Science Final
It should allow us to measure the inertial frame of absolute rest and calculate the earth's motion in the universe.
A fundamental velocity, as postulated by Maxwell's equations, should in theory allow us to measure what motion, according to the assigned reading?
a) The fact of evolution: organisms related by common descent. b) Evolutionary history: the details of lineages splitting and the resulting changes. c) The mechanisms or processes by which evolutionary change occurs.
According to Ayala "The theory of evolution makes statements about three different but related issues" list them.
a) Difference #1: Pre-modern science focuses more on immaterial causes while modern science focuses on the material. Aristotle (pre-modern) - a higher power made the earth; this shows a belief in immaterial cause rather than material; Darwin (modern) - man evolved from material biological causes alone; this shows how causes are seen as material rather than immaterial b) b) Difference #2: Pre-modern is non-mathematical while modern is quantitative. Aristotle (pre-modern) - heavenly bodies just do what they tend to do; this is not necessarily mathematical; Galileo (modern) - only mathematical physics can explain the world
Based on class lecture, state and briefly explain two differences between modern science and pre-modern science.
a) Electrical currents will exert forces on the needle of a magnetic compass, showing that motion is important in determining the nature of the reaction b) Electrical forces are attractive and repulsive c) Velocity is a factor in the nature of a force and indicates that forces between two bodies depend on more than their instantaneous configuration.
Briefly explain three ways in which electromagnetic phenomena did not fit well into the theory of Newtonian mechanics (physics) as it was understood in the early 1800's.
a) Gravity is not consistent with special relativity because information cannot be transferred faster than the speed of light. b) "Distance between" is what gravitational force was thought to depend upon at the time (for Newtonian physics) but "Distance between" is not an absolute quantity because it differs from one reference frame to another.
Briefly explain two objections Einstein had to what by his day had become the traditional understanding in physics of gravity as the attraction one body has on another.
No, because the speed of light, space-time interval, energy momentum, and current density is the same for all observers. Therefore, not all things become relative in this theory. Relativity for Einstein means that absolute things are relative to one's reference frame but the sequence of events remains the same.
Do physical laws "all become relative" in Einstein's Relativity Theory? Briefly explain. What does "relativity" mean for Einstein?
Celestial and Terrestrial realms.
In Aristotle's Cosmology, what were the names of the two regions in the Universe?
Absolute space is a pre-existing container in which celestial objects move. Absolute time is the flow of change independent of the observer/things.
In Newtonian mechanics, what is absolute space. What is absolute time?
Science is not set in stone so if new theories turn up, they should be willing to consider the new evidence. They should also put science and philosophy together, and not just look at one or the other. Basically, he's telling them not to be narrow-minded.
In his Address to the Pontifical Academy of Science in 1996 what caution does Pope St John Paul the Second give to exegetes and theologians regarding the natural sciences?
It's more than a hypothesis. It's a meta-scientific elaboration which is distinct from, but in harmony with, the results of observation.
In his Address to the Pontifical Academy of Science in 1996, how does Pope St John Paul the Second categorize such a theory as evolution?
There were a series of discoveries in different scholarly disciplines about the theory of evolution. The convergence in the result of these independent studies constitutes in itself a significant argument in favor of the theory.
In his Address to the Pontifical Academy of Science in 1996, what reason does Pope St John Paul the Second give for regarding the theory of evolution as more than a hypothesis?
The theories of evolution which regard the spirit either as emerging from the forces of living matter, or as a simple epiphenomenon of that matter are incompatible with the truth about man.
In his Address to the Pontifical Academy of Science in 1996, what theories of evolution does the Pope St John Paul the Second note are incompatible with the truth about man?
Sciences of observation are not competent to decide the moment of transition to the spiritual because they can only describe and measure manifestations of life. The moment of passage into the spiritual realm is not something that can be observed in this way.
In his Address to the Pontifical Academy of Science in 1996, why does Pope St John Paul the Second mention that the sciences of observation are not competent to decide the moment of transition to the spiritual?
In his Address to the Pontifical Academy of Science in 1996, why does Pope St John Paul the Second mention that we should speak of "theories of evolution' rather than the theory of evolution?
