VISUALIZING: Einstein's "Miracle Year"

In 1905 an obscure, 26-year old Assistant Examiner in the Swiss Patent Office revolutionized the world of Physics forever. Albert Einstein published four ground-breaking papers in a single year!

LINKS TO RELATED POSTINGS AND RESOURCES
VISUALIZING Relativity - PowerPoint Show
VISUALIZING Relativity - Excel Spreadsheet
VISUALIZING for Science and Technology - Blog Posting
VISUALIZING Einstein's "Miracle Year" - Blog Posting
VISUALIZING My Insight Into Lorentz Gamma - Blog Posting
VISUALIZING the "Twin Paradox" - Blog Posting

1- PHOTOELECTRIC EFFECT

This paper may be considered the foundation of Quantum Theory. Einstein theorizes that Energy is not continuous, but rather comes in DISCRETE QUANTA.

2- BROWNIAN MOTION

Statistical physics.

3- (SPECIAL) THEORY OF RELATIVITY (INVARIABILITY)

Perhaps his most important paper, On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies, begins with a VISUALIZATION of a magnet and a coil of wire. He notes that, when the wire is held still and the magnet is moved, an electrical voltage is produced in the wire. The opposite is also true, he notes, when the magnet is held still and the wire is moved.

Einstein's critical INSIGHT was that it was the RELATIVE movement of the wire and the magnet that induced the electrical voltage.

He knew about electrical technology because his father owned a company that manufactured electrical equipment. However, by the 1880's, when Einstein was a child, many other people had this knowledge, yet, it was not until 1905, with this paper, that the critical implications of this simple VISUALIZATION were recognized.

Of course, by the time he had the insight and wrote this paper, Einstein had a diploma in Physics and Mathematics from the Zurich Polytechnic. That enabled him to extend his insight lightyears [pun intended] beyond mere electrical technology and clarify Maxwell's electrodynamics.

Einstein proposes two startling postulates:

1) "The same laws of electrodynamics and optics will be valid for all frames of reference." and
2) "Light is always propagated in empty space with a definite velocity c which is independent of the state of motion of the emitting body."

These two postulates summarize the essence of Einstein's 1905 theory, which has come to be called his SPECIAL Theory of Relativity, to distinguish it from his later 1915 GENERAL Theory of Relativity. [Special Relativity applies only to so-called Inertial frames of reference moving at a constant speed, while General Relativity extends the ideas to frames of reference that are subject to acceleration, including the effects of gravity in the vicinity of a massive body. Some commentators including me (and even Einstein at one time :^) think these theories would have been better named the Special and General Theories of Invariability.]

The first postulate of Special Relativity establishes that ALL frames of reference are equal with respect to the applicability of the Laws of Nature. Some social commentators have, IMHO, over-interpreted the applicability of this idea, claiming that everything is relative,  including basic concepts of ethics. The actual meaning, IMHO, is the Invariability of the Laws of Nature, being the same to all observers, at all times and places.

The second postulate does away with the need for a "luminiferous ether" the then prevalent idea that light and other electromagnetic waves require a medium in which to propagate, the way sound waves require air, water or some other medium. Again, IMHO, some scientists have over-generalized that postulate to deny any concept of Absolute Space or Absolute Time. All Einstein says is that all attempts to measure the Speed of Light will yield the same value, which is another example of Invariability.

Quoting Einstein directly:

... the unsuccessful attempts to discover any motion of the earth relatively to the 'light medium,' suggest that the phenomena of electrodynamics as well as of mechanics possess no properties corresponding to the idea of absolute rest. 

and

...The introduction of a 'luminiferous ether' will prove to be superfluous inasmuch as the view here to be developed will not require an 'absolutely stationary space' provided with special properties, nor assign a velocity-vector to a point of the empty space in which electromagnetic processes take place.

Thus, while sound waves require a medium for propagation, light and other electromagnetic waves do not. For example, assume I am some distance from a wall and I make a loud, sharp sound (such as a gunshot), and then measure the return-trip time between the original sound and the echo, I will measure a shorter time in still air than I will if there is a wind blowing the air towards or away from me.

