An Old Journal of My Introduction to General and Special Relativity Wherein My Skepticism and Dogmatic Newtonianism Was Dissolved

Forward:
Dear Derek, in the presence of many witnesses, in light of our brief conversation earlier, I here submit to you some of my thoughts from a Physical Science class I took in Fall of 2005. One of the assignments involved thorough interaction with a chapter of choice in Hewitt’s, Suchocki’s, and Hewitt’s, Conceptual Physical Science. I selected a chapter we hadn’t gone over in class: Chapter 35: Special and General Relativity. Please keep in mind that I have learned a lot since this writing, that this writing is a direct summary and response to a chapter of a textbook, and that this was a general ed, non-science major class.

I also highly recommend these two resources:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/elegant/
Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea

•••

Original Writing:
35.1 Summary: To record the state of something we use three dimensions, which have no robust meaning unless we also state the time that the dimensional descriptions applied to the object in question. This seems to indicate that space and time may be bound. Einstein’s theories support this; that things exist in a space-time continuum.
35.1 Comments: I have seen the PBS special “The Elegant Universe”, so I am going into this chapter with a little bit of background information about the theories of relativity, but not much. I have some speculations of my own, which begin with critiques of contemporary explanations of “space-time” observations. I would therefore like to note my initial hesitance to calling space and time, or matter and energy, the same thing; no matter how intimately they may be connected.

35.2 Summary: Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity, based on Newtonian principles, states first that “Observers can never detect their uniform motion except relative to other objects”. A restatement of this postulate is that “All laws of nature are the same in all uniformly moving reference frames”. An example is given of being able to pour coffee while flying through the air on a jet plane. This is supported by any experiment that has been carried out. If it has been carried out on earth, the fact that the earth is in motion, and the experiment was carried out as if there was not any acceleration of the location it was carried out in (indeed, there was not any relative motion of the lab relative to the earth and its atmosphere), then it becomes more and more clear that if the entire frame of reference is moving relative to an outside object, then relative motion inside the reference frame is only relative to other objects inside the reference frame – the motion of objects outside the reference frame are not factors in the motion of the objects inside.
The second postulate is that “The speed of light in free space will have the same value to all observers, regardless of the motion of the source or the motion of the observer. The speed of light is a constant.” This postulate is confirmed by our measurements of the speed of light. If both postulates accurately describe reality, then when two observers in relative motion to each other and a light source disagree about the time of a certain event, they may both be correct – the only thing to budge in the equation is time. A note is made that points in space and time are both quantized, i.e. there are fundamental units for them.
35.3 Comments: I like that the wording of the first postulate does not deny objective uniform motion or location. It does not affirm them either. If you start with relative motion, you will get relative motion. In other words, if we measure motion relatively, or call motion “change in position relative to a frame of reference” then of course we will conclude that motion is relative. Rather, the postulate simply states that it is impossible to detect uniform motion (if it is a phenomenon that actually occurs in our universe). I am however, skeptical of even this. What, logically, was Einstein’s reason for believing that humans will never discover a universally objective frame of reference, nor be able to develop the technology to measure motion in relationship to it?
I have also wondered about the famous experiment involving two clocks on two airplanes flying in opposite directions around the world. Their clocks showed a difference in displayed time at the end. But couldn’t that have been due merely to the physical strain exerted upon the inner workings of the clocks during the experiment? I would wonder then, what were the clocks measuring? Is it possible that what we call “time” is actually two different things: ‘age’ and ‘time’. ‘Age’ being the physical change or decay of an object, and ‘time’ being the objective, steady progression of events in this world. Time might be the cursor of history marking where everything is. How else would it be that the pilots of the planes could see each other after the flight? Wouldn’t they be living in two different planes of reality – different “times”? One would be a few split seconds ahead of the other! Or perhaps at the end of the day they both wound up in the same time plane, but traveled through less “time” to get there. I wonder then, what the nature of the “time” is that they traveled through; could they have seen each other during their journeys? How much of the Special Theory has to do with mere perception, and how much of it with the actual bending of time? Could it be that our methods for measurement are flawed?