In his Address to the Pontifical Academy of Science in 1996, why does Pope St John Paul the Second mention that we should speak of "theories of evolution' rather than the theory of evolution?
Gravity is not an ordinary force, but rather a property of space-time geometry and an object moves along a straight line in this geometry.
Is gravity a force for Einstein? What is gravity for Einstein?
Anatomy, biochemistry, biogeography, ecology, ethology, genetics, molecular biology, neurology, and paleontology.
List nine distinct but related scientific disciplines mentioned by Ayala which contribute evidence for biological evolution. Where a name is unfamiliar to you, list a brief explanation of what the name means.
a) It relates to all living processes in an organism because it holds the genetic info that directs these processes. b) Another is the biological heredity that it has and how specific it is. c) Finally, the last is mutation which allows for biological evolution.
List the three attributes or fundamental properties of DNA, as named by Ayala. For each, explain the attribute in one sentence.
This means that objects in universe exert forces on one another without touching, and the changes occur instantaneously.
This means that objects in universe exert forces on one another without touching, and the changes occur instantaneously.
The laws of physics are the same in all uniformly moving reference frames which is an environment relative to which all measurements are referred.
What is the Principle of Relativity?
a) Law of Inertia: an object at rest remains at rest and an object in uniform motion remains in uniform motion unless it is subject to a force. b) Law of Acceleration: the rate of change of uniform motion is proportional to the applied force (force = inertial mass x acceleration). c) Law of Action/Reaction: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Objects in the universe interact with and exert forces on one another.
What are Newton's three laws of motion?
a) He discovered the moons of Jupiter. This is at variance with Aristotle's Cosmology because it shows that the Earth is not unique as the center of motion. b) He discovered that the Moon has craters and mountains on it which shows that the celestial objects were not perfect as Aristotle's cosmology assumed. c) Sun Spots were part of Galileo's discoveries with the telescope and these display that the Sun spins which shows again that the Earth is not unique as the center of motion. d) The gibbeous phases of Venus. Venus orbits the sun and has light and dark phases like the moon, refuting a geocentric universe.
What are four (4) fundamental discoveries made by Galileo with his telescope. Explain why they were at variance with Aristotle's Cosmology?
The making and usage of tools, laughing, and speech are the manifestations of the spiritual that sciences of observation can describe and measure.
What are the manifestations of the spiritual that the sciences of observation can describe and measure?
A field is some sort of stress produced by a charged particle in its environment.
What in Maxwell's theory is a field?
It is an apparent change of location of a celestial object against its background due to the motion of its observer. An example is the relative location of the stars according to where a person is on earth. This is important because it either confirms or disproves many controversial theories.
What is Stellar Parallax and why is it important in the history of Scientific Thought?
CMB is the electromagnetic radiation that remains from the early stages of the universe in Big Bang cosmology. This CMB radiation is a result of the explosion and represents the leftover heat. It provides experimental evidence for the Big Bang.
What is cosmic background radiation (also called cosmic microwave background radiation or CMB radiation), and why is it significant for Big Bang cosmology?
Morphological similarities are those which explain biological evolution and result in the trace of how the evolution unfolded. A common origin with various modification and adaptation accounts for similarity of structure with disparate functions.
What is meant by "morphological similarities"? According to Ayala how do evolutionary biologists account for similarity of structure but disparate functions (explain in 1 sentence)?
Objects in the universe exert forces on another without touching and the changes occur instantaneously.
What is meant by the term "action at a distance"?
The speed of light is not contingent on observers or source. It is invariant to uniformly moving objects and is a theory of special relativity.
What is meant by the term "invariance of the speed of light"?
There is no explanation for the phenomenon of Stellar Parallax. There is no observational shift in the star's positions as the Earth orbits the sun, thus it was argued that the Earth was stationary.
What is one cogent, scientific reason a contemporary of Galileo would have for doubting the certainty of helio-centricism in 1633, immediately after the Dialogue was published.
It attempted in 1877 to discover the motion of the earth relative to absolute space (the aether) by means of light. The experiment found nothing relevant to the question.
What is the Michelson-Morely experiment and what did it demonstrate?