The reason for this is that, for still air, the outbound and return trip will take exactly the same amount of time, while, for moving air, it will take longer for the sound going against-the-wind, and shorter for the sound going with-the-wind.

You might think the longer and shorter changes would cancel out, but that is not so, The against-the-wind slowdown will be greater than the with-the-wind speedup. To VISUALIZE that, imagine the extreme case where the wind is blowing at the speed of sound. The with-the-wind sound will get there at twice the speed of sound, but, the against-the-wind sound will never get there!

Not so with light and other electromagnetic waves. The 1887 Michelson-Morley experiment demonstrated that there was no difference in the return trip time for light signals aligned with the 67,000 Miles per Hour motion of the Earth around the Sun and those at right angles to that motion.

Thus, there is no "ether wind", but there are differences between Kinetic (and Potential) Energy levels experienced by different Observers. 

IS THERE ANY SUCH THING AS ABSOLUTE SPACE AND TIME?

Consider the so-called "Twin Paradox", where the stay-at-home twin will have aged more than the rapidly-moving travelling twin when they are reunited. This has been explained by the fact the travelling twin changes frames of reference when he turns around to come back home. True, but, IMHO, the real difference is that the travelling twin has spent his life at a higher speed and thus a higher level of Kinetic Energy than his stay-at-home sibling, and thus aged more slowly.

Alternatively, imagine a stay-at-home twin who spends her life on the surface of a massive body, while her travelling sibling goes on a slow-speed journey to far-away empty space, living most of his life far from any massive body, and then slowly returning. Which will age more slowly? Well, in this case it is the stay-at-home twin! IMHO, the real difference is that the stay-at-home twin has spent her life at higher gravitational acceleration, and thus a higher level of Potential Energy than her travelling sibling, and thus aged more slowly.

OOPS! If you bought the above explanation you have to ask: "Higher Kinetic or Potential Energy with respect to what?" Well, at least with respect to his or her sibling! Higher Kinetic Energy is based on being at a speed that is greater than the speed of some reference point, is it not? Similarly, higher Potential Energy is based on being under the influence of gravitational acceleration that is greater than the acceleration of some reference point, is it not?

Thus there is some point (such as the Center of Mass of the Universe?) or points (such as Lagrange points L4 and L5?) that have lower Kinetic and/or Potential Energy levels than others, and are thus special in that residents will age more rapidly there. Perhaps there is a point (or points) in the Universe where aging is more rapid than ANYWHERE ELSE. At that (perhaps imaginary) point or points, residents experience Absolute Time (and/or Space) and are truly "At Rest" because they are at some Absolute Zero Kinetic and/or Potential Energy level.

[Note: Lagrange points, L1 to L5, are where the combined gravitational pull of two large masses provides precisely the centripetal force required to orbit with them. L4 and L5 are stable.]

4- EQUIVALENCE OF MATTER AND ENERGY
This paper is merely the source of the World's Best-Known Equation, E=Mc2  

CONCLUSION

Four published papers. Pretty good work for a 26-year old in a single year - or a lifetime! 

Ira Glickstein 

VISUALIZING: for Science and Technology

Computer Model Visualization of Crash-Dummy

Nowadays it is common to use computer models, such as the crash-dummy in the adjacent image, to help us VISUALIZE and better understand complex situations and systems. Prior to the advent of computer models, we had to use mental models in our "mind's eye", along with physical aids such as paper maps and diagrams, modelling clay, and other means.

