Skip to content
  • Categories
  • Recent
  • Tags
  • Popular
  • World
  • Users
  • Groups
Skins
  • Light
  • Cerulean
  • Cosmo
  • Flatly
  • Journal
  • Litera
  • Lumen
  • Lux
  • Materia
  • Minty
  • Morph
  • Pulse
  • Sandstone
  • Simplex
  • Sketchy
  • Spacelab
  • United
  • Yeti
  • Zephyr
  • Dark
  • Cyborg
  • Darkly
  • Quartz
  • Slate
  • Solar
  • Superhero
  • Vapor

  • Default (No Skin)
  • No Skin
Collapse
Code Project
  1. Home
  2. The Lounge
  3. Yer cannae change the laws of physics, Jim!

Yer cannae change the laws of physics, Jim!

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved The Lounge
game-devquestion
63 Posts 48 Posters 0 Views 1 Watching
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as topic
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
  • R Offline
    R Offline
    Rich Leyshon
    wrote on last edited by
    #1

    Back in the days when I went to school, when the world was black and white and young ragamuffins spent their days acquiring soot stains from their travels up and down chimneys, I was taught the following: 1) The laws of physics are the same, everywhere in the universe 2) The laws of physics do not change Does anyone have any proof of either of these statements or are they assumptions? Rich

    A H K G C 31 Replies Last reply
    0
    • R Rich Leyshon

      Back in the days when I went to school, when the world was black and white and young ragamuffins spent their days acquiring soot stains from their travels up and down chimneys, I was taught the following: 1) The laws of physics are the same, everywhere in the universe 2) The laws of physics do not change Does anyone have any proof of either of these statements or are they assumptions? Rich

      A Offline
      A Offline
      Anthony Mushrow
      wrote on last edited by
      #2

      Our current understanding of the universe only works if these laws stay the same. But even then i'm pretty sure the physicists bend the laws quite a bit to explain alot of strange stuff.

      My current favourite word is: I'm starting to run out of fav. words!

      -SK Genius

      Game Programming articles start -here[^]-

      N L 2 Replies Last reply
      0
      • R Rich Leyshon

        Back in the days when I went to school, when the world was black and white and young ragamuffins spent their days acquiring soot stains from their travels up and down chimneys, I was taught the following: 1) The laws of physics are the same, everywhere in the universe 2) The laws of physics do not change Does anyone have any proof of either of these statements or are they assumptions? Rich

        H Offline
        H Offline
        Hans Dietrich
        wrote on last edited by
        #3

        Rich Leyshon wrote:

        1. The laws of physics are the same, everywhere in the universe 2) The laws of physics do not change

        Maybe in this universe, but in the next one over, gasoline is free, there are no politicians, and hence there is no war. :)

        Best wishes, Hans


        [CodeProject Forum Guidelines] [How To Ask A Question] [My Articles]

        Richard Andrew x64R P L 3 Replies Last reply
        0
        • R Rich Leyshon

          Back in the days when I went to school, when the world was black and white and young ragamuffins spent their days acquiring soot stains from their travels up and down chimneys, I was taught the following: 1) The laws of physics are the same, everywhere in the universe 2) The laws of physics do not change Does anyone have any proof of either of these statements or are they assumptions? Rich

          K Offline
          K Offline
          keyboard warrior
          wrote on last edited by
          #4

          Rich Leyshon wrote:

          1. The laws of physics do not change

          by change you mean actually change? or change in the books? because if it changes in the books...laws change since we cannot be sure we even understand the law yet....but the law itself im sure is not changing because we are just now discovering this new law and a law we thought was correct has turned out wrong.

          ----------------------------------------------------------- "When I first saw it, I just thought that you really, really enjoyed programming in java." - Leslie Sanford

          P 1 Reply Last reply
          0
          • H Hans Dietrich

            Rich Leyshon wrote:

            1. The laws of physics are the same, everywhere in the universe 2) The laws of physics do not change

            Maybe in this universe, but in the next one over, gasoline is free, there are no politicians, and hence there is no war. :)

            Best wishes, Hans


            [CodeProject Forum Guidelines] [How To Ask A Question] [My Articles]

            Richard Andrew x64R Offline
            Richard Andrew x64R Offline
            Richard Andrew x64
            wrote on last edited by
            #5

            No politicians means no political structure. This means no organized society which is called anarchy. I don't believe anarchy is the solution to war.

