Twenty questions with James R

Discussion in 'Physics & Math' started by arfa brane, Oct 2, 2019.

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  1. arfa brane call me arf Valued Senior Member

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    I want to answer all 20 questions, but I'm going to replace "pond" with "field", so "water" is a "field property". So, consistent with physical notions, I can talk about waves in this field as still being a field; I can say the field is just Z(x,t), where Z is a field property with a value at any x and any t; It's one-dimensional so far, but I can already define velocities and wavelengths, frequencies, displacement etc. I just choose Z to be a function of a field property.

    So

    1. Is a water wave in a pond the same as the pond?
    The answer amounts to is a wave in a field the same as the field. It depends on whether you distinguish between the medium and the waves in that medium. The waves are a field though (with field equations!), in a material medium.

    2. Is a water wave a "form of energy", or is it water?
    Waves transport a "form of energy" over a distance.

    3. Does a water wave have energy, or would you say that a water wave is energy?
    Does a field have energy or is it a form of energy? (what, exactly, is the difference?)

    4. If a water wave has energy, does that mean that it can't be energy?
    If energy is transported, in what sense can it mean it can't "be" energy? It doesn't make sense.

    5. Does light have energy, or would you say that light is energy?
    See above.

    6. If light has energy, does that mean it can't be energy?
    ditto

    7. Does heat have energy, or would you say that heat is energy?
    Heat is a field, so all the above applies.

    8. If heat has energy, does that mean it can't be energy?
    . . .

    9. Does energy have any sub-properties? (Note: this is not a question asking you to list "forms of energy".)
    Only in the abstract, in that it can be chosen to be a product of a force and a displacement, but that isn't the only way to do it.

    10. If you answered "yes" to question 9, please list the sub-properties of energy.
    see 9.

    11. If water waves are energy, does that mean that light is water waves?
    There are different kinds of fields in physics; light isn't a matter-field since light is massless.

    12. If water waves are energy, does that mean that heat is water waves?
    . . .

    13. If heat is energy, does that mean that light is energy?
    Yes. On the other hand if heat and light are forms of energy, they are just things we distinguish from the same field--the electromagnetic field. Both are forms of electromagnetic energy--heat just looks different when it flows in solids, but it is the same stuff: charged particles exchanging momentum in discrete amounts.

    14. If light is energy, does that mean that light is heat?
    Strictly speaking yes, both are forms of electromagnetic energy; and strictly, light is radiant heat--the form that can propagate in empty space.

    15. If a water wave has energy, does that mean that a water wave has heat? Yes

    16. If a water wave has energy, does that mean that a water wave has light? Yes

    17. Can a number cause a physical system to move? Some people like to use ludicrous arguments to prove a point.

    18. Is energy a number? According to James R, energy is a number.

    19. If energy is not a number, what is it? Nobody really knows. But that doesn't really seem to matter too much.

    20. Did you answer all of the questions? Not really. But neither did you, eh James?
     
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  3. James R Just this guy, you know? Staff Member

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    Too little, too late, I'm afraid. The discussion to which this stuff was relevant is closed.

    There are many errors here, but I'm no longer interested in pursuing them. The main error, as was consistently displaying in the previous closed thread ("Are photons energy?"), is the reification of energy.

    This thread is closed.
     
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