LINKS TO RELATED POSTINGS AND RESOURCES
VISUALIZING Relativity - PowerPoint Show
VISUALIZING Relativity - Excel Spreadsheet
VISUALIZING for Science and Technology - Blog Posting
VISUALIZING Einstein's "Miracle Year" - Blog Posting
VISUALIZING My Insight Into Lorentz Gamma - Blog Posting
VISUALIZING the "Twin Paradox" - Blog Posting

Albert Einstein was a great physicist, with all the requisite mathematical tools. However, he rejected purely mathematical abstraction and resorted to physical analogy for his most basic insights. For example, as part of the thought process that resulted in his theories of Special Relativity (1905) and General Relativity (1915) he imagined himself riding along a beam of light; or as an observer standing along the tracks as a train zipped by at near-light-speed; or as a scientist sealed in a closed box and not able to tell if the box was stationary on the surface of the Earth, subject to gravity, or in deep space, far from massive objects, but subject to acceleration due to being dragged by a rocket at ever-increasing speeds.

VISUALIZING the Solution
Using Math and Graphics

Of course, Einstein and virtually all scientists and technologists use mathematical abstractions to quantify the meaning in our visualization models. We change the initial conditions and run these models to simulate what may or may not happen in different situations.

COMPUTER MODELS FOR VISUALIZATION

As personal computers and the Internet have become endemic, manual typewriters, paper maps, physical books, and so much else has been displaced by automated versions. Similarly, computer visualizations and models have displaced older methods - except for that old reliable "mind's eye" which remains as important as ever.

During my career as a Senior System Engineer at IBM and Lockheed-Martin I made extensive use of computer models and visualizations and have continued to do so since retirement.

In particular, I have created visualizations for the Atmospheric "Greenhouse" Effect and Einstein's Special and General Relativity. 

VISUALIZING THE ATMOSPHERIC "GREENHOUSE" EFFECT

As a Guest Contributor to the World's most popular Climate site, I authored a four-part series on Visualizing the Atmospheric "Greenhouse" Effect that attracted over 65,000 page views and over 2000 comments (see:  Physical Analogy,  Atmospheric Windows,  Emission Spectra, and Molecules and Photons,) The following graphics are some of the animated visualizations I created for that series.   

Physical Analogy

Model of a Physical Greenhouse

Model of the Atmospheric "Greenhouse"Effect

Modeled Down to Photons and Air Molecules

VISUALIZING EINSTEIN'S SPECIAL AND GENERAL RELATIVITY

Perhaps the most well-known equation in the world is E = mc2, recognized by virtually every person. But, what does it really mean?

And, many people know about the so-called "twin paradox", where one twin goes off on long mission at high speeds into space, and comes back younger. But why does this happen and exactly what causes it?

If "everything is relative" why isn't the stay-at-home twin also also younger? So, everything is not relative, and perhaps Einstein's original name for his theories "Invariance" is more apt -for the fact all observers, including those moving at different speeds, measure the same speed for light.

If the traveling twin is younger due to experiencing high speed and acceleration, then it is aging that has slowed down, not time, per se.

Furthermore, what, precisely, is TIME? And how is TIME united with SPACE to form SpaceTime?

When you Google any of this stuff you are quickly buried in equations and tensor mathematics that no one (even an engineer like me) can really understand!

Well, all this bothered me for most of my life until, back in 2012, I decided to answer Alan Alda's Flame Challenge "What is Time?" and produce a short video. In the research process for that project, I think I had a critical insight into TIME, SPACE, and RELATIVITY that may help you VISUALIZE this important scientific theory.

Time - the fourth dimension (2013 Flame Challenge) from Ira V Glickstein on Vimeo.

Since that time, I've continued to delve into Relativity and I've come up with what I think is a unique way to visualize and ... perhaps ... even understand it. The following images are screenshots from an Excel spreadsheet I created to provide myself (and you :^) a "hands-on" experience with the relativistic effects of high speed (kinetic energy) and high acceleration (potential energy), including time dilation, length contraction, and the curvature of SPACE and TIME. It is available free.

Free Excel Spreadsheet for VISUALIZATION of Einstein's Special and General Relativity. 

Image is of the Main Panel where user selects a Star, Planet, or Set Angle Option. In the case illustrated, the SpaceTime angle is set to 30º, where velocity is half the speed of light. This causes clocks to slow down by 13.4%, which corresponds to 49 days per year or 482 seconds per hour. Right side shows Special Relativity Effects due to the Kinetic Energy of moving at half the speed of light in empty Space. Left side shows equivalent General Relativity Effects, where Time "curves" due to the Potential Energy of being "at rest" close to a Black Hole.

