Toward a 'Book of Knowledge and Wisdom', transmissible to future generations in hope of Renaissance.

meme - An element of culture transmissible by non-genetic means.

memeplex -
A set of associated memes which interact to reinforce each other.



Welcome to the Missive Project

Human civilization is arguably in early stages of a catastrophic, global collapse to be followed by a desperately dark age.

Against that possibility the Missive Project aims to preserve and transmit 'unpackable' kernels of knowledge with the goal of facilitating Renaissance.

This site is under construction. Please excuse errors and inconsistencies. --- Dave Z

29 February 2016

Book of Physics - The Way of Things

KERNAL: Matter
Primary Source: 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.


Kernel: Energy
Contents: Definition(s), basic forces, Laws of Thermodynamics (include Zeroeth Law).
Primary Sources: Feynman Lectures, Wikipedia


Energy is tricky.

Science has a pretty good handle on it, but - as a fundamental term - its exact definition tends to be contextual and inferential. Many work with energy every day without appearing to have a clear understanding of fundamental definitions, a situation exacerbated by specialization. The very deepest thinkers in the field tend to sound like mystics!

Here, I'll be trying to present the simple, practical definition, but also approach through some of the 'laws' revolving around the broader concept of energy.


Basic formulations:

 Definition of Energy:
"Measure of the ability of a body or system to do work or produce a change, expressed usually in joules or kilowatt hours (kWh). No activity is possible without energy and its total amount in the universe is fixed. In other words, it cannot be created or destroyed but can only be changed from one type to another. The two basic types of energy are (1) Potential: energy associated with the nature, position, or state (such as chemical energy, electrical energy, nuclear energy). (2) Kinetic: energy associated with motion (such as a moving car or a spinning wheel)."
-- from Business Dictionary (of all places!)

Conservation of Energy:
"...there is a certain quantity, which we call energy, that does not change in the manifold changes which nature undergoes."  -- from The Feynman Lectures on Physics

Laws of Thermodynamics quoted from Wikipedia (references removed):

The four laws of thermodynamics are:

The four, fundamental forces:
(Consider these under KERNAL Forces with Newton's Laws of Motion?)
  • Gravitational
  • Electromagnetic
  • Strong nuclear
  • Weak nuclear

 Reformulation:

Energy is the capacity of a body or system to do work or produce a change, or the measure thereof.

Law of Conservtion of Energy:
  Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed and transferred.

Radiant Energy propagates through empty space in wave/particle duality.
Potential Energy is associated with position or state of matter.
Kinetic Energy is associated with motion of matter.
  Thermal Energy is the kinetic energy of atoms in motion.

Entropy is the universal tendency toward random distribution, or the measure thereof.
Random distribution, equilibrium and incapacity for work are similar.

0 Law of Thermodynamics:
  When two systems are in equilibrium with a third system, they are in thermal equilibrium with each other.

1 Law of Thermodynamics:
  When energy transfers into or out from a system as work, as heat, or with matter, its internal energy changes in accordance with the Law of Conservation of Energy (no energy is lost or destroyed).

2 Law of Thermodynamics:
 A system can not convert all of its energy to working energy; some is always transformed to heat (total entropy always increases).

3 Law of Thermodynamics:

  No system can be brought to zero degrees Kelvin (a state of no thermal energy). 




Reformulation (draft) + Expansion for Chemistry


Book of Physics – The Way of Things

Chapter: Forewarning

These words are not truth

this childs tale
Tells of first steps
To set you on the track

Yet beware this path

Despite wonders along the way
it leads to worlds end
And the death of all you love

it is mastery over things
it is power beyond imagining

power attracts the worst
power corrupts the best

Choose well your steps
guard well your knowledge

Follow wisely
Follow for good
Follow with care

Or follow not at all

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 fire to stone
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

space is the bend of energy
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

all matter
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 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

a thing in motion
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 push
every pull
asks the world
to respond

every push
every pull
the world exacts
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 holds
what 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


Chapter: Vibration - The Shape of Energy

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
we call this discordance

when timing aligns
and pattern repeats
and energy gathers
and resounds
we call this resonance

a note 
a chord
that holds and hums
and sings

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

charge comes in three kinds
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

do you perceive identity?

