Physics or Fantasy

An Investigation of Modern Physics by Brian Williams
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  • Strange Wasp Behaviour.

    Posted on August 28th, 2010 Brian No comments

    Head Hunting Wasps.

    Many years ago, (here he goes again), we became plagued by wasps, and my wife forced me into the bathroom, (which was the worst effected) with a rolled up newspaper. After about 10 minutes of valiant efforts, I emerged triumphantly, having killed about 20 wasps. About halve an hour later, I re-entered the bathroom to clear away the bodies.

    On arriving at the window area where most of the dead wasps were, I noticed about 6 more active wasps which seemed to be foraging amongst the dead ones. Closer scrutiny showed that these wasps were cutting off the heads of the dead ones and carrying them away, leaving the bodies behind for me to clear away. On the assumption that the wasps were not carrying out head transplantation, has anyone come across this behaviour and has a more logical explanation?

    Wasp Survival.

    This happened not 8 feet away from my above battle with the wasps, and happened about the same period. My first ever vehicle was a WW2 Ford Jeep. This had been fitted with a van body. After a few years I decided to strip off the van body and put the jeep back into its original condition. After stripping off the body I detached the windscreen assembly. Underneath the this assembly I found a wasp, apparently dead, that had been trapped beneath the Sorbo rubber seal.  I left the wasp where it was and carried on working.

    After about an hour and a half I noticed that the wasp was twitching. Some three hours later the wasp was capable of flying away.

    I did some checks on the jeep assembly to see if the wasp could have got into its position after the van body had been fitted, but there was no possible access. This meant that the wasp had been trapped under the seal for just under 5 years!

    No water, no light, no food!  High temperatures from the sun and engine in summer and freezing temperatures in winter.

    For 5 years! Tough eh.

  • Understanding Stress and Strain

    Posted on August 22nd, 2010 Brian No comments

    Understanding mechanics is nothing to do with mathematics, it is the reality of what is actually happening and why it is happening.

    Stress and strain

    A lot of confusion with these, even with engineers. Basically, stress can be considered in relation to a car spring. Once the spring is fitted to the car it is in a state of stress, but even after years of going over bumpy roads and constantly being in  a state of stress, if you take it off the car it should retain its original length. However, if its length has reduced, then strain has taken place.

    Strain is damage caused by too much stress.

    A stress fracture is a strain caused by too much stress.  The stress applied has exceeded the design stress of the bone structure.

    A pulled ligament is a strain caused by too much stress. The stress applied has exceeded the design stress of the ligaments.

    All mechanisms whether in engineering or biology are designed to operate within certain stress levels. As long as we stay within these ‘design’ parameters the mechanism should operate quite happily. If we exceed these parameters then strain is likely to occur.

    Note that both strain and sprain have basically the same meaning.

    Note: You would think that the people who made shock absorbers and dampers should know the difference. The shock absorbers on a car are the springs. What are sold to the public as ‘shock absorbers’ are in fact dampers, they dampen the oscillations that are created by the springs. Without the dampers your car would bounce along the road like a kangaroo. This is why DAMPERS are so important on a car. A spring absorbs the energy of a wheel passing over a bump in the road and temporarily stores it as stress in the spring. Immediately after passing over the bump the spring attempts  to release this stored energy as quickly as possible, (which would cause the car to bounce). The damper prevents this happening by slowing down the rate at which the stored energy is released. In biology numerous muscles are used to act as dampers, acting as controls to prevent excess body movements that would be dangerous or inconvenient.

    The kangaroo utilises a good example of the same basic principles, its legs storing energy in the form of stress in the leg muscles, the stored energy being used to help to power its next jump.

    Author – Brian Williams.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Understanding Speed & Velocity

    Posted on August 17th, 2010 Brian No comments

    Understanding mechanics is nothing to do with mathematics, it is the reality of what is actually happening and why it is happening.

    Speed and velocity

    In practice speed and velocity have exactly the same meaning. Speed comes from the  Anglo-Saxon/Dutch/German, and Velocity comes from Latin.  Both derivations mean speed in the sense that the public understand it. However the physics establishment has decreed that velocity now means speed in a particular direction.  Unfortunately, having confused the public with the change in meaning, they now appear to just as confused themselves, because they are constantly referring to  cases that are  clearly ‘speed’ and calling it velocity.

    A typical situation is where they refer to the ‘velocity’ of a wheel. No point on a rotating wheel has velocity.  All points on a rotating wheel have speed.

