most importantly, it would serve as a great recruiting tool to bring about further attacks in pursuit of the same purpose.


For those who read, "The Real Story Of The Alabama Prison Escape" May 2022, more has been added to it.

Stopping Mass Shootings

Of course, taking guns away is the way to stop mass shootings, but we know that isn't going to be happening anytime soon.

There is a cultural way to greatly reduce mass shootings. I noticed something interesting about mass shootings in my native Britain. There have been four mass shootings in recent decades, far less than in the U.S. but still four too many.

There has been a mass shooting in Britain about every twelve years, on average, beginning in 1987. There was Hungerford in 1987, Dunblaine in 1996, Cumbria in 2010 and, Plymouth in 2021.

One thing that virtually all young mass shooters have in common is that they are what is considered as a loser. That is what the problem is, the overriding pressure to be a winner. When someone finds themselves in the "loser" category there is one quick way out, to really make the world take notice of you, even if it means the loss of one's own life or freedom. Unfortunately that way is to commit a mass shooting. It is really about being a loser even if the shooting is done in the guise of some prejudice, cause or, ideology.

What I notice is that there was an era of "loser" songs in Britain's rock music era, which I have previously written about here. This era was the 1970s and early 1980s. Even the Beatles sang about being losers. What is so interesting is that the era of mass shootings began, in 1987, after the era of "loser" songs had ended.

Maybe that wasn't a coincidence. If we could be a little bit more welcoming to losers, maybe they wouldn't pick up guns.

Three months after I posted "Remembering Britain's Loser Songs", in May 2021, the Plymouth shooting took place. I really think that this would be a good time to review that posting.

REMEMBERING BRITAIN'S LOSER SONGS

During my youth, in the rock music era, British bands produced a number of what could be called "loser" songs. These were songs about generally being a loser, but with life in general and usually not having to do with romance.

Now I see the wisdom of these songs. There are a few examples that come to mind.

"Telephone Line", from 1977 by Electric Light Orchestra, is like the national anthem of loneliness and depression. It does involve romance but I classify it as a "loser" song because the singer is trying to telephone a girl and sinks deep into a gloomy mood. "I'm living in twilight", "I'll just sit tight with the shadows of the night", all because some girl isn't answering the phone.

There was "Superman" by the Kinks. This song involved the times, it was from the time of Britain's notorious strike-inflation spiral of late 1978. The winter of 1978-79 became known as Britain's "Winter of Discontent". The song is about a physically weak guy who wishes that he could be like Superman, "I want to fly but I can't even swim".

Another song was "I Wish I Could Be Like David Watts". It was about a less-than-stellar boy who wants to be like the star boy at school, whose name was David Watts. The Kinks did this song but, visiting Britain in the summer of 1978, I became familiar with the version by The Jam.

There is the song by The Kinks, "State of Confusion". This song seems to be about someone who is generally unable to cope with life. This makes it different from the earlier "Gimme Shelter", by the Rolling Stones, which is not a "loser" song because it is about the disintegration of society.

Gloomiest of all is the New Wave song "Are Friends Electric"? by Gary Numan. It is a futuristic song, supposedly taking place in future London. A guy's girlfriend is an electric robot but now she is broken. So he calls another robot girl to come over. I used to be fascinated by how the instrumentals convey a stark feeling of gloom.

But now I see what might be the point of songs like this. This life will be over before we know it. When the "winners" die they will be just as dead as the "losers".

Shouldn't we be more concerned with what comes after? Would you rather drift through life, but then go to Heaven for eternity, or be a real winner with everything that life has to offer, but then not go to Heaven?

Are we making too big of a deal about being "winners"? What difference will it make a hundred years from now? With very few exceptions you will be completely gone and forgotten a century from now. Of all the people who were alive in the 1920s how many can you name today?

Have you ever went to a job interview and were given a test to take while in the waiting room? Isn't this life really just taking a test in the waiting room? What really counts is what comes next. Maybe there is such a thing as taking this brief life too seriously.

What about the Apocalypse foretold in the Bible? We do not know exactly when it is going to happen and we are not to stop living because it is pending. But remember that this is like living on the Titanic. It would be wonderful to be a winner on the Titanic, but the ship is still going to sink anyway.

The values of the world define who is a winner and who is a loser. But if the world's values are in the right place then why is it heading toward the Apocalypse? Remember that Jesus said "The last will be first and the first will be last". This means that the world's values are upside-down and could be interpreted to mean that winners will be losers, and vice versa. When you face God all of your worldly status, which country you were part of, how popular and attractive you were, and how much money you had, will all mean absolutely nothing.

A part of being a "loser" is certainly willful. Whenever a society puts a lot of pressure on young people there is a rebellion against it. In China today there is the "Sang", or "Slacker" movement. In Japan there has long been the "Hikikomori". In the U.S. during the 1960s the catchphrase was "Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out".

Maybe it's healthier not to take life too seriously, and certainly some of society's values don't make sense. Where I live having a lot of friends is highly valued. Being surrounded by people is wonderful while being alone is terrible, which I consider as bizarre. It's more about control and "keeping an eye" on each other than about friendship. 

The "loser" songs are really a compliment to my native Britain. Only in a wealthy country that was confident of it's place in the world would people support music about their own people being losers. 

The "loser" songs, as well as the "state of the world" songs, are a reflection of the traditional Protestant dim view of both the world and human nature. But when we have too much respect for the way things have always been done we are less likely to notice better ways of doing things and when we see the world around us as having room for improvement it helps us to notice better ways of doing things, which is why traditionally Protestant societies have been so progressive.

With so many mass shootings today have you ever thought that if we would make losers feel a little bit more welcome they might be less likely to pick up a gun? There are movies about losers, but which usually have them committing violence. Songs like this make being a loser, at least as defined by the world, seem not so bad.

Besides music why don't we have one day a year to recognize and appreciate losers? Then they might be less likely to look for recognition by picking up a gun.

War In Ukraine

It was in Newsweek this week that Russian state television described the war in Ukraine as a "rehearsal", of the latest weapons, for World War Three.

This is what we saw recently in, "The War That We Really Should Understand" March 2022. This posting is about how the Spanish Civil War, which just preceded the Second World War, provided both sides with combat experience, and a chance to try out the latest weapons and tactics, before the great conflict that followed.