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

  1. Substance & Shapealready drafted
    matter, mass, atom, compound, bond

  2. Motion & Change
    force, motion, inertia, acceleration, reaction

  3. Energy & Transformation
    energy, vibration, frequency, light, heat

  4. Gravity & Weight
    gravity, weight, fall, pull, bend

  5. Fields & Flow
    field, charge, magnetism, electric, electromagnetic

  6. Light & Time
    light, space, time, speed, boundary

  7. Relativity & Reference
    relativity, frame, reference, observer, simultaneity

  8. Quanta & Uncertainty
    quantum, probability, uncertainty, discrete, continuous


GLOSSARY

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

position ~ a place in space
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




Review To-Do List: Book of Physics

Legend of Glyphs:

  • ✨ = Poetic refinement or cadence smoothing

  • ⚡ = Metaphor alignment across chapters

  • 🔍 = Conceptual clarity or unpacking needed

  • ⚖ = Thematic or tonal consistency

  • 🔍✨ = Emphasize poetic clarity for deep concepts

  • ✏ = Candidate for marginal commentary or future glossary item


Forewarning

  • ⚖ Standardize tone across all opening lines (some drift between cautionary and declarative).

  • ✨ Consider tightening rhythm to match later chapters' cadence.

  • 🔍 Emphasize who "you" is (reader, future learner, or humanity generally?)

First Things

  • ✨ Sharpen the cadence around "Nothing came first" and "Before all things" (slightly tangled rhythm).

  • 🔍 Clarify "void" and "no-thing" in context of physical emptiness vs philosophical nothingness.

  • ✏ Mark "Energy" and "Matter" for glossary expansion.

Energy

  • ⚡ Align energy metaphors (e.g., "push," "vibration," "heat") with later usages.

  • ✏ Define "energy is conserved" more explicitly or poetically.

  • ✨ Refine ending lines to land stronger—what happens when energy is released?

Matter

  • ⚡ Match the metaphor of "grains" or "particulate" with Chemistry and Quanta.

  • 🔍 Add an intuitive line to distinguish matter from energy (mass-bearing vs not).

  • ✏ Tag "atoms" and "mass" for marginal elaboration.

Chemistry

  • ⚖ Tone shifts a bit more expository—consider softening with metaphor.

  • ⚡ Reinforce metaphors from Matter (e.g., binding, arrangement, shape).

  • 🔍 Explain "bonds" in slightly more intuitive physical terms.

  • ✏ Glossary term: "bond," "compound," "reaction."

Force

  • ✨ Smooth poetic cadence in listing kinds of force.

  • 🔍 Clarify "invisible hand" without modern allusion.

  • ⚡ Reinforce consistency with Gravity and Motion metaphors.

Motion

  • 🔍 Spell out relation of force to change more directly.

  • ✨ Refine rhythm in "what pushes, moves."

  • ✏ Tag "inertia" and "acceleration" as future commentary terms.

Gravity

  • ⚡ Unify "falling," "weight," and "bend" metaphors with Force.

  • ⚖ Slight tonal shift toward technical; consider softening.

  • 🔍 Clarify gravity vs mass—why doesn’t a feather fall like stone?

Vibration

  • ⚡ Strengthen echo between "vibration" here and "light" and "energy."

  • ✨ Refine phrasing around frequencies—bring more sensory metaphor.

  • 🔍 Note that vibration is foundational to many phenomena—flag this cross-kernel.

Electromagnetics

  • ⚖ Watch tone drift toward modern abstraction.

  • 🔍 Re-ground "field" in observable effects (pull, arc, spark).

  • ✏ Glossary: "field," "charge," "magnetism."

Light

  • ✨ Poeticize “speed of light” as boundary concept.

  • ⚡ Harmonize wave/particle metaphor with Quanta.

  • 🔍 Clarify how light relates to time/space in experiential terms.

Relativity

  • 🔍 Break down "frame of reference" with everyday metaphor.

  • ⚖ Ensure voice matches earlier chapters.

  • ✏ Tag "relative," "reference," "simultaneity" for future exegesis.

Quanta

  • 🔍 Clarify discrete vs continuous (grains vs flows).

  • ⚡ Reinforce metaphor links to Chemistry and Light.

  • ✨ Smooth transitions—consider rhythmic refrains for unity.

  • ✏ Add "probability," "uncertainty," "quantum" to glossary list.










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