Primary Inspiration: Richard Feynman
The kernel on matter presents the atomic thesis, simplified atomic structure, and the electron basis of chemistry, along with basic vocabulary pertaining to matter.
Richard Feynman's Single Sentence Approach is the thought experiment and formulation which inspired the kernel approach to the Missive Project.
It presents the atomic thesis, and with it, arguably enough information to provide a framework and starting point for much or even all further exploration. Once started upon the path, future investigators could unfold this statement - via experimentation - to reproduce all of the physical sciences.
Not being restricted to one sentence, more useful information can be added. The trick is finding the right amount; enough to lay a foundation for other kernels (such as chemistry), without becoming bogged down in detail or worse, encouraging dogma on the receiving end.
Original Formulation (excerpted from Richard Feynman's Lecture)
...All things are made of atoms—little particles that move around in perpetual motion, attracting each other when they are a little distance apart, but repelling upon being squeezed into one another.
Book of Physics – The Way of Things
Chapter: Forewarning
These words are not truth
this childs taleTells of first stepsTo set you on the track
Yet beware this path
Despite wonders along the wayit leads to worlds endAnd the death of all you love
it is mastery over thingsit is power beyond imagining
power attracts the worstpower corrupts the best
Choose well your steps
guard well your knowledge
Follow wiselyFollow for goodFollow with care
Or follow not at all
it is mastery over things
guard well your knowledge
Chapter: First Things
all is motion
nothing is still
there is no end
only change
what moves
what warms
what does work
what flows from flame
or from muscle
we call energy
energy is
the restless heart of all
it cannot be made
it cannot be lost
it only moves
from shape
to shape
some energy binds itself
tightly curled and waiting
this we call matter
the stuff of rocks
of water
of bodies
matter is slow energy
with shape
with weight
with place
from vapor to rain
from seed to tree
from birth to death
this we call change
the form and order of matter
we call space
the flow and order of change
we call time
time is the stretch of change
bends are energy
and energy bends all
if you would know
the way of things
begin here
with what moves
with what is
and how all things
become
Chapter: Energy
energy is the mystery
at the heart of all
is it the measure of change?
is it the cause of change?
is it change itself?
do we ask the right question?
we call it energy
and it is never lost
only moved
only changed in form
energy flows in waves
energy projects as particles
energy coursing free
travels at the speed of light
as fast as the world allows
how would it look
to travel that fast?
how would we measure space?
how would we measure time?
energy drawn tight
bound in a knot
we call matter
the stuff we take
for the solid world
cut the knot
energy bounds free
terrible in its joy
energy in use
is the capacity to do work
to cause change
energy absorbed
we know as heat
Chapter: Matter
break a stone to bits
grind the bits to powder
reduce the powder
and again
comes a point we can no further
an elemental piece of the world
a knot of energy
pulling at itself so strongly
it is indivisible
we this point an atom
the stuff of all things
of which all things are made
never still
but vibrating always
in step with that energy
we know as heat
at a little distance
atoms attract
pushed close together
atoms repel
atoms carry sparks
we call electrons
stuff of lightning
flowing free or binding
one element to another
tokens in exchange
we call the imbalance of electrons charge
surplus we call positive
deficit we call negative
like charge repels like
opposite attracts
attraction binds
elements into molecules
Chapter: Chemistry
we call chemistry
the interactions of atoms
their behaviors and transitions
their binding and unbinding
may appear in states
according to energy present
as solid
as liquid
as gas
atoms are of many kinds
we call each kind an element
elements resist all fracture
withstanding all forces
each kind stays true
when elements combine
ever in exact forms
ever in exact numbers
ever in exact weights
electrons share to bind
we call them compounds
combined as molecules
compounds transform with heat
compounds transform
in the presence of others
all can be reduced to elements
mixtures are diverse
and may be sorted
without transformation
into compounds
into elements
in whatever portions
they were mixed
if you would know
atoms in their workings
atoms in their uses
atoms in their dangers
follow the Way of Knowing
Chapter: Water – A Drink of Matter
think of water
we know it as
fog and cloud
rain and hail
snow and ice
we know it as
river and lake
sea and sky
sap and blood
we know it as a compound
liquid — water
water — ice
gas — steam
water is a teacher
of the ways of all matter
yet water is special
matter and matrix
mother and medium
where it flows
life follows
we measure heat
by how things are changed
with thermal energy
added and lost
held and released
this measure
scaled along a range
we call temperature
with water
with all matter
low energy is solid
middle energy is liquid
high energy is gas
each element
each compound
its own pair of thresholds
its own shift points
water is special
changing state in plain view
liquid water
freezing solid
let it be zero
liquid water
boiling to gas
let it be 100
so water marks
waypoints along
a scale of change
a scale of temperature
useful for thermal measure
but when water
melts or boils
it takes heat
without warming
what does the heat do
when temperature stays the same?