    Obviously the above statements only apply in a situation where the centre of rotation is fixed. If we consider the wheel of a car travelling at 50 feet/sec along a perfectly flat road then the velocity of the wheel is 50 feet/sec. This refers to velocity of the centre of the wheel. Ignoring the resilience of the tyre, the speed of the wheel’s outer edge is 50 feet per second. ( Due to the resilience of the tyre the speed must be greater than this). The outer edge of the wheel does not have any velocity because it is never travels in a straight line.

    Note: Newton was aware of this problem when he created his calculus but the physicists ignored it, and used Leibniz’s version of the calculus instead, in fact Newton’s calculus is almost never used and the modern calculus is the simpler Leibniz version.

    Although this may seem a minor point it does present major logic problems in understanding the mechanics of rotary motion. The mathematics of rotary motion work but are completely illogical regarding the reality of rotary motion. This was evident even in school when much protestation was made about the lack of logic in the maths. Eventually the teachers agreed with us but argued that as it worked we should ignore the logic.

    Note the following statement attributed to Einstein

    “As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain: and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality.”

    Brian Williams

    Author

  • Understanding Momentum

    Posted on August 17th, 2010 Brian No comments

    Understanding mechanics is nothing to do with mathematics, it is the reality of what is actually happening and why it is happening.

    Momentum

    Momentum is the oldest scientific principle. Virtually all living creatures are both actively aware of it, and both consciously and unconsciously make use of it in their everyday lives.

    Its use and the understanding of it preceded the emergence of man from the primeval chaos, and billions of years before the first glimmering of ‘scientific’ thought.

    Consider a grizzly bear. It will give its young cub a gentle ‘pat’ of affection, or it will give a more vigorous smack to warn it to behave itself. Later, it may (with the same arm and paw) give a killing blow to an enemy.

    The bear is demonstrating a clear knowledge and understanding of momentum. All animal life demonstrates this understanding, from the amoeba through to the dinosaurs, fish, reptiles etc and mankind, a very late starter.

    This knowledge of momentum is gained very early in an animals life because its survival depends on it. It learns about it whilst attempting its first steps, because walking depends on control of momentum. Early on it constantly falls, but with practice it learns to control it and starts to walk with more confidence. The adult stage really begins when the animal can control its momentum and gains survival capabilities, not by the strength of its parents but with the speed and agility to escape danger.

    So, what is momentum? It is not a mathematical formula. Momentum is the effect of mass and speed and is real. When someone refers to momentum being mass x speed this is a means of relating the reality of momentum into a mathematical context. Mathematics is not reality, and the reality of any subject should be constantly in your mind when manipulating mathematics.

    Mathematics is not a science, it is a tool. In many cases maths does not work, or only works by cheating. A term constantly used in engineering is ‘Moment of Inertia, (and I must have used this myself a thousand times or more) which is used in bending and stress calculations, but is purely a fiddle factor and is used to make the maths work out. The square root of -1 is still argued about in physics calculations, yet it has no real meaning due to mathematicians incorrectly applying normal mathematical rules to graphs.

    Millions of hours have been spent trying to out a ‘true’ value for Pi in relation to circles, without mathematicians understanding that it is an impossible task. Each step closer changes the parameters, which means that the numbers after the decimal point will go on forever. I have no doubt that somewhere in the universe there is a mathematical system that will solve many of our problems, but it will not be our current system.

  • Why Stereo?

    Posted on August 3rd, 2010 Brian No comments

    I have over 3000 recordings on records, CDs, tapes including reel to reel.  Out of all there is only one track that benefits by being played in stereo. This track is Duelling Banjos, in which the audible separation of the two banjos is crucial. This leaves 2999 tracks for which stereo recording and playback is of no benefit. Stereo was (and still is) a gimmick without any logic

    Are we claiming that all the musicians from orchestras to the Beatles have been getting it all wrong over the last 200-300 years? Should they scatter themselves around the various venues so that we can get a stereo effect? Should the opera singer stand at the opposite end of the concert hall to the orchestra? If they did I think you would find it very aggravating.

    For over 20 years I used a KT 66 push-pull mono amplifier for parties, general get-togethers etc, and my guests included many stereo enthusiasts. yet I was never asked why I was only using mono. This was not because my guests were too polite to say anything, it was because they were listening to the music, or criticising the music or oblivious to the music. Whether it was in stereo or mono was irrelevant.

    For those of you old enough to remember the introduction of stereo players will also remember the demonstration records in which you heard all sorts of unusual effects like footsteps walking across your room etc. Did you ever buy a recording with this type of effects on it? Apart from the original demonstration records very few were ever made.

    A few years ago the BBC ran a demonstration of quadraphonic radio broadcasting and it was quite impressive, with people apparently walking and talking behind you. However, clever as it is, it really has no practical application to the public. Possibly about once a year some program could be broadcast that would benefit from this, but for 99.9% of the time it would be useless.

