i was just wondering ...for all those reading the wu-li .. if you have become more aware of (for exmaple) the presence of photons and atoms...and all that good stuff they talk about...

i know i have..and its weird to think about

like thinking about how everything is made up of atoms...and so at the smallest microscopic level there is no difference between us and a desk....lol...ok im not sure if im right about that...but i really do think about it

Ya I totally agree. It is really interesting to just think about that..like what we learned in physics yesterday..about the forces that are stronger than gravity itself? That is freaky. And about the whole black hole discussion. It is really hard to grasp the idea that something folds over itself because it is so dense....this is really off topic, but it ties into the general talk about physics really. It is hard to comprehend that there is no end to the universe..right crystal? We had this discussion... there is no end whatsoever. You just can't imagine that..well I can't...but it's just something that is true, and that is just it. There is no explaining, you just have to assume. But yes, just even realizing that we are made up of little protons and stuff....the same as this keyboard I am typing on right now....mind boggling yes..but so interesting.

i totally agree about how now when i look at things i look at them completely different. the stuff we are reading and learning gives us a greater understanding of how stuff works but also makes you ask more questions and wonder how what you know is possible. where once i thought of light as.... well i never really thought about it, now i think of it as a wave and matter. and after the momentum unit i can't watch a game of curling without trying to predict the velocities of the stones after their 2dimensional collisions.

For me, I don't really understand all this physicsy stuff, but I get the gist of it and the more general stuff appeals to me. It gives me a broader and greater persepective. About the eternal theory, the theory that can explain all parts of physics, I don't think that this will ever be reached. There is too much unknown. Most of this is pure theory, and some things just can't be proven. With physicists, as Clintberg said today, you don't know if they'll be happy once they've completely reduced everything. I don't think this will happen because the paradox is true; the more you know, the more you know you don't know. It's because of this that we start seeking more and more answers and discover more and more.

I agree that it is very interesting to think that their is no difference between a human being and a cement block other then the concentrations of electrons protons and neutrons in the atoms that make us up. i mean of course there are a few differences such as the existence of DNA and other things like the many complex organic systems that keep us alive. But deep down we are all just a bunch of bonded atoms. Isn't this what he was talking about with how particles could be classified as living... as the photons actually communicate and have a direct eternal conciousness like the cells living animals? and i mean if these particles can communicate with each other then what stops us from communicating with them? hence the idea of telekenisis?

Physics is a combination of many things and one thing the book said is that it is, to a degree, a branch of psychology; or perhaps the opposite. This also puts into perspective the theoretical myriad of possibilities that could happen with physics. This almost relates to quantam mechanics because it is essentially "probabilities" that something will happen. We know that the half life of something is so many years but we can not predict which atoms will break down. There must be some way too figure it out though, possibly a pattern of some sort that tells us when something moves in such a manner it has a much higher chance of being the atom that ends up decaying. However my idea totally contradicts the theory, I forget the name now, that says as we measure one variable more accurately the measurements on the other variable become less accurate.

Werner Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle is what you are referring to. As irrational as it may sound, this principle says that we cannot know both the position and momentum of a particle with absolute precision, therefore we must choose which one we want to measure most accurately. Therefore there’s a possibility that we might create the particles we are experimenting with. “Did a particle with position exist before we conducted an experiment to measure its position?’’. I wonder why must we CHOOSE? if Newtonian physics applies to the macroscopic world and it’s possible to know both position and momentum, why can’t we do the same for microscopic particles if the macroscopic world is made of microscopic particles?. Nevertheless, according to quantum mechanics, physics might be “the study of the structure of consciousness” (branch of psychology) since we have to choose and the observer’s prejudice affects the result of the experiment.

thats another thing too...is it now the observer who really defines what happens in the experiments taking place?

because then really we could make what we want out of the experiement right....which kind of relates to the light (wave or particle) experiement... its how ever you look at it

and thats interesting the telepathic thing (or whatever it was refered toas) with other ojects non living....because yes if you do think about it ..far down the line everything is really made up of the same atoms..

but now...because i decided to read a bit of the book last night ...i didnt know that the atom was never seen and could be all wrong.... so that means really could be made up of little 'X' or 's' for all we know

Keep reading for another night or so jen, ull come across the field theory, which actually is pretty mind boggling. They suppose that the atoms and what not arent actually material, but rather fields of interactoins between nothing duuuuuuuuuuude eh haha... but i mean that kind of makes sense... and pushes me towards the string theory once again... because it is exactly what would explain all of the theories, which i guess is why its the possible theory of everything

and but little vibrating strings....that kinda freaks me out...duuuuuuuude

Energy is mass so i guess it makes sense... plus sometimes it's better to get a little freaky haha

haha yes it is good to be freaky...maybe not over physics tho but its crazy that scientists havent even really proven the atom yet there already on to what its made of and then to what those particles are made of and so on

Thats the problem, we can't prove it. its all theory... thats why he talked about the special theory of relativity and the elevator example. We are in the elevator! we dont know waht is truly happening, but we make assumptions and explain the physics of it. Theres no way to know for sure what is actually happening, we can only assume. Thats what quantum mechanics is based on. But string theory.. ohhhhhhhh the possibilities

But dont you think one day scientists will finally build a strong enough microscope to see atoms and electrons. I think that they will. Its might not be in our lifetime but one day someone will see an atom.

they already built an microscope that can see the outer electron cloud of an atom so it is possible that soon they might have a clear picture of it.

But electrons are so small! The cathedral example of a nucleus, atom, and electron is really good to get an accurate picture of just how small an electron is. Isn't there those smaller electrons, like neutrinos? If there are, they have to be smaller than electrons and I would think that even with today's technology, impossible to see!

if science has taught me one thing it's that nothing is impossible because as soon as you say that someone has developed a means of seeing something even smaller. it all comes down to trial and error because by mixing new elements and compounds we may be able to create a microscope that can see an atom. and once this great feat of science is achieved, scientist won't be satisfied so they will go on a search to see the protons and neutrons and even electrons of the atom. all it takes is a little bit of time and patience

And you have to admit it requires people with brains....and the time and patience. So wait, they have a microscope to see an electron cloud around the nucleus...which is part of an atom....so why can they not see the whole atom? If they can see the electron cloud around the atom, would they not be able to see the whole thing? Or is this only seen with a special type of microscope...?