Posted by finelinebob on August 24, 2006, at 0:19:24
In reply to Re: An odd pattern of behavior » finelinebob, posted by Jost on August 23, 2006, at 17:55:17
> http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/23/science/space/23pluto.html
From the article:
“Some people think that the astronomers will look stupid if we can’t agree on a definition or if we don’t even know what a planet is,” said Dr. Pasachoff of Williams College. “But someone pointed out that this definition will hold for all time and that it is more important to get it right.”Wrong and wrong. Science progresses, so no definition holds for anything close to all time. Second, science is based on falsifiability. There is no such thing as getting it "right" -- there is only "not getting it wrong", and there's a huge amount of difference bewteen the two.
So, this guy is essentially a wanker. A fraud. A poser. He doesn't even understand the fundamental tenets of his field of study ... how can the likes of him be trusted to make such a decision?
As for why the sky is blue, Racer almost had it right. Blue light has a short wavelength. Red light has a long wavelength. The wavelength of blue light is about the diameter of the most common elements in our atmosphere -- nitrogen and oxygen atoms. Because they're about the same size, the atoms can knock the photons out of their path, scattering them in all directions. So, those light "rays" from the sun passing through the atmosphere above your head? Well, the blue ones get knocked all over the place, including down towards the ground and your eyes. Other wavelengths are just the wrong size ... so we see blue for the most part and the others just pass over our heads.
When the sun is on the horizon, its rays are coming straight at us. Red light, having the longest wavelengths, doesn't really get scattered all that much by clear skies, but the blue is getting taken out. More red passes through, we see red. Dust particles (in clouds, from volcanoes, things like that) are near the size of red light wavelenghts, so that's why clouds at sunset can light up with those reds and oranges and yellows. Vulcanic ash scatters red pretty well but tends to only have a big enough effect at sunrise or sunset, when you're looking through the "fattest" amount of sky you can see.
poster:finelinebob
thread:678985
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/esteem/20060725/msgs/679535.html