water has weight
and takes up space
all things
have weight
and take up space
how much weight
in how much space
we call density
if we compare to water
might we have a measure?
what sinks
what floats
depends on this—
the relative density
of one to the other
most things shrink
as they grow cold
becoming more dense
solids sinking
in their own liquid state
but water is special
liquid water
expands
on freezing
ice floats
on water
less dense
than its liquid form
how might the world be
were not water so special?
water mixes
without combining
with many substances
it carries
what it dissolves
from one place
to another
it carries
things that help
and things that harm
each according to its nature
what is carried
may settle out
or be filtered out
beware that which may not
water may also carry what lives
too small to be seen
beware what lives in water
that would prefer to live in you
look out to sea
and the rising sun
sun warms
water steams
evaporating
into air
rising to clouds
cooling and condensing
water falls
as rain
rain runs to rivers
rivers to sea
carving canyons
carrying mountains
it wears stone
bears earth
moves heat
around the world
its cycle
shapes weather
shapes seasons
shapes our world
in water’s motion
in water’s return
how would you reckon time?
water is liquid
in a narrow range
between ice
and steam
yet across deep time
through fire and frost
sun and shadow
the sea remains
why has it not
boiled away?
why has it not
frozen solid?
what holds our world—
what holds our water—
in such delicate balance?
if you would know
what matter is like
what is the sea
what shapes the land
what feeds the root
what cools the fire
what moves the sky
follow water
Chapter: Force
what flows
what moves
what resists
what changes
does so by force
we know force by what it does
it stretches
it bends
it breaks
it throws
it holds
it stops
force has strength
force has direction
effecting change
force is push
force is pull
force comes with contact
when things collide
force reaches across distance
through a field of energy
without force
there is no change
in all cases
energy is conserved
Chapter: Force and Motion
mass is how much a thing resists
when pushed or pulled
acceleration is change in motion
over time
the force on a thing
is its mass
times its change in motion
no thing changes its motion
unless a force acts upon it
when two things collide
the force each feels
is equal
and opposite
these are the laws of motion
motion is the story
of matter and force
how fast
how far
in what direction
more force
more change
more mass
more effort to move
motion is slowed
by resistance
by drag
by rub
by grip
has momentum
the more mass
the more speed
the more it carries
momentum resists force
it wants to keep
moving as it was
when things collide
momentum is exchanged
one slows
the other goes
momentum is not lost
only given
or taken
motion always answers
to force
every pull
to respond
every pull
its price
Chapter: Gravity – The Pull Between All Things
all things
pull all things
sun pulls earth pulls you
earth pulls moon pulls tides
each of these
all things
pull at all others
the reach and pull
of matter and energy
across space
without touch
we call gravity
it pulls stronger
with more mass
and with closeness
it pulls ever weaker
as distance grows
the farther an effect must reach
to any given distance
the thinner it spreads
the less its effect
like a light in the night
or sound in a calm
double the distance
and the thin-stretched pull
halves
and halves again
this is how fields of energy fade—
of gravity
of light
of lightning—
but never to nothing
falling away to little effect
but never to none
to fall
is to accelerate
to feel weight
is to resist falling
resistance to acceleration
to gravity
to force
we call mass
gravity’s pull at a given distance
to another thing—
the earth
the moon
the sun—
we call weight
gravity pulls and settles matter
weight pulls and shapes it
pulled close and spun toward round
shaping earth and stars
all very large things
mass and weight are not the same
gravity holdswhat motion would lose
and motion holds
what gravity would claim
a thing that falls
but never lands
is said to orbit
caught between downward pull
and forward motion
earth orbits sun
moon orbits earth
you orbit earth
some orbits are circles
some elliptic
but all are the paths
of falling
forever toward
what if gravity
is not a pull
but a bend in space
toward any density
of energy?