            “Cannot find REALITY.SYS...Universe Halted.” ~ God on phone with Microsoft Customer Support

            S L 2 Replies Last reply
            0
            • H Hans Dietrich

              Rich Leyshon wrote:

              1. The laws of physics are the same, everywhere in the universe 2) The laws of physics do not change

              Maybe in this universe, but in the next one over, gasoline is free, there are no politicians, and hence there is no war. :)

              Best wishes, Hans


              [CodeProject Forum Guidelines] [How To Ask A Question] [My Articles]

              P Offline
              P Offline
              PIEBALDconsult
              wrote on last edited by
              #6

              But the beer is flat. Not to mention the women.

              M 1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • K keyboard warrior

                Rich Leyshon wrote:

                1. The laws of physics do not change

                by change you mean actually change? or change in the books? because if it changes in the books...laws change since we cannot be sure we even understand the law yet....but the law itself im sure is not changing because we are just now discovering this new law and a law we thought was correct has turned out wrong.

                ----------------------------------------------------------- "When I first saw it, I just thought that you really, really enjoyed programming in java." - Leslie Sanford

                P Offline
                P Offline
                PIEBALDconsult
                wrote on last edited by
                #7

                Right, our description of how this universe works does change.

                K 1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • R Rich Leyshon

                  Back in the days when I went to school, when the world was black and white and young ragamuffins spent their days acquiring soot stains from their travels up and down chimneys, I was taught the following: 1) The laws of physics are the same, everywhere in the universe 2) The laws of physics do not change Does anyone have any proof of either of these statements or are they assumptions? Rich

                  G Offline
                  G Offline
                  Gene OK
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #8

                  Newtonian and Maxwellian mechanics don't work so well on small particles, like electrons. Quantum Mechanics doesn't work so well in the macro world we perceive with our senses. Heisenberg's uncertainty principle works well with small particles like electrons, but has no meaning when we are talking about a futbol. When you speak of the laws of physics, it usually depends on the size of the universe you are considering. We don't really have a unified theory that explains all things. The holy grail being the unified force theory. So, to answer your question, Newtonian laws apply to a futbol (or baseball), but Quantum physics applies to the atoms that make up the matter in the ball. And nuclear physics will hurt your head. Nuclear physics and Microsoft(R) Vista(R) should be avoided in order to have a nice day.

                  CodeWiz51 -- Life is not a spectator sport. I came to play. Code's Musings | Code's Articles

                  D P 2 Replies Last reply
                  0
                  • P PIEBALDconsult

                    Right, our description of how this universe works does change.

                    K Offline
                    K Offline
                    keyboard warrior
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #9

                    yea yea sum up my 3 lines in 1.... ;P

                    ----------------------------------------------------------- "When I first saw it, I just thought that you really, really enjoyed programming in java." - Leslie Sanford

                    P 1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • R Rich Leyshon

                      Back in the days when I went to school, when the world was black and white and young ragamuffins spent their days acquiring soot stains from their travels up and down chimneys, I was taught the following: 1) The laws of physics are the same, everywhere in the universe 2) The laws of physics do not change Does anyone have any proof of either of these statements or are they assumptions? Rich

                      C Offline
                      C Offline
                      Chris Maunder
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #10

                      These are assumptions made in order to allow physics to proceed. Otherwise if the laws of physics were different in different places then abservations we make of things such as the motion of stars and of light become meaningless. It's essentially wishful thinking based on gut feelings backed by reasonable common sense. However recent work has shown that things such as the speed of light may actually have changed over time, leading the possibility that the laws may change over time, may be different in different places, or may simply be beyond what we can currently grasp. Physics is phrustrating.

                      cheers, Chris Maunder

                      CodeProject.com : C++ MVP

                      S 1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • R Rich Leyshon

                        Back in the days when I went to school, when the world was black and white and young ragamuffins spent their days acquiring soot stains from their travels up and down chimneys, I was taught the following: 1) The laws of physics are the same, everywhere in the universe 2) The laws of physics do not change Does anyone have any proof of either of these statements or are they assumptions? Rich

                        M Offline
                        M Offline
                        MarkB777
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #11

                        Well history shows that the laws of physics change as time goes by. I'm confident alot of our physics laws that have been said to be absolute will be proven wrong eventually. After all if we knew everything about physics already we would not still be stuck on this planet.