    Stereo and quadraphonics in television are actually aggravating because they distract you from the program because if a parrot apparently speaks behind you, you have a natural tendency to look towards it, thus missing something more important on the screen.

    It really is time we got back to common sense in general as well as physics.

  • Rainbows

    Posted on July 26th, 2010 Brian No comments

    The physicists claim that rainbows are created by light being split into different colours by tiny droplets of water. This is only partially true. If you shine White light into a droplet of water you get White light. If there is an edge between the droplet and the light, or an edge visible through the sphere then you get distorted coloured bands. Coloured light entering a droplet of water is distorted in a similar way that coloured light entering a prism is distorted.

    Where are the edges up in the sky to create these colour bands? These are provided by the droplets of water themselves. If you shine White light onto a droplet of water a shadow is formed behind it. The edges of this shadow create thin colour bands (Blue, Red and Yellow) that pass into droplets of water behind it and are distorted and enlarged. After that it becomes complicated as the coloured bands pass through millions of water droplets.

    It is easy enough to check this with the use of a couple of brandy glasses filled with water.

  • Quantum leap

    Posted on July 26th, 2010 Brian No comments

    Did you know that if you had a quantum leap in your annual salary and your original salary was £20,000, then your new salary would be £20,000.01, i.e. a one penny increase. A quantum is the smallest quantity possible, one penny in England, one cent in America, etc.

    A quantum leap in your annual corn yield would be one grain of corn. A quantum leap in the annual production of nails would be one nail.
    Strange how a phrase coined by the physics establishment relating to a vague hypothesis on the structure of the atom, has been taken up by the press and advertisers, and is now considered by the public to have the opposite meaning.

    A major problem with physics is that when something is discovered or hypothesised, the public pick up only the most ‘sensational’ aspects of it. Einstein’s fame really came from the ‘time dilation’ hypothesis relating to his interpretation of the Michelson-Morley experiment. This got so embedded in the public mind that even the physicists started to believe it. This problem was made worse when the science fiction writers picked up on it, and it is now almost a constant in science fiction books, and is now even considered by many people to be ‘real’ physics.

     

    Author – Brian Williams

  • Lightning strikes upwards!

    Posted on July 24th, 2010 Brian No comments

    I was giving informal lectures on this over thirty years ago. Yes, lightning does strike upwards. This was an obvious requirement, as there is a build up of electrons on the surface of the Earth and electricity travels from negative to positive. Visual ‘evidence’ indicates that it travels downwards. High speed photography indicates that lightning travels downwards.. However, the physicists have missed the vital point that the eye or the photography are only seeing the light created by the lightning strike, they are not seeing the actual lightning. An electrical charge is electricity and it is static, lightning is electricity and is moving. The electrical charge on the Earth is static, but under the influence of a positive charge it becomes lightning. The change from a ‘charge’ to lightning requires acceleration, it is not instantaneous. (Basic mechanics)

    Now Physics or Fantasy, Section 1 shows conclusively that light does not travel at a constant speed. In fact light travels at various speeds, Blue light travels slower than Red light which travels slower than Yellow light which travels slower than White light. White light travels at a vast range of speeds. The same applies to electricity.

    Lightning is accelerating during its passage from the Earth to the clouds. Close to the Earth it is travelling quite slowly, therefore its speed of passage creates only low energy light. On entering the cloud layer it is travelling at its highest speed, and therefore creates a higher energy light. The higher the energy of the light the faster it travels. We therefore see the light created at the cloud height before we see the light created at low level. Therefore the lightning appears to travel downwards. No, this does not prove Einstein’s time dilation, it is just basic mechanics.

    The lightning strike passing through the atmosphere my be considered to be like a bullet passing through some very light objects. The bullet scatters the light objects in all directions. The speed of scattering of the light objects is considerably less than the speed of the bullet. Unlike a bullet, lightning is constantly accelerating until it reaches the centre of the positive attraction in the cloud layer. It is therefore almost certain that a lightning discharge travels considerably faster than light.

    Recent photographs taken from aircraft travelling above the cloud layers, show lightning apparently striking upwards from the cloud layer. This has created much confusion. However, lightning striking a cloud layer from below may not have all its energy absorbed within the cloud, and part of the energy may continue through it to appear as short lightning ‘strikes’ above the cloud layer. This new evidence is certainly indicative that my early thoughts on this were correct. Obviously I may not be correct, but a logical explanation is better than waffle.

    Note;  If lightning is electricity and electricity is electrons, then you should not be able to see lightning if light is photons, unless electrons create photons!!!