where every path
must curve
and all things
move with the shape
that energy has made?
know gravity
and you will know much
gravity is the shape of space
energy moves along its arc
when energy moves
it may move straight
as particles
or it may move
as pulses
as waves
this undulation
is called vibration
some things vibrate slow
some vibrate fast
but all things that vibrate
carry energy
vibration has shape
short and steep
or long and easy
we call this amplitude
greater amplitude
is more energy
in motion
vibration has speed
how rapidly it swells
wave after wave
we call this frequency
higher frequency
is more energy
in motion
some waves need matter
to carry their shape
like sound through air
or ripple through water
some waves need nothing
to ripple on
they ride the field itself
like light through dark
vibrations spread
in every direction
growing thinner
as they reach
their strength
fades with distance
but pattern remains
when two waves meet
they may cancel
or combine
wave on wave
grows tall
wave on trough
flattens
trough on trough
falls deep
we call this interference
the meeting of patterns
in ordered conflict
when patterns clash
or cancel
or scatter
when timing aligns
and pattern repeats
and energy gathers
and resounds
a note
all energy
can be viewed
as movement
as movement with shape
this shape
we call vibration
vibrating
energy in motion
sings the world
into being
Chapter: ElectroMagnetics – A Flow of Energy
all matter carries charge
in the balance of electrons
some more
some less
some bound
some free
according to count of electrons
positive in surplus
negative in deficit
neutral in balance
alike repels like
unlike attracts
flowing toward balance
charge at rest
pushes or pulls
with silent strength
this we call the electric field
reaching outward in force
this is the rule of charge
a force across space
without touch
***
when charge is not balanced
there is pressure
a tension in space
charge flows toward balance
like toward unlike
this pressure
we call voltage
when charge moves
we call it current
a flow of energy
along a path
some paths flow easy
some paths flow hard
some paths flow not at all
in every shade of ease
from open
unto full stop
we call this resistance
voltage flowing as current
flow under pressure
we call power
potential to apply force
potential to do work
potential to shine
power may spin a wheel
power may haul a load
power may light the dark
it flows
like water through a pipe
pressure behind
resistance ahead
force in the flow
flow returns
along a path
to where it began
if the path is broken
the flow does not run
how will you use
this power?
this is the force
we call electromagnetic
the identity
of electric
and magnetic fields
the electric
is imbalance of charge
opposites attract
surplus toward deficit
flowing toward balance
like water downhill
the magnetic
is a loop of charge
twisting space
around itself
this twist
we call a magnetic field
it pulls at things within
turns them to align
positive to negative
north to south
alike repels alike
opposites attract
space remembers
matter aligns in space
matter remembers
where charge flows
space twists
where space twists
charge flows
electric and magnetic
twin forms of one force
each gives rise to the other
in constant exchange
Chapter: Light – The Ripple That Runs Alone
when matter is excited
when charge leaps place
when energy shifts
from one shape to another
it may shed
a pulse—
a bead of motion
we call a photon
like an atom of energy
indivisible
irreducible
and free
it spreads outward
a ripple
in the field that made it
carried
by the field
of itself
light does not rest
it needs no wind
no wire
no wave of water
it rides
a field of itself
a ripple that carries
what made it
its strength
fades with distance
but never to nothing
only to less
light travels straight
unless bent
reflected
or caught
light may bend
as it enters a new medium
or split
into many colors
in water or ice
light may bend and split
colors stretched
into a bow
red to violet
each turned aside
by how it moves
through what it meets
white
is all colors at once
black
is none
what we see
is what remains
reflected
after the rest
is taken
light is a range
of light’s many frequencies
little can be seen
by human eyes
middling the spectrum
waves too long
we feel as warmth
waves too short
we know as harm
between them
a narrow band—
the visible
to human eyes
radio
heat
light
invisible fire
all are photons
all are one
light moves
at the fastest pace
the world allows
faster than wind
or sound
or shadow
nothing known
outruns it
and nothing
ever has
its speed
never changes
not with the sender
nor the receiver
a photon moves
but is it wave
or particle?
