breaking the speed of light article on howstuffworks.com

[John Woodgate]

I read in sci.electronics.design that ~~SciGirl~~ <[email protected]>
wrote (in <[email protected]>) about
'breaking the speed of light article on howstuffworks.com', on Sun, 6
Feb 2005:

is it really that unusual for someone my age to be able to understand
quantum physics?

It's unusual for ANYONE to understand quantum physics.

It's unusual for anyone 14 years old to write so clearly, with correct
spelling, and with such insight.

 

[Robert Baer]

It is very common for circuits to have unequal slew rates and other
non-linear characteristics that make matter a great deal which way an edge
is going. Take a look at the specs of a 7400.

But, the delay is always positive...

 

[Robert Baer]

" And guess what? The third law of thermodynamics guarantees that all
electronics will get warmer."

The trouble with that is that they aren't even getting into
thermodynamics yet (I can decode the latin roots of that I think -
temperature change?)

Crudely stated, the three laws of thermodynamics are:
1) You cannot win.
2) You cannot break even.
3) You always lose.

 

[John Fields]

Ok, I admit I stink at quoting stuff here.

I volunteered my age so that you guys wouldn't answer my questions with
a bunch of calculus that I wouldn't understand.
I am so sick of coming up with calculus equations whenever I search for
anything that I decided to make it clear right off that I don't
understand it.

 

[Rich Grise]

Superbowl's on. I don't understand football, so I'm going to stare at
the TV and think about how it works.

Not much to understand, really. The point is to get the ball across that
line when you're on offense, or stop the other team from getting it across
your line when you're defense. They switch back and forth throughout the
game.

The rest is just gingerbread, much like calculus. ;-)

(big hint - be in the presence of males while watching - how they react
will give you a pretty good insight as to what's "important".)

Cheers!
Rich

 

[Rich Grise]

3) You cannot get out of the game.

Capitalism is based on the belief that you can win,
Socialism is based on the belief that you can break even,
Mysticism is based on the belief that you can get out of the game.

Cheers!
Rich

 

[John Fields]

Ok, I give up. No matter what I do, it doesn't seem there could be
anything I could do to prove I am really 14 years old. Everyone here is
too persistent to believe anything I'd say.

It's like a repeat of seventh grade. My seventh-grade science teacher
thought I was obnoxious.

Also, it's a little annoying to me that I know this stuff now, because
I'm in suspense on the edge of my seat waiting for someone to make a
breakthrough and answer all these questions like what the link is
between light as a particle and light as a wave. I can't figure it out
myself; I don't know enough. I can't build any sort of experiment or
prove anything with calculations. So, I'm frustrated. I almost wish I
didn't understand it.

 

[John Fields]

The biggest reason people don't want to believe that you're 14 is that
you're writing coherent English. And you seem to have humility. The entire
group is gaping in awe at such a phenomenon. ;-)

When we were 14, we were lucky if we could pick our nose without putting
our eye out. ;-D

 

[Mark Jones]

Here here! Rich is going to agree with you about the large-pot.

 

[John Fields]

Capitalism is based on the belief that you can win,
Socialism is based on the belief that you can break even,
Mysticism is based on the belief that you can get out of the game.

 

[keith]

Ken Smith wrote: [...]

It is very common for circuits to have unequal slew rates and other
non-linear characteristics that make matter a great deal which way an edge
is going. Take a look at the specs of a 7400.

But, the delay is always positive...

I've mever seen a case where it isn't in fact. I have seen cases where
the misuse of measuring equipment can make what looks like negitive
delays.

Or cases where the PHBs tell the engineers how to engineer. After showing
them the negative delays they were smart enough to agree that "threshold
to threshold" made a tad more sense than 50-to-50.

 

[keith]

---
Capitalism is based on the belief that you can control the game.
Socialism is based on the belief that everyone should be playing the
game the same way you are.
Mysticism is the belief that there is a game.

Democrats believe the game should have a "fair" outcome.

 

[keith]

Kinetic is not the only type of energy. Conservation of Energy just
says you can't create it or destroy it, but you can change it.

So you're standing behind the proposition tha light has no KE?

 

[keith]

Well, you didn't just wake up one morning knowing algebra either, or
English, for that matter. Take little bites - calculus is more-or-less the
next "stage" after algebra.

The *next* stage? Isn't "limit theory" inbetween there somewhere? If one
has no appreciation for "infinity", "zero", and "almost" one cannot
appreciate calculus.

 

[keith]

But you're not Grise.

 

[keith]

Not much to understand, really. The point is to get the ball across that
line when you're on offense, or stop the other team from getting it across
your line when you're defense. They switch back and forth throughout the
game.

Ya' dumb twit! She want's to figure out how the television works, not the
guys on the screen! I figured that out about her age, so decided to relax
and watch the game. A few years later I found that beer was good while
watching. Last night was a bit of a bore, though the outcome was good.
Now it's back to the NHL. Oh, wait! ;-)

....at least UIUC is kicking NCAA donkey!

The rest is just gingerbread, much like calculus. ;-)

(big hint - be in the presence of males while watching - how they react
will give you a pretty good insight as to what's "important".)

Few males (though fewer females) have a clue how a TV works! Grise, you
really need glasses.

 

[Spehro Pefhany]

The *next* stage? Isn't "limit theory" inbetween there somewhere? If one
has no appreciation for "infinity", "zero", and "almost" one cannot
appreciate calculus.

Yup. Without delta-epsilon proofs, calculus is just a bunch of
fooling around. ;-)


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

 

[John Fields]

But you're not Grise.

 

[[email protected]]

It's been two years since I took that quantum course. Am I wrong?

 

[John Woodgate]

The *next* stage? Isn't "limit theory" inbetween there somewhere? If
one has no appreciation for "infinity", "zero", and "almost" one cannot
appreciate calculus.

No, you are making it too difficult. You don't need anything as $10 as
'limit theory' for differential calculus, just a drawing showing a curve
with a chord and a tangent.