35.3 Summary: The notion that time can be stretched is called “time dilation”. A very compelling illustration is given. Suppose that we could observe a light flash bounce between two mirrors inside a transparent spaceship. An observer onboard the spaceship, and an observer on the ground would both measure the speed of light as the same rate, denoted c. Yet to the observer onboard the spaceship, the flash of light is only moving up and down (which it is – relative to the environment of the spaceship). However to the observer on the ground, the flash of light will actually be moving up and down, and horizontally as well (in a zig-zag pattern). This is because the entire spaceship, including the mirrors and the light flash, are moving parallel to the ground. To the observer on the ground, the flash of light will then be covering more distance than to the observer on the spaceship. If speed is equal to distance divided by time, and the speed of light is constant, and the distance stretches, then the time must logically be stretching, or dilating, as well. This occurrence can be expressed mathematically.
The text then contends that time is actually dilating, there is nothing unusual about the functioning of a clock itself, as indeed there is nothing unusual about clocks here on earth now, though they are all whizzing through space (because the earth on which they are is whizzing through space). Next the text explains that as a result of time dilation, according to the measurements we have made, as speeds approach the speed of light, time slows down and seems to approach zero. A mass at the velocity of light, c, takes an infinite amount of time to elapse one second, and zero amount of time to travel an infinite distance. Thankfully, the Law of the universe has set c to be a type of cosmic speed limit such that it is impossible to reach or exceed c. It is important to note that time dilation, to be perfectly accurate, most be taken into account even for small masses and slow accelerations. It is also important to note that as speeds approach c, mass approaches infinity, length approach zero. However light, which moves at c, will always be measured to be moving at c, regardless of your frame of reference.
Space travel is also discussed in this chapter. At high speeds it would be theoretically possible to spend 5 years traveling at 99.999 % of c, and return to earth only to find that 1100 years have passed for it and its inhabitants.
35.3 Comments: This chapter hasn’t mentioned it yet, but c is only the speed at which light moves in a “vacuum”. Light moves significantly slower in gas, even slower in liquid, and slower still through solids (if at all). This chapter coaxes another question. If Einstein is right, then why can light go the speed of light? Isn’t light made up of photons? Why are they exempt from the c speed limit? Well, if photons have zero mass, then perhaps it is not so absurd. I would also like to note that this section does not assert that time can be turned backwards. It can be sped and slowed (relatively), but there is nothing in this section that argues for bending and twisting time like a pretzel, or going back in time. In fact on page 845 it says that time accelerated astronauts will not be able to go backward in time.

35.4 Summary: Length contraction is related to time dilation. As was mentioned, as a mass approaches the speed of light, its length approaches zero, when measured by an observer who is not traveling relative to a common frame of reference. This contraction only takes place in the direction of motion. This phenomenon is related to time dilation, as distances will flatten to zero when a mass approaches them at c. In this way, one could travel an infinite distance in zero amount of time. Furthermore, if a mass approaches the speed of light, its length does not change relative to itself. Rather, the time it has to travel through in order to reach its destination is collapsing. However from the perspective of an outside observer, lengths are contracting.

35.5 Summary: In this chapter relativistic momentum is explained. The speed of any mass has a limit: c. However, momentum may increase without limit. This is illustrated by Einstein’s new equation for calculating momentum, which accounts for the Lorentz factor. Therefore as speed approaches c, momentum approaches ∞. With any progress toward c, objects appear to increase in mass, because they display an increase in inertia. Einstein however, seemed to think later in his life that mass is the same in all frames of reference, but space-time changes with speed.
35.5 Comments: It seems to me that if you accept Einstein’s initial premises, then all of this follows logically. To be honest, I think I might just have a lot of emotional struggles with accepting all of this.

35.6 Summary: Einstein asserts that matter and energy may be exchanged according to the expression E=mc2; E being energy, m being mass, and c being the familiar uninhibited speed of light. When fuel is used to produce energy, the system will afterward be found to be less some mass, in accordance with Einstein’s equation!

35.7 Summary: A desire to describe nature using standard forms and perspectives motivated Einstein to pursue a description of the phenomena he was examining, which came to be know as his theory of General Relativity. By thinking about a spaceship accelerating at g, the principle of equivalence became manifest, that “local observations made in an accelerated frame of reference cannot be distinguished from observations made in a Newtonian gravitational field”. A few thought experiments quickly establish this theory as reasonable, but Einstein elaborates on it by saying that, (in a free environment) because the trajectory of a beam of light relative to an accelerated mass is identical to the trajectory of an additional object relative to the same accelerated mass, space-time itself curves. He contends that matter and energy are two aspects of the same thing.
Euclidean geometry produces accurate results when dealing with objects on a flat surface. However, Einstein’s observations and calculations argued for a four dimensional warping of space-time. This is seen when the shortest distances between three planets form a triangle whose angles add up to greater than 180 degrees. The lines making up the legs of triangles such as this are called geodesics. The lines are technically not straight, but they are short. If this curving of space-time is positive throughout the universe, then the universe is warped like a sphere. If it is negative, then it is shaped more like a Pringles potato chip. This curvature of space-time causes what we perceive as gravity, and is proportional to mass. This principle is seen when we calculate the effect of large masses as they change position. It would seem that, rather than a sudden ceasing of gravitational force on other masses, a large mass that changes position creates gravity waves, similar to the waves made on the surface of a waterbed when a bowling ball is rolled across it.
Einstein’s calculations, when applied to planets in Our Solar System predicted precessing orbits. When Newtonian physics were used to predict the orbits of the planets it pretty much worked out – except for the missing 43 seconds of arc that Mercury displayed. Einstein’s equations had produced the right predictions.
Another confirmation of Einstein’s theory occurred in 1919 when a solar eclipse revealed that his predictions about the exact arc beams from distant stars display when passing near the Sun where dead on.
A third test confirms General Relativity, and it becomes clear that in General Relativity, the gravitational “red shift” is relative to location rather than speed (because c is a constant). It is also important to note that time is never sped or slowed for an object relative to itself (obviously). This is to say that though an object may pass through time more slowly than another relative to it, its lifespan is never extended from its own perspective.
35.7 Comments: I heard once that Einstein responded with a complete lack of surprise when his predictions about starlight arc were shown to be accurate. He said something about being certain from his equations alone; observation is secondary.

