Sweat and Heavy Breathing

It is interesting to note that there is one thing common to all the universe...that particles of matter are in motion. This motion can only be caused by energy...the source of unending light in the universe...God...

And another thing...when you fall in love or are in love when you meet with that person you respiration increases, your pulse increases, your temperature rises...that is, you get excited and you particles become more energetic and they move faster...this is a physiological reaction to love...energy increasing...God is energy...God is love...

Truth...Energy...God...

I am constantly fighting with the contradictions that I am encountering in my life. Too many things do not make sense and the more I study history the more I see the cyclical tendencies that humankind constantly allows to happen without showing any growth or ability to change. Life seems to be a self-fullfilling profecy and too many issues require discussion, however, this is very difficult to discuss so I'll write it down.

There is no place in the NT where Jesus advocates or condones the taking of a human life. Shouldn't this apply to all of life...abortion, the death penalty, war...pre-emptive or otherwise, weapns of mass destruction...

The depth of mendacity in our society is incredible.

Only the love is real...everything else is a dream. The very reality of substance is not as it seems. Everything appears as matter but what is matter...really. The nucleus of an atom has 99.9999% of the mass of the atom but it is one trillionth of the volume of an atom, therefore, the atom which makes up everything is for all practical purposes nothing but empty space. So everything is empty space. So when you touch something you are really touching empty space...or are you?
What holds matter together? Well, according to the commonly accepted atomic theory and the wave mechanical model of bonding, electron bonds combine atoms into molecules. But it takes energy to do this...the second law of thermodynamics...there are no free lunches...so a bond connecting two atoms consists of two electrons and...energy. But electrons really have a negligible mass so it is pretty much energy. So since bond lengths are significantly larger than nuclei one can conclude that when you touch anything you are touching energy...go figure...

What is energy?

It had to come from somewhere...it has to come from somewhere to go someplace.
Energy has to be God...'the source of unending light'...Energy is the all sustaining entity in the universe. The sun is a perpetual fusion reaction that constantly provides this planet with everything it needs.

Plants takes this energy from the sun and snthesize it into food through the process of photosynthesis. The enrgy from the sun controls the planetary climate system and all natural phenomena as well.

So, all things being equal then, everything is empty space and when you touch somthing you are not touching matter you are touching energy...you are touching God, afterall, God is omnipotent and omnipresent...we are immersed in God...immersed in energy...

What is it that binds us as people or family together? That is, what is it that we feel for each other? What entity 'moves' in our hearts as we relate to each other?

Love.

Does love involk a physiological response? Indeed, respiration rate increases, blood flow accelerates, blood pressure goes up, the body tries to cool itself (sweating)...what is the defining factor in all these phenomena? ...motion of particles...they speed up and become involved in more collisions and reactions...in other words, they increase their kinetic energy...what is energy?...God...

God is love...now the expression has meaning.

What is it that keeps us from the realization of this truth?

And you're not getting your country back...

Political discussions among guys my age has been very interesting over the passed five or six years. It seems to be the same discussion whether it is between liberals and conservatives or Democrats and Republicans. The issues are plain...immigration, the war in Iraq (and elsewhere), corruption at the highest level of government, health care, big pharma and conventional medicine or over paid ballplayers and CEOs. I was just getting done with a Chiropratic adjustment when my doctor, a guy about my age, just wants to talk and starts carrying on about immigration, modern health care, gun control and everything under the sun...he said "We have to take out country back..."I said listen, we have to adapt...you're not getting your country back...". My God, what a thing to say. But, you know, the shit has hit the fan and America is having a 'going out of business sale'...we're are not going back to the old America, we are here to stay...globalism has arrived and we have to get used to talking to people in India when we call to sign up for internet service or to follow up on an extended warranty.

Try this...

Americans are distracted from the real issues by being kept standing in line. We will stand in line for anything. Whether it is a tank of overpriced gas, the new iPhone, or the next Harry Potter novel, we will set our priorities so as to be able to wait in line. We are great consumers. Loyal to our product lines and easy swayed to accept the newest fad for ourselves and our children. We stand in line for concerts, for ballgames, to see the doctor or for that matter in the waiting room at the emergency room. Keeping American standing in line is important to the powers that be. We are still an important market to exploit but we have to be distracted from the real important issues.

Watch television. It is incredible how many times you will see an advertisement that ends with 'Ask your doctor about...'. This is fear advertising to get people to buy drugs that essentially will not help them at all...they will only maintain you sickness. Big Pharma needs 0you to be sick to make money. They will go out of business if you get better. Check out the advertised meds: restless leg syndrome, prostate meds, hard-on medication, cholesterol, high blood pressure, acid reflux desease, personal lubricant...all of these and many more are advertised ad nauseaum during prime time television.

Immigration is a mess because American employers won't follow the rules. They want cheap labor and our government lets them have it. The mechanism of a solid immigration system is in place. All of our descendents followed the procedure. Now people are illegally crossing our borders and stealing our jobs...and what is worse is that some of these people are criminals who would not be allowed in this country otherwise. Follow the money. It is all about money. It is about the defeat of America and the bottom line of the global corperate monster.

