Two Manifolds

[dnavas]

It must seem odd to sign up to a discussion forum of far more interesting topics to respond to this thread, but, my abilities don't even allow me to understand the geometry of the confined electrons in this device, so, I follow the main threads in a state of constant bewildered interest

I DO think there is something to your geometric analysis, because it mirros something I did when I was 13 or so (and far more capable than now, sadly -- amazing what 25 years of underuse has done to my brain). I was at computer camp at the time pondering why it was that time slowed down as speed increased, and why length contracted, and why mass increased. I finally realized that if you made the assumption that there was a constant speed (let's call it 'c' :>) that constrained your velocity vectors in the dimensions of time (y-axis) and space (x-axis), then one wound up with a relationship of sqrt(c^2 - v^2). It neatly described time dialation, and I was able to convince myself that it explained length contraction (rotation of matter so as to remain perpendicular to the constant velocity vector).

I spent the summer checking to see if my factor was correct (my father bought me a "physics for biologists" book after I told him the whole relationship could be explained with a simple triangle). I was crushed to see sqrt(1 - v^2/c^2) until I realized that this was merely scaled to be unitless.

There were, for me, a few outstanding issues though:
1) In what way does it even make sense to speak of velocities (distance / time) in the dimension of time?
2) Why is it that the relationship of distances between these manifolds is related by velocity, and what are the repercussions? Does this in any way relate back to curvature of space-time manifesting as a force (ie: indistinguishable from acceleration)?
3) Are there cosmological significances to the fixed velocity vector -- does it indicate a perfectly balanced expansion ratio?

I would be interested in seeing you continue to explore this line of thinking, if for no other reason than that my young brain did not have the learning to do so, and my current brain is full of nonsense like Java and C and SQL and performance metrics of all kinds ill-suited to this problem

Best of luck,
-Dave

PS: Is there a Polywell-for-dummies intro? I've read the Google pdf, but it's a bit light. I'm worried about Bremsstrahlung, and concerned that I've read nothing about the method used to capture the energy released, and how that might interact with the fusor. Light on the math, heavy on the analogies would be most useful -- thanks!

[MSimon]

Dave,

Sadly my math is not up to the task.

I ran my idea past a string theory guy and he said nothing. Neither pro nor con. He is normaly quite vociforous re: bad science, so I don't know what to make of his silence. The 1 - v^2/c^2 confused me too until I came to the same conclusion you did.

You might want to try -

http://powerandcontrol.blogspot.com/200 ... nd-it.html

http://powerandcontrol.blogspot.com/200 ... tails.html

http://powerandcontrol.blogspot.com/200 ... -well.html

in order (top to bottom) as they follow the evolution of my understanding of the Bussard Reactor.

[dashxdr]

While we're on the subject, here are some of my own prejudices:

1) I don't believe black holes can form. I think as matter falls into them, time must slow down until it effectively stops. Once you get a dense enough mass where the escape velocity is 'c', it can't contract anymore. No singularity. No problem with entropy and loss of information.

2) I don't believe in the big bang theory.

3) I don't believe in any string theory, I think it's all fol-de-rol

4) I don't believe in dark matter. It's fol-de-rol.

5) I believe there is a correlation between red-shift and distance, but
I don't believe the red-shift is due to an expanding universe -- the distant galaxies are not flying away from us faster than nearby ones.

6) I think quasars are closer than commonly thought. I think lots of bright objects have high red-shifts due to the light having to climb out of a dense gravity well.

7) I'd very much like Alexander Franklin Mayer's theories to be right.
http://www.afmayer.net is his website. He's also got another theory that explains the particle/wave duality using complex numbers. It's called "Wave energy in quantum mechanics".

8 ) I'd also like Burkhard Heim's theories to be correct. Hell, anything is better than string theory. I loved "The Trouble With Physics" by Smolin.

9) I think the earth's molten core is caused by tidal forces from the moon, not by radioactive decay.