some say
it is both
some say
it is neither
it spreads like a wave
but lands like a dot
particles make a pattern
waves interfere
each in their way
look for light’s pattern—
the answer
depends
on how you asked
what might it mean
when light is both
but seen as one
and never both
at once?
what does it mean
when dots land in waves
and answers change
when watched?
the universe
is not only stranger
than we think
but stranger
than we can think
light shows the world
from smallest to largest
we use it
to see what is
but light is energy
and energy
exerts force
to see a thing
is to touch it
and be touched
in return
light is the ripple
that runs alone
a wave of energy
without weight
without rest
revealing the world
even as it hides
itself
Chapter: Relativity – The Shape of Time
look outward
to the largest scales
to the sun and moon
to the stars and beyond
they shine a light
***
all motion
is relative
each mover to another
each mover to all others
to each their frame of reference
no frame is privileged
as the center of all things
except for light
constant across all frames
no observer
at any speed
sees light
slow or quicken
moving toward or away
at any speed
light’s pace unchanged
light speed
we name c
if we hold physical law
constant across all frames
and c is constant
across all frames
can space be constant?
can time be constant?
can space and time
be held distinct?
if spacetime is inconstant
bent by energy
bent by matter
what of light’s path?
what of length?
what of duration?
what of order of events?
what of causality?
what of gravity?
if you would know
of all large things
follow the light
Chapter: Quanta – Limits of Knowing
look inward
to the smallest scale
to atoms
to electrons
and shine a light
***
small things
refuse
to follow
the laws of the large
they disappear here
they reappear there
never passing between
they blur without edge
as clouds of likelihood
as fogs of chance
they are not
until observed
***
shine light on a wall
pierced by two parallel slits
standing before another
what do you observe
on the wall behind?
is light
a particle
or a wave?
cover one slit
and look again
is light
a particle
or a wave?
what is your place
in this?
flip a coin
before you look
is it heads?
is it tails?
until you look
it is both
and neither
looking decides
what is it
before you look?
a thing may have
a place
or a pace
but never both
at once
to know the one
is to lose the other
not because we fail
but one excludes the other
to shine a light
is to exert a force
the world is changed
what can we know?
what have we given up
knowing?
send two small things
once having touched
in opposite directions
they never touch again
now measure one
what do you know
of the other?
how far
did the answer travel?
what thread
holds what is parted?
heat a metal blade
until it glows
what is the first color
you see?
why not white?
why not blue?
heat it more
the color changes
but not all at once
why does it shift
in steps?
why not a smooth rise
from dark to flame?
why do some colors appear
and only after others?
when it cools
the light is lost
where did it go?
we do not see
the world as it is
but only
as it lets us
and in knowing
we are changed
these
are the limits
of knowing
if you would know
of smallest things
of all things made of small
follow the light
Thematic Glossary Plan
-
Substance & Shape – already drafted
matter,mass,atom,compound,bond -
Motion & Change
force,motion,inertia,acceleration,reaction -
Energy & Transformation
energy,vibration,frequency,light,heat -
Gravity & Weight
gravity,weight,fall,pull,bend -
Fields & Flow
field,charge,magnetism,electric,electromagnetic -
Light & Time
light,space,time,speed,boundary -
Relativity & Reference
relativity,frame,reference,observer,simultaneity -
Quanta & Uncertainty
quantum,probability,uncertainty,discrete,continuous
Time and Space
time ~ the flow in which change unfolds
it moves one way for us
but bends with great speed or gravity
space ~ the stage all things are placed upon
it has no edge and no center
but it bends where energy gathers
often marked in relation to something else
event ~ a happening in space and time
to say something occurred is to name its when and where
duration ~ the length of time between two events
interval ~ the space or time between things
measured to compare or to coordinate
energy ~ the power that makes change
it flows and transforms
in all its forms it bends space and time
matter ~ a very dense form of energy
it takes up space and resists change
what force must push to move
🔥 Energy & Transformation
energy ~ the power that makes change
it flows and transforms
in all its forms it bends space and time
matter ~ the stuff of things
it takes up space and resists change
is what force must push to move
is made of atoms / a form of very dense energy
it comes in kinds of elements
heat ~ a form of energy that moves from warm to cool