Free Excel Spreadsheet for VISUALIZATION of Einstein's Special and General Relativity. 

Image is of the SpaceTime view of the right side of the Main Panel (where the vector sum of TRAVEL + AGING = 1) plus the Minkowski-Like SpaceTime view (where the simple sum of TRAVEL + AGING =1).  

Free Excel Spreadsheet for VISUALIZATION of Einstein's Special and General Relativity. 

Image is of the Minkowski-Like view (described above) compared to a Planck view, where both Space and Time are assumed to be discrete, and Each tiny cell is 1 Planck Time (tP ) by 1 Planck Length (ℓP).

THE MAP IS NOT THE TERRITORY!

As my principal PhD advisor, Howard Pattee, taught me, "The MAP is NOT the TERRITORY". That sage statement means that no model is exactly the same as the thing being modeled (else it would be the real thing.)

We make models because the real thing is too complex and difficult for us to visualize, or -like the Global Climate- is not readily available for us to experiment upon.

The MAP is NOT the TERRITORY !

Many a General (or football coach) has moved symbols around on a map of the field of battle, convincing himself and his staff of inevitable victory, only to find his opponent also had a model, perhaps a better one plus superior forces to carry it to victory. 

We generally model only the most important or critical parts of the situation or complex system we are trying to visualize. We consider the model to have been successful if the results match actuality to some level of fidelity, at least for those significant portions. If subsequent testing reveals that the model does not comport with reality, we must improve or discard it.

CONCLUSION

This is the first of what I believe will turn into a series detailing my VISUALIZATION of Einstein's Relativity. Please stay tuned!

Ira Glickstein

DNA "Fingerprints" in Anthrax Case

When anthrax was mailed to some media and political figures in 2001, resulting in some deaths, DNA testing fairly quickly determined that it was the "Ames strain," known to be the subject of experiments at Ft. Detrick. That made it most likely a rogue scientist at that facility was involved, and unlikely the killer used anthrax from a foreign source or it was "home-made." The anthrax was also in a form suitable for inhalation which apparently requires specialized processing, unlikely to be available to someone not associated with a major lab.

According to information released within the past week, some new, more detailed DNA analysis techniques have become available and affordable over the past year, and these have been used to "fingerprint" the DNA that caused the deaths and show they match the DNA used in Bruce Ivin's lab at Ft. Detrick.

While the details have not yet been released, I suspect the analysis looked for random mutations in the "junk" part of the anthrax DNA. Even assuming all the anthrax labs at Ft. Detrick started with the same exact Ames strain of anthrax, if each lab reproduced the anthrax independently, they would each end up with slight random differences that did not affect the function of the anthrax.

This case is applicable to our recent discussion of DNA "memory." You might say the DNA samples from the victims "remembered" the random mutations that occurred to their ancestors in Ivin's lab.

If you do not accept my use of the word "memory" in the Ivin's case, let me posit an analogous situation. Say a parrot has been stolen and is later recovered. The parrot is OK but, during its captivity it has added a few words to its vocabulary, and they are Hungarian words! The evidence of the parrot's memory of the Hungarian words would point to someone who speaks Hungarian as a likely suspect!

While discussing the Ivin's case with my wife, Vi, yesterday, she suggested that highly secure bio labs should consider purposely introducing telltale mutations in the junk DNA of the bioweapons in each lab. That way, if any of it was lost or stolen and used in a crime, the specific lab would be known and that could aid the investigation.

I believe there is a federal requirement that each batch of dynamite have a different mix of telltale materials added to it that are recoverable even after the dynamite has exploded. Anyone who makes a purchase must be identified and associated with the batch number of the dynamite. That way, when there is a criminal explosion involving dynamite, authorities can rapidly get a list of suspects - all those who have purchased sticks from that lot and others who are asociated with them or who may have stolen the dynamite from the legal purchaser.

Ira Glickstein