The war in Iraq, just like the Viet Nam war is illegal. The simple fact that it was pre-emptive makes it illicit. In 1990 the US duped Saddam Hussein into Kuwait (remember April Glaspie) so that they could start the first Gulf War and run Hussein out of Iraq. Why?...Because he stopped giving American and corperate interests what they wanted. Afterall, they had been paying him since the late 1970s. Now, two wars later, we are mired down in Iraq just like Viet Nam in a war we cannot win. Americans are dying. There is a body count every week just like Viet Nam. And guess what...we are building bases in Iraq...I wonder why? Could it be that we are going to make Iraq our 51st state? We are not getting our country back...so stand in line...

Let's talk more later...things are chaqnging faster that ever...

As a teacher I see a lot of the trends in behavior...consider text messaging...I noticed this year that many students where baggy hooded sweatshirts to school...even on hot days...I wonder why? Because it is easy to text message under the sweatshirt and not get caught. There is a whole other existence in text messaging...iPhone will only compound the 'problem'...although maybe in the long run it'll be a useful learning tool...afterall, I use blogs in the classroom fror writing assignments. Everything''s changing...and you're not getting your country back...so adapt...and wait in line...

By for now...I'm tired...and I need more beer...

The Science of Measurement

I refer to physics as the science of measurement because when we practice this elegant science we are always taking things from a given perspective or most specifically from a point of reference.

In his book Relativity, Albert Einstein pondered about a scenario in which he was sitting on the platform of a depot watching a train go by. As he watched the train go by he noticed that there was a man in the train looking out the window directly at him. Einstain's question became..."Which one of us is moving?" It had occurred to Einstein that as he looked at the man in the train going by it appeared that the train was moving. But as he considered the facts he realized that the man in the train could have said the same thing. So, I now pose the question. Which man is moving, Einstein on the platform or the man in the train?

The first gut response to this query is to say 'hey, wait and minute...any first grader knows that the train is moving.' Well then, if it is so easy then prove it. Then someone will say 'but everything is moving in the universe so they are both moving...it's a dumb question'. Again, I say prove it. Then someone else says 'do you think someone is spinning the world around under the train?' As you can see this idea sparks a very active discussion.

There is no way to prove which one of the two men is moving without first defining a point of reference. This then makes it easy for Einstein to say "from my perspective the man in the train is moving." So if Einstein on the platform is defined as the point of reference then the motion of the train can be validated and measured. The man on the train can do the same thing. By defining himself as the point of reference he can validate and measure Einstein's motion.

I hope this can help you understand that all physical entities dealing with motion and dynamics are relative to a point of reference and this makes them measurable. This is why I call physics the science of measurement.

Here are some thoughts for discussion:

• Is it really all that important to analyze a measuring device in order to express your measurements in the proper number of significant figures?
• What is a significant figure?
• What about when you are using your calculator and and you get an answer that is expressed in about nine figures...can you just use all nine or so figures...doesn't the calculator give only valid ssignificant figures...afterall, it is a very modern device?
• What about the numbers themselves...are they O.K. to use by themselves or do they require a unit of measure? If so, what purpose does the unit of measure serve?

Comment on these thoughts as you respond to this blog. When you are finished read some of the responses of your peers and comment on one of them. Keep it cool and sign only your first name.

Fields of Everything

We recently studied magnetic fields in our lab. We mapped the field of a bar magnet and a coil. Then we graphed the intensity of a bar magnet versus distance. It was a simple lab but it has some far reaching ideas that we really should deal with.

First of all, just what is a field? We have studied three types of field thus far this year. Gravitational fields are measured in acceleration, m/s^2 or N/kg. All masses have a gravitational field that affects their surroundings by attracted other masses toward themselves. Electric fields are a little more difficult to comprehend. They are measured in N/C and represent the effect on the surroundings of a charged particle. We studied this in a previous lab when we measured the voltage in a pan of water that had two parallel conducting plates in it. Now we come to magnetic fields and we gathered some data that hopefully shed some new light light on an old concept.

Second, what is the mathematical desription of a field? Think about it. Gravitational field...N/kg...electric field...N/C...what would you predict would be the units of magnetic field intensity? Defend your answer. What can you infer about magnetic fields from what we have discussed about electric fields and gravitational fields?

Finally, what about the relationship with distance? For gravitation we have Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation. For electric fields and charged particles we have Coulomb's law. What does your data tell you about the intensity of a magnetic source as you get further away from it? What regression did you do on your data and what does it tell you?

Write up this lab by responding to this blog. Respond to the questions that are proposed in bold italics above. As always be illustrative and factual and make your response a minimum of three ample paragraphs. Site at least one source that you used to help prepare your response and it cannot be you textbook. As always, when you are done respond to one of your colleagues.

Paper, Metal, Plastic, and other Trash

I've been thinking a lot about trash lately...I mean we really throw a lot of that stuff out. I think about MacDonalds. Everytime they sell a burger you get a bag, a napkin and a wrapper that gets tossed away within a half an hour...and then if you include a drink and fries there's a cup with a lid, a straw, a fries wrapper and probably a ketchup packet or two... In Gainesville there are probably five or six MacDonalds...think about all the trash these five or six places will generate in one hour on an average day...never mind a day, a week, a month, or a year.