through vibration, touch, or flow
vibration ~ the trembling of energy or matter
a back-and-forth rhythm at all scales
frequency ~ how often something vibrates or repeats
higher frequency means tighter trembling
wave ~ a moving shape made by vibration
it carries energy but not substance
light ~ a swift-traveling wave of energy
it moves even through emptiness
both wave and particle
🔁 Heat Moves
thermal energy ~ the kinetic energy of particles in matter
more jostling means more heat
emit ~ send out energy into the world
hot things radiate / charged things spark
absorb ~ take in energy from outside
what is taken may warm or change
radiate ~ move energy through emptiness
like light, it travels in waves
conduct ~ pass energy through touch
hot things warm what they touch
convect ~ carry heat with flowing matter
warmer rises / cooler sinks / the cycle turns
🌀 Entropy
entropy ~ the wearing down of all
the drift from difference to sameness
the drift from hot and cold to even
the drift of order into disorder
the loss of energy to heat and friction
the loss of ability to do work
🌍 Gravity & Weight
gravity ~ the pull that draws all mass together
stronger where mass gathers more
weight ~ the pull of gravity on a thing’s mass
a measure that changes with nearness to another mass
fall ~ when gravity wins and motion begins
what pulls down unless something pushes up
pull ~ a kind of force that draws things together
the opposite of push
bend ~ the curving of space or path
gravity bends both
pressure ~ the force of weight
like the weight of air stacked above your head
the more stacked above
the more pressed below
🧲 Fields & Flow
field ~ a shaped area of influence
it applies force without touching
it forms poles / opposite ends that pull and push
pole ~ one end of a field or system
often paired with an opposite
like north and south / or positive and negative
polarity ~ a difference between ends
one side pulls / the other pushes
often seen in fields and molecules
charge ~ a property of matter that makes fields
like charges repel / unlike charges attract
electrons carry negative charge
magnetism ~ a kind of field made by moving charge
it pulls and turns certain materials
a bent flow can form a loop
electric ~ of moving charge or changing fields
what sparks, flows, or jolts
circuit ~ a closed path for current to flow
requires connection from end to end
current ~ the steady flow of charge
like water in a pipe / but unseen
anode ~ where current enters a system
often seen as the positive pole
cathode ~ where current exits or returns
often seen as the negative pole
electromagnetic ~ when electric and magnetic fields interact
together they form waves that carry light
🌞 Light & Time — Classical Optics (REVISED)
light ~ a traveling wave of energy
~ it moves through space without substance
~ it is also a particle, though it has no rest
photon ~ a particle of light
~ it moves at the speed of light / but has no mass
ray ~ the path light takes through space
~ straight unless bent by matter or field
path ~ the line something moves along
~ may curve or change with force or field
reflection ~ when light bounces off a surface
~ the angle it comes in equals the angle it leaves
refraction ~ when light bends entering a medium
~ it slows and shifts its path
focus ~ where bent light meets or crosses
~ the sharpest point of seeing or heat
blur ~ where light spreads instead of meeting
~ caused by scatter / shift / or a poor lens
lens ~ a shaped medium that bends light
~ it brings rays to focus or spreads them wide
~ used to magnify small or distant things
magnify ~ to make things appear larger or nearer
~ done with a lens / seen in scopes or glass
prism ~ a shape that bends light by frequency
~ splitting one ray into many colors
frequency ~ how often a wave rises and falls in a given time
~ tighter means more / looser means less
~ tighter light tends toward violet / looser toward red
spectrum ~ the range of frequencies light can take
~ from deep red to violet and beyond
~ much is invisible to us
~ but other beings may see where we cannot
color ~ what we see when light of certain frequencies reaches us
~ only a narrow slice of the full spectrum
emit ~ release energy into the world
~ what is hot or charged can shine
~ what is released is no longer stored
absorb ~ take in energy from outside
~ what is taken may warm or change
medium ~ the stuff light travels through
~ like air, glass, or water
vacuum ~ space with almost no matter
~ light moves fastest where there is least to pass through
optics ~ the study of how light travels, bends, and bounces
~ seen in glass, shadow, sparkle, and lens
propagate ~ to move outward in all directions
~ what light, waves, and fields do
🧭 Relativity & Reference
relativity ~ each observer feels at rest
~ motion is measured in relation to others
~ even space, speed, and time depend on point of view