1928 experiment by Frisch which compared the detection of muons on top of Mt. Washington to those on the surface of the earth. It indicated the phenomenon of time dilation because the number of muons on the earth's surface was much larger than expected, due to the internal clocks of the muons being slowed on earth's surface, resulting in longer life for the muon.
What is the Mt. Washington muon experiment and how does it indicate the phenomenon of time dilation?
Also known as the instrumentalist position, it indicates that the author of the conclusion does not necessarily think it is true in reality. Rather, it attempts to display the simplest, most accurate mathematical scheme to account for the behavior of reality.
What is the meaning of the term "save the appearances"?
a) Time dilation is a slowing of time, in accordance with the theory of relativity, that occurs in a system in motion relative to an outside observer and that becomes apparent especially as the speed of the system approaches that of light. b) Length contraction is the phenomenon that a moving object's length is measured to be shorter than its proper length, which is the length as measured in the object's own rest frame.
What is time dilation? What is length contraction?
We do not feel the effects of motion, that is, we are not thrown off and land in the same place we leap from. Also, there is no observed stellar parallax, which is the apparent change in location of an object against its background due to the motion of the observer (in this case the stars).
What reasons did Ptolemy give for believing that the Earth was stationary?
Either because we are made of earthly stuff and so partake in its natural motion, or because our proximity to the earth makes us share in its motion.
What was the reason given by Copernicus for the Earth's orbital motion about the Sun? In what way was it similar to Aristotle's and in what way is it different?
Natural motion follows from the spherical shape of the earth. Aristotle held the idea that the circular motion was the natural motion of objects made of the quintessence. Copernicus said that the circular motion was natural to the celestial objects in so far as the circular motion was a consequence of the shape of them.
What was the reason given by Copernicus for the Earth's orbital motion about the Sun? In what way was it similar to Aristotle's and in what way is it different?
Einstein says the Earth's orbital motion is the inertial motion natural to an object in curved geometry space. It is similar to Newton because they both profess inertial motion dependent on mass, but they are different because Einstein has no external force.
What was the reason given by Einstein for the Earth's orbital motion about the Sun? In what way was it similar to Newton's and in what way is it different?
His reason for the orbital motion of the earth is a result of the gravitational force between earth and sun, but they disagree on the cause. For Copernicus, it's a natural motion that follows on the shape of the earth. For Newton, the motion follows from the force of gravity which is an efficient external cause.
What was the reason given by Newton for the Earth's orbital motion about the Sun? In what way was it similar to Copernicus' and in what way is it different?
Ships entering a port appear to rise out of the ocean the shadow of the earth on the moon during a lunar eclipse is curved; and there are different rising times of celestial objects for observers at different geographical longitudes. These show the Earth to be spherical. They are all demonstrations of fact.
What were the three classic demonstrations that the Earth was spherical in shape. Are these demonstrations of fact or demonstrations of the reasoned fact?
a) The argument of simplicity: It seems unnecessary to make the entire universe race around the earth when one simple turn of the earth could accomplish the same effect. b) The discovery of sunspots: If the earth were stationary, it would be impossible to account for the continual variations in sunspot paths. c) The theory of the tides: Says that the earth's motion is the cause of the ebbing and flowing of the tides.
What were three pieces of evidence or arguments that Galileo had by the time of the completion of the Dialogue concerning Two Chief World Systems (published in February, 1632) for the physical truth of helio-centricism?
a) There was no agreement amongst astronomers about the motions of the celestial objects. b) The astronomers were not using the same principles and assumptions to explain these motions.
What were two reasons why Copernicus felt compelled to develop a new system of Astronomy?
Most of the chemical elements are formed during the life cycle of stars, except helium and hydrogen which were formed in the Big Bang. Reactions occur in stars bigger than the sun that can synthesize heavier elements. It depends upon the star's core temperature - the higher the temp, the heavier the element. Supernova explosions produce the elements which are heavier than iron.
Where were the elements that make up our solar system originally made? How did the elements get from where they were made? How do elements heavier than iron form?
Light waves are special because they travel in a vacuum, propagate their empty space, and have the same value in speed for all uniform reference frames unlike other waves.
Why are light waves special?