I stopped buying newspapers every day because I would read the headlines, the sports and an article or two and throw it away. What do we do with all the newspapers that are tossed out everyday...I mean to tell you, the NY Times, LA Times, the Boston Globe, the Washington Post...every little podunk has got its own daily or weekly rag that gets partially read and then thrown out...that's a lot of paper and a lot of trees. I wonder how much of it gets recycled. Are there any newspaper recycling facilities in Florida?

I recently heard and interesting statistic about China. It seems that they threw out 45 billion pairs of disposable chop sticks last year...this accounts for about 25 billion trees...where do they throw it all?

Solid wast is indeed an incredible problem. Our landscape is spotted with landfills that are filled with our daily garbage and trash. Have you ever though of what is in a landfill...bottles, cans, food, diapers, yards trash, plastic, cardboard, organic waste, aluminum foil, tissue paper and used paper towels...shall I continue? What a lot of people don't realize is that there are a lot of liquids that are throw into landfills. From the little tiny bit of milk left in a milk carton or orange juice in an orange juice container to engine oil left in a plastic oil bottle to shampoo to cleaning solutions to disposed medicines to anything liquid that goes in the trash...it all leaks down to the bottom of the landfill and eventually into the ground water. And we are doing this all over our country. Solid waste management has actually become a major industry in the United States.

If you add up all of the solid waste generated by restaurants (fast food and otherwise), school lunch programs, the construction industry, and the professional sports entertainment industry it is mind boggling.

These are just my thoughts as I sit around and think while I drink my coffee which was probably exploited from some third world nation. I shall return and we can talk solutions and stuff.

Electric Field Mapping

We did a pretty interesting lab yesterday (3-28) although everyone thought it was rather boring. We actually mapped out an electric field in a 10 X 10 voltage matrix. In one direction (horizontal) we measured electric field lines and in the other direction (vertical) we measured equipotential lines.

The electric field lines went from the positive plate to the negative plate as in the figure below. So what is the trend of your voltage readings along your electric field lines?

Now the equipotential lines are also shown in the figure. They are vertical. Can you see a trend in those numbers?

Here's another talking point: what do we mean by voltage? Every reading we took was in volts. What does it mean? What are the units of a volt? Does a volt imply anything about work?

Think about this: if you take an electron and put it next to the negative plate will you have to do a lot of work to keep it there? And what about the same thing for a proton against the positive plate?

Respond to the blog posting, first of all, by responding to the "thought" questions posed above. Along the way make sure you define the following: electric field lines, equipotential lines, and voltage. Make your response at least two large paragraphs and sign only your first name to the blog. Also, remember to respond to one other posting from one of your classmates.

Do a good job. This is a lab grade.

Physics - Pixels, Moons, and a very long trip...

We have read an excerpt from Carl Sagan's "Pale Blue Dot". Sagan is a master scientist and elegant 'story teller' and he weaves a vivid picture of Voyager's trek through our solar system. One can tell that he certainly did his 'homework' on Voyager and that he has very definite philosophical beliefs on the impact of such a 'fantastic' voyage through space.

We do not have to agree with his philosophies but we certainly can not deny that Voyager was one of the most incredible scientific accomplishments of any era.

Log on to the blog and comment on your feelings and thoughts about the impact of this accomplishment. For instance, has it been worth the money? Does it change you perspective on the solar system and the universe? Should we be exploring our solar system and the universe beyond? How can this exploration benefit humankind? Log any thoughts you have but be illustrative. Don't make 'random' statements or rash comments. Discuss your sense of the reading. Write about two or three good paragraphs. When you are done comment on one of your classmate's postings.

Try to enjoy the process...go for it.

AP Chemistry - Collisions and particles...and cars...and Dogs and Cats...

OK...so we have been doing a lot of new stuff lately...this reaction kinetics thing can be confusing and, not to mention, it can be a little bit dry...although I do make it interesting. And for the next few weeks this stuff is going to get a little bit more "murky" and we are all going to work hard...so let's step back and talk for a minute...or more.

Remember last year we read "Atoms in Motion" by Richard Feynmann. He discussed 'jiggling' atoms and kinetic energy. And we started saying things like...'the answer to all questions is work...the source of all work is heat...heat is measured by 'jiggling' (great science word) of particles..." This stuff actually made sense by the end of the year. Now we are talking about reaction orders, rate constants, activation energy, activated complex. collision theory and equilibrium...and quite frankly, this all has to some how return to '...the answer to all questions is...'

Collision theory says reactions will happen if particles collide, but do all colliding particles react? If they don't...why not and if they do...why? What are the criteria for two colliding particles to react? Is any work done? Does energy play a role in all this?

So, log on to this blog and 'weigh in' with your input on these discussion points. Support your thoughts with at least one reference (other than your text). Write two to three illustrative paragraphs about collisions, energy, and reactions...remember, back up what you say. When you are done comment on one other response. Be nice and be supportive. No fighting or gnashing of teeth. Let the games begin.