spacetime ~ space and time woven as one
~ it bends near mass / it moves when you fall
~ length shortens in the direction of motion
~ observed time slows toward a stop at the speed of light
~ experienced time feels normal within a frame of reference
speed of light ~ the ultimate speed limit
~ a boundary for cause and effect
~ the same for every observer
c ~ a symbol for the speed of light in a vacuum
~ the fastest anything can go
photon ~ a particle of light
~ it has no mass and never rests
~ it always moves at c as measured from any frame
~ it carries energy but feels no time
observer ~ a being within a frame of reference
~ sees the world from their own point of view
~ what they measure depends on how others move
event ~ a moment in spacetime
~ marked by what, when, and where
~ seen differently from different frames of reference
simultaneity ~ the present moment and the events within it
~ are relative to each frame of reference
frame of reference ~ a chosen viewpoint in spacetime
~ from which motion, distance, and time are measured
~ may be shared in common or relative to others
common frame of reference ~ when two or more observers share a state of rest
~ they agree on distance, time, and order
~ most motion is slow compared to light
~ so relativistic effects are small and hard to notice
~ the world feels shared / though each view is still its own
relative frame of reference ~ when observers are in motion relative to each other
~ they disagree on distance, time, and sometimes order
rest ~ to feel unmoving within your own frame
~ every observer feels at rest
~ unless they accelerate
motion ~ to be seen as moving by observers in relative motion to you
~ what you see depends on where you stand
acceleration ~ a change in motion that all observers agree on
~ it can mimic the pull of gravity
gravity ~ a bending of spacetime caused by energy and mass
~ it curves paths / it slows time / it can hold or hurl
fall ~ to move freely along spacetime’s curve
~ in relativity, the falling feel nothing
~ standing still is what creates weight
rigid rod ~ a tool to measure distance
~ assumed to maintain constant length
~ but shortens in the direction of motion as speed increases
clock ~ a tool to measure time
~ within a frame of reference it ticks normally
~ but slows when observed from other frames
causality ~ cause must come before effect
~ no signal or influence can go faster than light
~ some events A before B might reorder B before A
~ if A caused B / every valid observer will agree
~ only unconnected events may change order
🧿 Quanta & Uncertainty (Final Draft)
Foundations
quantum ~ the smallest possible piece
~ energy, matter, and even light come in these steps
discrete ~ counted in steps / separate and exact
~ nothing in between / only this or that
continuous ~ smooth and unbroken
~ flows with no gaps / each part leads to the next
continuum ~ a whole made of continuous parts
~ the classical world before the cracks appear
probability ~ the chance that something will happen
~ not fixed but weighted / never certain
uncertainty ~ the law that not all can be known at once
~ knowing one thing more clearly hides another more deeply
~ the more you know of one / the less you know of the other
Wave and Particle
wave ~ a spread-out form / a ripple of energy or probability
~ it shows where a thing might be
particle ~ a thing with a place / a single step in a change
~ it appears where the wave gives way
wave-particle duality ~ how a thing can be both spread and sharp
~ not this or that / but both / until it’s not
superposition ~ when many possibilities coexist
~ neither this nor that / but all together
~ until observed
collapse ~ when one becomes real and the rest fall away
~ when the maybes become sure
double slit experiment ~ a test where light or matter passes through two paths
~ until observed / it acts like both
Observation
observer ~ one who observes or measures
~ decides what is real by the act of observing
observation ~ when observing makes it so
~ what was many becomes one
measurement ~ a form of observation
~ what collapses many possibilities into one certainty
Entanglement & Identity
entanglement ~ two things linked without touch
~ what happens to one is known by the other
~ even far apart
identity ~ what makes a thing itself
~ or what makes two things the same in every way
state ~ a set of conditions something can be in
~ like a level, a place, or a way of being
Transitions & Frequency
quantum leap ~ a sudden shift with no in-between
~ across space, energy, or state
frequency ~ how often a thing repeats in a given time
~ in quanta, it sets the energy and the color of light
light ~ in this world it’s not just a wave or a ray
~ it carries quanta and causes collapse
~ it limits what we can see / and what we change by observing
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