Concluding Thoughts:
This chapter has brought many questions and ideas to mind. For example, if God has no mass, then (if Einstein is right), He is not subject to time. Perhaps He can interact with this universe in the ontological now, all the while being atemporal and eternal. Maybe that photons have no mass somehow plays into a facet of God’s foreknowledge or omniscience.
This in turn raises thoughts concerning humans and the resurrection. If human souls have no mass, maybe it is so that, upon death (separation of body and soul), a soul zooms to resurrection day, upon which it meets its body and enters into temporality again. I understand this to be a much bigger scriptural and scientific topic to be researched than is feasible here, but it is interesting to be introduced to such musings.
I cannot keep from thinking about the implications of God stretching out the heavens. Could this skew our observations of the age of the universe? What if our solar system was accelerated altogether such that the age of our solar system is different than the age of another? I have heard some compelling arguments for a very young earth, and some for a very young solar system. But I have also heard about evidence that seems to support an older universe. Could it be that when God stretched out the heavens, galactic clocks spun at different rates relative to each other?

Consider:
Job 9:8 “[God] stretches out the heavens”
Ps. 104:2 “stretching out heaven like a tent curtain”1
Isa. 40:22 “He ... stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent”1
Isa. 42:5 “... God the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out”
Isa. 44:24 “I, the Lord, am the maker of all things, stretching out the heavens by Myself”
Isa. 45:12 “It is I who made the earth and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands”
Isa. 48:13 “Surely My hand founded the earth and My right hand spread out the heavens.”
Isa. 51:13 “the Lord your Maker, Who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth”
Jer. 10:12 “He has stretched out the heavens”
Jer. 51:15 “He stretched out the heavens”
Zech. 12:1 “the Lord who stretches out the heavens”

Please also see:
http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/Relativity/SpeedOfLight/measure_c.html
http://www.creationscience.com/onlinebook/FAQ111.html#wp1885480
http://www.cosmicfingerprints.com/

Lastly, I would like to leave the reader with the following thought. When God destroys nature, and recreates it (Rev. 21:2), will he do so with a new set of universal constants, quantities, and forces? Did the fall of Adam knock a lot of forces and constants off track? Humans have the opportunity to seek the answers, but let us give glory to God, above all.

is God possibly subtle?

The atheistic argument from Divine Hiddeness:

Assume the following:

1. God exists
2. God made man in his image
3. Necessarily, if God made man in his image, then it’s God’s duty to make Himself known to the creatures whom bear his image in any circumstance whatever.
4. God didn’t make himself known to me.
5. God doesn’t exist (since 3 entails the necessity of God making myself known to me if he exists, and I don’t know he exists, then necessarily God cannot exist).

The rebuttal to the argument from Divine Hiddeness: the argument from Divine Subtlety, which finds premise three suspect:

Surely premise 3. is too strong to be prima facie true. Imagine a possible world where God is subtle, where he only makes Himself known to those who have the eyes to see, ears to hear, and a pure heart. Imagine that God is such that only those who are willing to discern His existence are able to see that he exists. If such a world is even possible then premise 3 is necessarily false.

So is it possible that God is subtle? There’s no contradiction in the above description, so it’s at least logically possible. But is it metaphysically possible? Maybe despite the logical possibility of it being true, maybe it must be ruled out for metaphysical reasons. But what would such a reason look like?

Maybe the following:

6. God so loves his creatures that He would never not let them know that He exists.

Is 6 blatantly obvious? No, for maybe God has reasons for being subtle, like

7. God so loves His creatures He wouldn’t force them to believe He exists unless they wanted to believe.

Is 7 possible true? Surely, for

8. Love never moves the beloved if the beloved must be moved against the beloved’s will.

8 seems obviously true, and I’d invite anyone to find an exception. Since 8 is true, then 6 and 3 are false, and so the argument from Divine Hiddeness collapses.

The Economy of Mercy

There's just two ways to lose yourself in this life
And neither way is safe
In my dreams I see visions of the future
But today we have today
And where will I find You?

In the economy of mercy
I am a poor and begging man
In the currency of Grace
Is where my song begins
In the colors of Your goodness
In the scars that mark your skin
Is where my song begins

These carbon shells
These fragile dusty frames
House canvases of souls
We are bruised and broken masterpieces
But we did not paint ourselves
And where will I find You?

Where was I when the world was made?
Where was I?

I'm lost without You here
Yes, I'm lost without You near me
I'm lost without You here
You knew my name when the world was made

History of Creationism