Snap Quiz

All right, we've covered a basic idea or two. Or have we?

One thing you HAVE to keep firmly in mind: Nothing is certain! Question everything!

Now I know that some really well-read person out there is going to tell me that I stole that from Bob Heinlein, but I did so fair and square. Besides, he's dead, so if he's offended, I invite him to tell me so and I'll change it.

However, it's really true and you would think that with all the evidence to support it, that they would have learned the lesson. Need I trot out the old tale of how bumblebees can't fly? I hope not.

What is it that so many scientists seem to have forgotten that (or just plain ignore it)? Simply that all these "laws" of physics and physical constants themselves are ONLY TRUE FOR THE PLACES IN WHICH WE HAVE TESTED THEM. Period! We are making an ass of u and me if we assume anything else.

Take, for this exercise, the case in which one of our long-distance space probes. One of them was following the precomputed orbit, which includes a sling-shot maneuver. And the probe didn't do it 'right'. Uh huh, it didn't follow the path that they 'knew' it would. Now, shall we accept that that's impossible because the computed orbit is constructed by using the "laws" of physics and physical constants that are "facts" OR shall we admit that we don't know everything we thought we did?

There are other examples. I just heard that CERN has studied neutrinos. They say that neutrinos travel at the speed of light or just under that. I think perhaps they need to rethink a few things.

First, if it takes infinite energy to propel objects (neutrinos) to the speed of light (via E =mc (2)  (sorry, no superscripts in this typeface). Ah, yes.... So, since there are more than one neutrino going at lightspeed, I guess that either Einstein was full of it, or neutrinos are not physical objects, or maybe... just maybe..... those who assume that the conditions here on Earth don't represent those elsewhere. And I'm sure that there are plenty of other examples

Physicists are nibbling at the edge of understanding this. Their latest effort is called quantum physics. Unfortunately,  there's a long way to go.

Come to that, it must mean that light is not made up of photons. Either light and neutrinos are waves or some "laws" of physics go into the outhouse with other waste. After all, CERN doesn't have infinite anything in the basement with their hadron collider or i woild have heard about it. And speaking of light (etc.), what about something simple, like refraction? I don't even want to touch that one. Something any schoolkid can demonstrate and we don't even know why it works. Of course that doesn't stop us from playing with matches...

I'm not sure how long it's going to take us to become as smart as we think we are.  All I can do is hope it's soon enough.

So, please at least consider doubting almost everything. When we can go places we will get the chance to find a few facts. Then we'll make up new laws or decide that the Area of Truth is larger than we thought. If I was as emotionally wedded to the current "laws" as some people seem to be, it would make me want to cry... Or it may all turn out to be true... everywhere... which I admit would surprise me. Something is very wrong with our outlook on physics.

Here is a patently crazy idea:

As I said, consider that the universe we can see is painted on a 'space' 'balloon'. What if we poked a 'hole' in that balloon and inside we found Nothing. I mean. Capitol 'N' Nothing. Imagine that inside the balloon is a Nothing that doesn't exist, because there's no space or time anywhere off the fabric of the balloon. So... if a tiny hole gets poked by  something and goes in any sort of direction that intersects the fabric anywhere else in space, then pokes another little hole (or maybe since there is such a Nothing, poking one hole creates a hole somewhere else, too?)... If that were possible, it certainly would do something about getting from here to there, hmmm? And then we'd have to rethink black holes. Again.

Of course it's a crazy idea. I mean it couldn't possibly be true, could it? It would go against everything everybody knows... Against all the 'laws' of physics, hey? :*D

And how would one prove it? Or disprove it? Or even work on it?

Homework for next time: e = mc2, is it really true? If so, then someone must have made matter from energy, right?