The race to find the a-tom. The mechanics took a different route in search of the "ultimate building block". Lederman talks about how "heroes" such as, Galileo, Newton, Lavoisier, Mendeleev, Faraday, Maxwell, and Hertz, among others used "measurements" in search of answers.
Galileo with his balls and inclinations, feathers and pennies, and his most famous experiment with the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Galileo believed that light consisted of pointlike corpuscles and that matter was similarly constructed. We know that Lederman's quarks and leptons are geometric points, which is very similar to the beliefs of Galileo. It is very interesting how the idea can be apparent centuries or even millenia before even the slightest amount of evidence is discovered.
Newton brought "F" to the table. This changed the game. He was able to determine that, due to his 2nd law, the gravitational mass (M) is precisely equal to the inertial mass (m). To this day, it is quite intriguing, that physicists are still confirming that M = m. It has been confirmed to more than twelve zeroes past the decimal point. Because both number will either both be really big, or really small, they will always cancel out, making two objects to hit the ground at the same time.
The funny, and sad fact, talked about at the very tail end of this chapter has to do with how widely accepted Galileo and Newton, etc., were, and that Boscovich wasn't, even though he hit the nail on the head with his proposition that the particles that made up a-toms were geometric points. Dimensionless. This has been recently discovered to be a quark.
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ReplyDeleteSarmy,
ReplyDeleteAfter analyzing your blog on the book “The God Particle,” I was enlightened to learn more about the theory that usually falls in the shadow of the mathematic aspects of physics. I appreciated how you derived how quarks were discovered and that when a particle and its antiparticle come in contact they cancel each other out (M=m). If you take a look at my blog under the “Antimatter Rocket” section you will see how when matter and its antimatter come into contact, it can create a massive supply of energy which may one day be able to power rockets that could travel to the ends of the universe. Did you know that a single gram of antimatter is valued at 63.5 trillion dollars!?
In your “Accelerator” chapter it was interesting to learn that some metals lose their electrical resistance as their temperatures approach zero Kelvin. In my novel there is a Bose-Einstein Substrate that is the coldest substance on Earth (one billionth of a Kelvin). The atoms in this substrate tend to tumble to the lowest energy levels and even begin to overlap and compress together. This could be the answer to why some metals tend to lose their electrical resistance. Since the atoms are being compressed together, the ability to conduct electricity may become impossible.
When I was reading your section called “A-tom” I learnt that “the neutron decays into a proton, electron and a neutrino (little neutral one).” I tried to interpret how this can happen but am stumped in understanding what type of environment could cause this to happen?”
You mentioned that there could be ten dimensions in total. In my novel it has been stated that there could be very well thirteen dimensions and I agree with you that it is quite hard to grasp this concept.
Very interesting blog buddy, you covered quite a fair deal of information. Hopefully I will find time to sit back and pick up this book, seems like you enjoyed the contents and learnt a lot of theory. Have a good summer and a memorable senior year. Great job! ;)
Hey Sarmatiuk
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog especially considering it was much shorter than the others. As I was reading through your blog, I was really drawn into discussion with the particle of an atom. As soon as I saw the title of your first chapter, I knew it would be something that I could probably wrap my mind around. I think using the analogy of a soccer ball to an atom. I thought it was the best example to help me understand how the atom is invisible. I agree with what you said about making guesses in order for something to make sense. In my opinion, I think that is what makes science one of the most fascinating subjects out there.
In your chapter called A-tom, you discussed Quantum Electrodyanmics. I learned that the field is broken down into even more particles. I did not fully understand everything that was discussed in this chapter but I still found it very intriguing. I did not know that a proton can give rise to a neutron,neutrino and a positron. Then it went on to talk about different quarks and antiquarks along with different particles.
In the chapter called The Naked Atom, the analogy with the cat really helped me understand this theory with the spinning atom. I was beginning to notice that a lot of ideas discussed in this chapter was also taught to me in Grade 12 Chemistry. So I can relate to what they are talking about.
In the chapter about the God particle, I am just as interested as you are in finding out the theory of everything. Although scientists are working hard to find out about the God particle, I doubt that they will find anything anytime in the near future.
It was a pleasure reading your blog and I really got a lot out of it. There were still many ideas that puzzled me and got me thinking. Although my book was intended for readers to fully understand and relate to each situation that is discussed in the book, it is not a bad idea to read a book that gets you thinking once in a while. Enjoy your summer. Peace!