Fast and Furious

(Originally written in 2011)

Some recent news is shaking up what were assumed scientific absolutes. See: Speed of Light Broken, BBC Article and Roll Over Einstein.  May I suggest that some of the comments in both articles are particularly interesting ... so peruse them too. Now this is pretty heavy stuff which is full of scientific land mines, so I have to watch my step here to keep from being a total doofus ... so please forgive any transgressions. I have written in the past about redefining the speed of light ... since somewhat recently scientists have been able to slow down light (see: Slowing Light) and even stop it entirely! (see: Stopping Light).  So Einstein's absolute notion about light had already been knocked into a cocked hat.  My previous thought on this matter were contained in Speed Limit, Neutrinos and Acceleration of Light.

Shazam!

Shazam! was that early television character, Gomer Pyle's exclamation of surprise ... and also the word that the comic book super hero, Captain Marvel, used to change (at the speed of a lightning bolt) his mufti into his orange tights and cape. But, in this case, it is used to describe the incredibly fast speed of quantum interaction ... far faster than the speed of light. As you can read in the following NBC News Story, "entangled" photons (or other atomic particles) exhibit "spooky" interactions (an Einstein term) of their polarizations, even when separated by great distances. The speed of these interactions is as near to instantaneously as can be measured ... and is clearly a puzzlement.

I love to imagine why such things occur. Is this a suggestion of more than four dimensions to our world?  Perhaps the laws of physics are just temporary ... and might change tomorrow?  To me, these are the kind of teasers that keep science moving forward.  When, some years hence, we fully understand how this marvel works, we will have uncovered, in the process, other mysteries even more bizarre. And this really is what makes our animal species unique.  Instead of we humans sighing ... and lounging like a cat in the sunlight, we try to discover an even newer truth ... or disprove an old one. And I think we, in our hearts, understand that we never will understand the ultimate reality.  But that doesn't stop us from this eternal quest.

God’s Gifts

"The most important decision we make is whether we believe we live in a friendly or hostile universe." - Albert Einstein

I am not a religious person but I do find it remarkable that man inhabits an ecosystem that enjoys a plethora of possibly providential coincidences … any of which, if missing, would likely doom us to annihilation. And there are other, often man-evolved extras (primarily, I think, stemming from man’s obsession toward species survival), which make our lives on Earth much more livable and tolerable. I have listed below many of these gifts, generally in order of importance, with a line separating those which seem essential versus those that are just palliative (the latter, collectively may be called civilization):

-Gravity/Celestial Dynamics – Otherwise the Earth and all of its creatures would go flying off into space
-Electricity/Magnetism – Otherwise the Sun’s cosmic rays would strip away our atmosphere and cook us all like so many shish-ka-bobs
-Atomic Fusion/Fission – Otherwise our Sun would be provide us no warmth, light, or sustenance … with predictable results
-Photons/Electromagnetic Spectrum – Otherwise we would be without light and all the benefit that light and other radiations provide us
-The Limit of Speed (Speed of Light) – Otherwise all the radiation from all the universe’s sources would be instantaneous and very likely lethal
-Number and Variety of Elements (Periodic Table) – Life could not exist without this wide array of elemental building blocks
-Earth’s Self-Regulating Atmosphere – Without these feedback mechanisms (including the ozone layer), our planet would be as devoid of life as Mars or our moon
-Photosynthesis – Otherwise the source of all nourishment on Earth would not exist and carbon dioxide might smother our atmosphere
-Light Ice – Ice, strangely, being lighter than water, floats and insulates the water beneath it … otherwise, life might only exist within our tropics
-Combustion (Oxygen/Carbon Dioxide Cycle) – Otherwise energy and what it brings to life (locomotion, warmth, etc.) would be very scarce
-DNA/Evolution/Organic Chemistry – Otherwise life, if it existed at all, would be extremely primitive and short-lived
-Vast Variety of Molecules/Inorganic Chemistry – Otherwise, most of our planet’s basics (water, carbon dioxide, ozone, etc.) would not exist
- Water's Capillary Action -- Otherwise water and its solutes could not travel against the pull of gravity and most plants would not exist
- Carbon-Based Life Forms – Other-element-based life forms are problematic and, if sustainable, would be quite inefficient
___________________________________________________________
-The Concept of Time – Keeps man grounded relative to his limited lifespan
-Human Procreation/Sex -- Enables man to ensure the continuation of his species
-Crop Cultivation – Enables man to manage his carbohydrate food supply and thus to multiply and prosper
-Animal Husbandry -- Enables man to manage his protein food supply and thus to flourish
-Language/Writing/Information Technology -- Enables man to pass on useful information efficiently and thus maintain a knowledge base
-Man’s Creativity/Tool-building Genius -- Enables man to multiply his muscle and brain power and thus to thrive
-Man’s Work Ethic -- Enables man to better utilize his time and thus be more productive
-The Scientific Method/Mathematics -- Enables man to better understand his condition and thus control life’s randomness
-Doctoring/Medicine -- Enables man to survive longer and therefore magnify his productivity with experience
-Money/Accounting/Economics -- Enables man to understand and organize his endeavors better and thus to prosper
-Social Organization/Government (occasionally benign) – Enables better cooperation and efficiency within man’s societal groups
-Man’s Emotions (Humor/Love/Fear/Hate/etc.) – Inspires man to higher levels of achievement
-Religion/Ethics – Meant to provide the society of man with more benevolent motivations and, thus, less self-destructive strife ... and religion helps mankind deal with the vagaries and randomness of life

-Beauty/Aesthetics – Provides man with a more satisfying life experience and an avenue to celebrate his uniqueness
-Taste Buds/Odor Receptors – Motivates man to eat a wider variety of foods and therefore achieve better nourishment
-Music/Harmonic Scales – Provides man with a more relaxing life experience and, therefore, less anxiety
-Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwiches – On toasted rustic white bread with fresh ground pepper and lots of mayonnaise