MigL

A lot of misunderstandings about the 'block' universe and what it represents. This is a good explanation ...

I suggest you get a new calendar; the year is 2022, soon to be 2023, and not 1916. There has been over 100 years of observational evidence. I suggest you look it up; I'm not here to spoon feed you. And if you wish to discuss the failings of GR, which are also well documented, start another thread.

Most people should be able to differentiate between religious beliefs and fairy tales ( as INow states ), and some of the sentiments expressed by religion, like peace and good will for all, which can be worthy of respect. Religion is a human construct and as such, it has flaws which can be exploited by the unscrupulous to their advantage and the suffering of the many. But religion does have some redeeming qualities, like the sentiment mentioned above. Should we throw out the baby with the bathwater ?

It isn't the 'ultimate theory, but it is the one best supported by observational evidence. Do I need to go through the 100 years of evidence accumulated in support of GR ? Theories don't explain why, they explain how. And IIRC, your 'theory' did neither, other than conjecture, and had no supporting observational evidence.

All these types of questions have as many answers as available frames of reference, as timings are frame dependent. Unless the question includes the observer's frame, it is an ill posed question.

The glaze is a 'glass', but sometimes develops little hairline cracks which allow the staining of the porous substrate.

Fields ( EM or gravity ) will cause movement through space, which Genady is referring to, and answers the questionGeorief was asking about. however in certain configurations, you could end up with a negative pressure situation which may cause spatial expansion, which is what Mordred is referring to.

Similar to the example posted by Mordred above, where the radii of test masses, in flat space, converge on the CoM ( tidal ), and we could call this convergence 'gravity', in curved space, as on a globe ( positive curvature where a triangle's angles add up to more than 180o ), two parallel lines of longitude, at the equator, converge to a point ( south or north pole ) and we can also ascribe this convergence to 'gravity'. This can also be done with negative curvature ( saddle shape where a triangle's angles add up to less than 180o ). In our particular case, the curvature involves space-time, which is 4D.

Me too. I've done some research looking for an experiment that demonstrates what distance is and failed to find even one attempt at proving that distance is fundamental. This is because there is no measurethat can show distance as a thing. x-posted with Swansont

Seems to me that if there can be as much as a 30% discrepancy between GR and the Newtonian limit for rotational systems like galaxies, the effect should be detectable in the case of the Solar System, where we have done fly-bys of Pluto using the Newtonian 'approximation'. Still, very interesting.

Thanks Markus.

We only ever get information about 'reality' by interacting with it. Whether by touch, sight, or our other senses, or, by the use of instruments to augment our senses. This is especially true of Quantum Mechanics, which tells us that there is no 'reality' until an interaction/observation defines or fixes a state. IOW, we can never know what 'reality' is, only how it is affected, and responds, to our prodding interactions.

What a relief. I thought for sure some perv was going to mention 'boobs'.

You''ll have to do better than that. Drinking, fornicating, marriage, voting, and running for office are prohibited to minors, not to adults who are capable of making their own decisions. As for retirement, canada has no mandatory age for retirement; you can work until you are 80, if able, and can 'retire' at any age. Benefits/pensions paid to youhave certain rules ( just like employment insurance, child benefit or welfare ), but they apply to all adults equally. Smoking already is a privilege, because you can only do it in certain areas, but this law criminalizes buying something, which others are allowed to.

Inertial confinement uses a pellettised Tritium target , and the lasers provide the high temperatures to momentarily 'ignite' fusion. Wondering how difficult it would be to use a magnetically confined torus target, and provide the initial temperature with lasers, but then, rely on the 'ignited' fusion reaction to sustain reaction temperatures in the magnetically confined torus. The neutron problem seems almost trivial ( but maybe the engineering is not ). A heavy water moderator is used to slow the neutrons and form tritium from the deuterium, ensuring a self-generating supply of fuel.

We haven't had a good political discussion in a while, and I miss butting heads with INow, Zapatos, Peterkin, and Phi. New Zealand recently passed a law that makes it illegal to buy or sell sigarettes to anyone born after 2008. New Zealand passes legislation banning cigarettes for future generations - BBC News Now I think this is a valiant effort to combat the smoking problem and its related health and societal issues, but I don't like the method used. The ban currently affects minors, but in 4 or 7 years ( depending on age of majority ), those minors will be adults. Adults who have one less 'right' than any other adult who is a year or more older. This law, in effect, legislates two classes of adult citizens. No law should be able to do that. ( and if I have to give examples, you haven't been paying attention to history ) Your thoughts ?

You can usually tell ... If Notifications informs you that 3 people reacted to a specific post, and the counter below your post is showing +1, then you know that, of the three votes, one was negative. Its almost like non-local entanglement 😄 .

OMFG ! Can you see air ???? Yet we are able to build planes that use properties of air to stay aloft and fly. What the hell are you talking about Phi probably has more Physics knowledge in the nail of his left pinky finger than you have in your head. About the only good thought you've had since you joined is that we might as well ban you.

So many misconceptions, so little time to explain. Light has a maximum speed limit. When you look far-away , you are looking into the past. When you look at the Sun, you are seeing lght that left its surface 8.5 min ago; when you look at the nearest star, that light left it over 4 years ago. We know what the universe looks like 10 billion light years away, so we know what it looked like 10 billion years ago.

Quantum mechanics is a paradigm shift in the way we understand the workings of reality at the smallest, most fundamental levels. How could it NOT affect any of mankind's future endeavors ?

Thanks Eise, but the information you provided is lost on Joe, who doesn't realize that space doesn't expand ( into anything else ), separation between large scale features of the universe is increasing. It would be great if people had a basic understanding of the topics whren they choose to participate in a discussion; something as simple as reading the Wiki page on that particular subject. Otherwise stick to asking questions, rather than making assertions.

When I throw something out, the trash man picks it up ...

We discuss the scientific aspects of Religion, and/or how it relates to science. Religion can be considered a form of mysticism, as they are both faith based, subjective belief systems, lacking any objective evidence. As such, for the purpose of a science forum, they both fall under the heading of 'MumboJumbo'.

You, and Joe, are free to believe whatever you want. But this is a science forum, so when you, and Joe, want to discuss the available observational evidence, and the conclusions that can possibly be drawn from it, I will participate. Until then, I will bitch and complain that you, and HijackJoe, are wasting everyone's time.

Just wonderful ! And at least what I posted can be backed up with evidence; can your post do the same ? This is Philosophy, but on a science forum. Everything should be backed by evidence or logically consistent arguments.