    Lightning can also occur within the clouds. Although we speak of positive and negative, positive should really be considered as ‘Less Negative’. A negative charge is a a supply of free electrons. These will attempt to redistribute themselves into areas with less electrons, i.e. ‘less negative’ areas.  Clouds will generally have areas that are less negative than others and therefore there will be lightning strikes within the cloud layers.

    Brian Williams – Author.

  • Basics of an Atomic Theory

    Posted on July 16th, 2010 Brian No comments

    The construction of an atom model that satisfies all the requirements of scientific knowledge regarding both physical and biological facts must be our starting point. It must be able to explain colour, weight (mass), state (i.e. solid, gas or liquid), changes due to temperature, changes due to pressure, hardness, and softness, rigidity and flexibility, chemical reactions, gravity, magnetism, and most importantly, life.

    The physics establishments ‘hypotheses’ do not explain any property of matter therefore they do not qualify as theories.

    My atomic theory explains all known properties of matter. (It therefore passes the requirements of a theory.)

    I may be wrong, but certainly not as wrong as the Physics Establishment.

    The reader will have problems due to fact that I go against all the current atomic hypotheses that he/she will have been taught or accepted. I can understand this because I had the same problem myself, many times over the years finding it difficult to believe my own results. Eventually it was easier to consider existing hypotheses only to pinpoint where the problems were. This was a case of selecting any particular hypothesis proposed by the physics establishment, assume it is wrong, and work out alternative hypotheses and then produce a working theory. 90% of current hypotheses cannot even satisfy the title of theory because there are no explanations of how they could work.

    One of the main reasons for physicists opting for whizzing high-speed electrons is an attempt to explain the energy of an atom.

    However, all energy is stored in one of two states, momentum or stress. (Occasionally it is stored as a combination of both)

    The energy of atoms is stored as stress.

    The reader may find this statement difficult to accept but it is true, whether you are considering chemistry, radiation, mechanics or biology. However, if you ask a physicist to explain how his model/hypothesis of the atom explains any of the physical or biological facts of reality, he will only mumble that you will not understand the explanation, being a mere mortal, but will then brighten up and go into the fantasy world of physics in the form of time dilation, rubber sheet universes, black holes, time travel etc. things that are basically fairy stories to amuse the public.

    Can you remember anything produced from physics hypotheses? Forget atomic energy which was a discovery by SCIENTISTS not PHYSICISTS. The physicists were brought in to attempt to find an explanation, with which they are still struggling. The atom bomb and controlled atomic energy were produced by scientists and engineers, with the physicists hanging about trying to look important. Note; We have atomic energy not nuclear energy.

    What we consider to be atomic energy is only another step along the way from rubbing two sticks together to create fire, energy from coal and gas, dynamite, all of which are atomic reactions. The Atom bomb and its derivatives are toys relative to the energies that could be released if we inadvertently hit something that is a lot more stressed than the radioactive materials that are being used today. Radioactive ‘elements’ are already breaking down and are unstable. The more dangerous elements will not show this breakdown, and we will not be aware of their danger until too late. The pointless experiments with the so-called Hadron collider will not produce any useful knowledge, but could inadvertently blast a huge hole in the centre of Europe

    From Section 3, Physics or Fantasy

  • Wave Theory – Problems

    Posted on May 16th, 2010 Brian No comments

    Short abstract from Physics or Fantasy – Section 2

    One of the main problems with the physicist’s interpretations of ‘Wave Theories’ is that the complications of acceleration and deceleration are ignored.  No-one has ever measured the ‘wave-length’ of sound, radio waves or light, even though wave-lengths have been quoted for radio waves for the last 100 years. Even the wave-lengths of water waves are difficult to measure.

    The wavelength of a single note emitted from a speaker increases (within certain limits depending on the substance through which is travelling) as the sound travels away from the speaker, but the frequency remains the same. The initial wave-length depends on the speed of the speaker cone, (which also has an acceleration and deceleration), the ambient air pressure and the distance the cone travels (which also varies as parts of the cone travel different distances). Electrical waves have even more serious complications that are never considered by the physicists.

    These problems also apply to water waves which means that the standard formula Wavelength = Speed divided by Frequency is a very loose formula which should have careful consideration before being applied in any situation. Unless you understand the mechanics of the problem that you are considering, you should avoid applying any mathematics.

    The physics establishment’s haphazard use of the formula causes many problems, one being the serious misuse of it in the Mossbauer Experiment. Mossbauer got a Nobel Prize for this work in 1961. This has created all sorts of silly hypotheses relating to crystallography which have hampered real physics ever since .

    Wave Mechanics or more realistically ‘the mechanics of waves’ is a subject that the physics establishment have very little understanding of,  yet happily bring it up in discussions, usually in the form of   ” but that relates to wave mechanics, which you will not understand”.

    Author – Brian Williams