10) There is an interesting video on youtube that suggests the earth has expanded by 40% or so in the last 120 million years or so. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjgidAICoQI
Sounds reasonable to me, I never liked how "convenient" the Pangaea continent -- what were the odds that all the land would come together in a single mass and be surrounded by a giant sea? But it all makes sense if the earth were smaller, without oceans.

11) My real interest is machine intelligence. Don't get me started on how f___ed up I think the existing efforts are at trying to duplicate intelligence in machines (AI). What a sick joke...

Anyway MSimon -- I liked reading about your manifolds theory.

-Dave

[JohnP]

9) I think the earth's molten core is caused by tidal forces from the moon, not by radioactive decay.

Interesting. I'd think you'd be able to check this by calculating work done by the moon's tidal drag vs joules needed to keep the Earth's core hot. Just as a guess, I'd think that if the moon were doing that much work the orbit would be decaying faster.

[Nanos]

How much of an effect does the moon have on Earths gravity ?

[dashxdr]

Regarding the moon keeping the earth's core molten, back in the 80's when voyager was passing jupiter, and pictures were taken of the moon Io, and it was discovered it had volcanoes. The core was molten due to tidal forces from jupiter.

My theory is the earth's moon is keeping the core molten. The same way the oceans undergo tidal movement, the molten core will as well. This movement introduces heat. The only question is can enough heat leak out through the crust to offset the heat introduced by the moon's tides?

In UC Berkeley astronomy class they said the moon was spiraling out further, as the earth transmits rotational energy to the moon, and the earth slows down.

-Dave

[Nanos]

Does that mean that gravity on the earth has changed over the years and things have got heavier in simple terms ?

(Eg. the dinosaurs died out because of weight limits?)

[dashxdr]

Why would gravity be affected? I suppose thermal expansion would tend to lower the density of the earth and push the surface out a bit. This would reduce gravity a little.

[Keegan]

Hey guys you should check out This new theory of everything (link to pdf)

Its been getting quite a bit of Press Lately

I shat myself when i saw the maths involved but it based on the E8 Mathematical Structure.

I thought it was pretty cool, no strings attatched .......

[Nanos]

I thought the turning speed of the earth had some say on the gravity ?

(Hasn't it slowed down since days used to be 25 hours long ?)


For an older theory of everything, one might look at;

http://www.stargate.uk.net/dynamics.txt

[jlumartinez]

For those interested. Many links available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Excepti ... Everything

[GPecchia]

Hi all, I too, have been thinking about a GUT or TOE. I heard about Garrett Lisi recently and read his paper "An Exceptionally Simple Theory of Everything". I've also been studying Burkhard Heim's theories. In both cases the math is way over my head but I have a gut feeling that both of these theories are on to something. In any case the LHC will provide evidence one way or the other. I especially like Heims theory in that it would allow faster than light travel without breaking any laws of physics.

Greg

[BenTC]

For those interested. Many links available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Excepti ... Everything

I find Lisi's roaming and itinerant life style aware from academia interesting. I have often found that when travelling, I get an explosion of ideas - eg technology, products, business ideas, and physics. For those that have read Orson Scott Card's Memory Of Earth its like by moving about I evade the personal tuning of the supression field keeping the population safe at pre-technology levels. Actually, I think the consistency of our daily habits "settles" our brains, and that having to store new experiences from new environment jostles the neurons about, increasing the random connection of neurons, which is the heart of creativity and intuition.

[MSimon]

For those interested. Many links available: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/An_Excepti ... Everything

I find Lisi's roaming and itinerant life style aware from academia interesting. I have often found that when travelling, I get an explosion of ideas - eg technology, products, business ideas, and physics. For those that have read Orson Scott Card's Memory Of Earth its like by moving about I evade the personal tuning of the supression field keeping the population safe at pre-technology levels. Actually, I think the consistency of our daily habits "settles" our brains, and that having to store new experiences from new environment jostles the neurons about, increasing the random connection of neurons, which is the heart of creativity and intuition.

Keri Mullis thought that LSD was useful.