Showing posts with label general. Show all posts
Showing posts with label general. Show all posts

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Space is Not Nothing

Space: The 3 dimensional extent in which objects and events occur, with a relative position to other objects and events.

In a more general sense space can refer to an nth dimensional hyper-volume. 

Space is often illustrated by 3 lines representing the three spacial dimensions. They are the axis of a 3d graph. In 3d space you can move in 3 directions forwards and backwards; up and down and left to right.
Not so empty space

General Relativity depicts space and time as a fabric that can be warped, bent, twisted, stretched and contracted. Quantum Mechanics describes subatomic particles coming and going even in a vacuum. Space is not empty, it is not nothing. Yes I know this is a double negative however empty space is normally thought of as nothing but it is something.
Units of Measure
Basic SI unit – meter.
meter(m):  The distance traveled by light in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second.
Kilogmeter – 1000 meters
Astronomical Unit (AU): The average distance between Earth and Sun.  - 1 AU = 149,598,000 km
Light year (LY): The distance light travels in one year. Note this is a unit of distance not time. 1 ly = 9,460,528,400,000 km  1 ly = 63,240 AU (s07c)
Parsec (pc): The distance with a parallax of one arcsecond. 30,857,000,000,000 km 206,260 AU 3.26156 ly (s08d)
Measurement

Most common methods of measuring space are rulers.
Odometers are another common way of measuring distance and  there by space
Other methods include bouncing light, radio waves, or sound off of an object using the return time to measure distance. These include radar and sonar.
Parallax uses geometry to measure distance it is used in Astronomy and land surveying.

Distance and position must be measured according to some standard. The standard has to be a chosen point in space. The point is selected by ether convenience or convention with out such a starting point determining distance and position is impossible..

Space is one of the three main parts of the Universe space, time and mass. Relativity shows them to be inter-related with space and time are so interrelated that they form a single entity.  Intern mass warps space-time forming gravity and motion of mass contracts both space and time.

In conclusion based on common experience space is basically where you are. You are at a particular point in space relative to other objects. Physics however has shown it to be a lot more. It is a fundamental part of the universe.

Friday, September 30, 2011

It Is All About Time

Time: The dimension that is characterized by sequences of events. In physics it is seen as a 4th dimension
SI unit

second: Duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation of the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the cesium133 atom. It was originally defined based on a day.


Other units
Minute: 60 seconds.
Hour: 60 minutes – 3600 seconds.
Day: The time needed for the sun to return to its highest in the sky. - 24 hours
Week: a period of 7 days  It is the only time unit not based on an astronomical period. It comes from the Jewish Sabbath cycle which is based on the creation week of Genesis 1.
Month: Based originally on orbital period of the moon. In the Gregorian calendar; the calendar used by most of the world; months vary from 28-31 days.
Year: The orbital period of the Earth as it moves around the Sun. It is a period of 365.2596 days. The calendar year is rounded to 365 days with a leap day every 4 years.

According to Special and General Relativity time is a 4th dimension. It is unique in that we only travel through time one way. (forward). Time is one of the three main parts of the Universe: space, time and mass. Relativity shows them to be inter-related with space and time are so interrelated that they form a single entity.  Mass warps space-time forming gravity and motion of mass contracts both space and time.
Perception of time

The perception of the rate of time is variable but time is always experienced in the same way. We remember the past, we exist in the present and we look forward to the future.

In conclusion our common experience time is the sequence of events we experience. Physics has shown that it is to be a lot more. It is a fundamental part of the universe.