Physics Issues

by Reason McLucus

 

12-08-04


Iā€™m concerned about various physics concepts. Prior to switching to a undergraduate program of studying human behavior I had been interested in math and physics. I still have an interest in physics and questions about how some subjects are conceptualized and the logic(or lack of it). Some concepts will involve short discussion for now. Others will involve longer essays that are linked to. My interest here is not in overturning any physics theories, but instead to change the way physics characteristics are conceptualized. For example, physicists have known what gravity does for centuries, but are still trying to determine exactly what it is.

Physicists are human and have the same capacity to make mistakes as any other humans. Physicists are just as capable of thinking inside the box as any other humans. Those aspects of physics that involve physical evidence and experiments can be verified. However, physics is a large field involving many specialties. Those involved in one specialty may not understand concepts from other specialties. Physicists can also become stuck in a mind set that prevents them from recognizing illogical evaluation of evidence.



Time Arrow or Boomerang?

The Accelerating ā€œExpansionā€ of the Universe Myth(11-22-04)
 
 
 

Dimensional Physics(12-01-04)


 

Is there a photon aether?(12-08-04)
 

I've decided to keep all the following ideas in this essay even though I may have replaced some of them in the later discussions.  Keeping them shows how the later ones may have developed  and  perhaps someone  will find them useful in developing a better  explanation of electrons than mine.   These comments should be viewed as pursuits of different ways of  visualizing atoms or different trains of thought.

Electrons in the atom(7-08-08)

I have seen statements by physicists that indicate they still believe that electrons move around the nucleus of the atom. This explanation doesn't seem likely because it cannot explain how atoms can form electron bonds and share electrons with each other. A moving electron would have to travel in a figure 8 pattern to orbit both atoms. A more likely explanation would be that the electrons create a field which holds them in place. Electrons seem to form groups, originally called shells, with only the "outermost shell" actually being involved in forming bonds with other atoms. Under the explanation I'm suggesting, electrons within a "shell" would use an electrical field to hold each other in place.  Their like charges cause them to repel each other. In a full shell, the charges would hold them at equal distances from each other. The positive charge of the nucleus would keep them from moving away from the nucleus. With multiple shells the shells would repel each other. The effect of the field might be to mask the actual positions of the electrons, making the individual electrons appear to be any place within the field. Electrons in the outer "shell" would could hold a similar position in two different atoms.  


Physicists have suggested that electrons might be  standing  waves.  It would make more sense to think of them as forming standing waves within the atom.    Under this explanation, what were initially viewed as "shells"  would actually be separate standing waves.    Shared electrons would either be a part of two standing waves or cause the  the two standing waves  to form a single standing wave. 


This would be consistent with Niels Bohr's research showing that  when gas atoms/molecules absorb radiation the result is an increase in the energy state of the electrons.  Under the model I suggest, the process would change the wavelength of the standing wave.


One way in which electromagnetic waves could be transmitted through matter would involve the electrons passing along the wave energy in an analogous fashion to the way the entire atom/molecule passes along other types of waves.  In a transparent medium the electrons pass along the wave energy without affecting the  nucleus which would mean the atoms/molecules would not be affected by the wave(e.g., become hotter).   Under such a process electromagnetic waves would    cause heating  because of resistance to the passage of the wave through the medium just like resistance to the passage of an electric current causes heating.     


02/16/09

Heating may occur as light moves from a high speed medium to a lower speed medium.  Earth has an outer layer  that is hotter than the middle layers.  As light waves reach the lower speed medium light  waves would  start  "backing up" like cars when they go from a high speed  rural highway to a slow speed city street.  Light reaching a solid may be reflected because the electrons in medium cannot transmit the waves of some or all wavelengths.   The electrons  may be able to transmit radiation but not  recover from waves fast enough to  transmit short wave lengths.    The result could be   that the motion of the entire atoms increases instead of only the electrons moving.


12/10/11


A wave is a momentary entanglement of a set of adjacent particles that allows all the particles in the set to pass along the same information.   The particles are only entangled for the moment they transfer the information/energy to another set of particles even though particles at one end of the wave may be many miles from the other end of the wave.   Two  observatories thousands of miles apart on earth can record the same event occurring on the surface of Mars subject to the limitations such as that caused by material that may block the ability of all portions of the wave to reach both locations.  This result would no occur if light consisted of independent particles which is what those who think of light as particles are really claiming. The debate over light being a wave or particle ignores the fact that water waves or sound waves use particles.   Thus a light wave would use particles to transmit its information. Instead of particles going from the source of the light to the observer, the particles would pass along the information to adjacent particles.     


Electrons appear to function as wave segments that combine to form standing wave "shells" with the wavelength of the standing wave changing as the electrons absorb and emit radiation of specific wavelengths. 


Electro-magnetic radiation passes through gases because electrons in a gaseous state are free to pass along the wave energy.  Electrons in solids have less freedom to pass along wave energy because their "behavior" is restricted by the matrix their atoms  are a part of.    Instead of passing along the wave energy to adjacent electrons, part of the energy  causes the electrons to move with the nucleus producing an increased motion of the entire atom(i.e., heating).


When a water wave reaches an object like a small boat, the kinetic energy of the wave is passed to the boat, but the boat moves as a unit rather than having the energy moving parallel  molecules separately like water molecules.  The passage of a single wave can cause the boat to move up and down after the wave passes because part of the kinetic energy is retained by the boat.  The kinetic energy of a small wave cannot move a large boat so the energy is reflected back.   Medium sized boats may both reflect the wave and absorb part of its energy.      


Many people think of water waves when they attempt to visualize sound waves or electro-magnetic waves.  A more accurate way to view waves is as pulses (or compressions) and anti-pulses. Water waves have high points and low points because water isn't easily compressible.  As the kinetic energy moves through water the water in the pulse(or compression) portion of the wave must extend vertically.   Because the volume of the water must remain the same the anti-pulse segment then needs to have a low point.

        
Electrical and magnetic fields are associated with atoms.  Electro-magnetic radiation can be produced by movement of an electrical field in a magnetic field which would allow the motion of atoms to produce electro-magnetic radiation.

 
Tsunami waves demonstrate the efficiency of energy transfer using a wave compared to energy transfer by sending particles.  A tsunami wave can transfer the kinetic energy produced by an underwater earthquake to a location over a thousand kilometers away.  Even a  nuclear explosion only transfers the kinetic energy to particles that travel only a few dozen kilometers at most. 

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email: reasonmclucus@netscape.net