Wednesday, October 29, 2003
" I am become Death, shatterer of worlds. "
--J. Robert Oppenheimer upon witnessing the explosion of the first atomic bomb
The quotation comes to mind after watching " Nova " on PBS channel 6 ( one of the few channels on the toob I can get with rabbit-ears ). If I recall correctly, Oppy was reciting a translation of an Indian Hindu ( India ) verse attributed to the god Vishnu.
The topic was " String Theory " and the unification of what we perceive as the main forces of " nature ": gravity, week atomic force, strong atomic force, and electro-magnetic force... two hours full with another episode up next week.
I'm still trying to wrap my poor little brain around why the theorist/philosophers need more than the four dimensions most people identify with to keep the string theory GUT ( Grand Unified Theory ) viable... up to ELEVEN dimensions !!! I remember Michu Kaku ( sorry if I misspelled ), physicist, was on the Screen Savers and mentioned the same fact not too long ago. The explanation for the extra dimensions seems more of a post hoc - ergo proper hoc argument.
As for the argument that physicist that are also string theorist border more on philosophy than hard science ( due to the lack of direct experimentation results or observation )... I think that line was crossed way before string theory evolved. Einstein's famous quote of " God does not play dice with the universe " and Oppy's quote above both testify to that !
Out with Gail and Ashley... Pick up David... Nap... feed horses... news... "Nova"... Da boards... BLOG
GUT Feeling
A charmed quark
out on a jaunt
beheld a mu
in dimension seven
strings unharmonized... slow
the quark inquired
" your energy spent ? "
" No - just split "
the mu responded
belching tachyon emissions
:Bobby Nichols 10/29/2003
Phir milenge !
C'ya.
... digg.com