                        Mark Brock Click here to view my blog

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • K keyboard warrior

                          yea yea sum up my 3 lines in 1.... ;P

                          ----------------------------------------------------------- "When I first saw it, I just thought that you really, really enjoyed programming in java." - Leslie Sanford

                          P Offline
                          P Offline
                          PIEBALDconsult
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #12

                          "Omit needless words." -- Strunk :-D

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • Richard Andrew x64R Richard Andrew x64

                            No politicians means no political structure. This means no organized society which is called anarchy. I don't believe anarchy is the solution to war.

                            “Cannot find REALITY.SYS...Universe Halted.” ~ God on phone with Microsoft Customer Support

                            S Offline
                            S Offline
                            Shog9 0
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #13

                            Independent123 wrote:

                            I don't believe anarchy is the solution to war.

                            Them's fightin' words! :mad:

                            Citizen 20.1.01

                            'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master - that's all.'

                            C 1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • R Rich Leyshon

                              Back in the days when I went to school, when the world was black and white and young ragamuffins spent their days acquiring soot stains from their travels up and down chimneys, I was taught the following: 1) The laws of physics are the same, everywhere in the universe 2) The laws of physics do not change Does anyone have any proof of either of these statements or are they assumptions? Rich

                              C Offline
                              C Offline
                              code frog 0
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #14

                              Doesn't the "Law" part complete the idea? If I remember right Law is higher order than theory and such... been a while though and the physics I enjoy most... well... Law sums it up I think.

                              1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • H Hans Dietrich

                                Rich Leyshon wrote:

                                1. The laws of physics are the same, everywhere in the universe 2) The laws of physics do not change

                                Maybe in this universe, but in the next one over, gasoline is free, there are no politicians, and hence there is no war. :)

                                Best wishes, Hans


                                [CodeProject Forum Guidelines] [How To Ask A Question] [My Articles]

                                L Offline
                                L Offline
                                Lost User
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #15

                                There wasn't any gasoline in 1066, but King Harold got an arrow in his eye in, erm, a war.

                                .\\axxx

                                H 1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • R Rich Leyshon

                                  Back in the days when I went to school, when the world was black and white and young ragamuffins spent their days acquiring soot stains from their travels up and down chimneys, I was taught the following: 1) The laws of physics are the same, everywhere in the universe 2) The laws of physics do not change Does anyone have any proof of either of these statements or are they assumptions? Rich

                                  A Offline
                                  A Offline
                                  Andy Brummer
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #16

                                  There are many astronomical observations that agree with those statements. Things like spectra of stars, observed motion of stars within a galaxy and many other observations point to that being true. Those are only observations not experiments The vast majority of all experiments have been done at the surface of the Earth, and the most distant experiments from Earth have all been done with unmanned probes, and all of them within our tiny solar system. The current set of laws for describing the universe has gone from a hand crafted assembly or C++ application to the bloated enterprisy conglomeration of VB modules that is the standard model. Everyone wants there to be something simpler, nobody knows what it is, but perhaps finding it has to do with questioning assumptions like those.

                                  I can imagine the sinking feeling one would have after ordering my book, only to find a laughably ridiculous theory with demented logic once the book arrives - Mark McCutcheon

                                  F 1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • R Rich Leyshon

                                    Back in the days when I went to school, when the world was black and white and young ragamuffins spent their days acquiring soot stains from their travels up and down chimneys, I was taught the following: 1) The laws of physics are the same, everywhere in the universe 2) The laws of physics do not change Does anyone have any proof of either of these statements or are they assumptions? Rich

                                    C Offline
                                    C Offline
                                    Chris Austin
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #17

                                    Rich Leyshon wrote:

                                    1. The laws of physics are the same, everywhere in the universe

                                    We have no reason the believe otherwise.

                                    Rich Leyshon wrote:

                                    1. The laws of physics do not change

                                    My belief is that they do not. However, there are many special cases where established and accepted theories/laws are proven inadequate.

                                    Rich Leyshon wrote:

                                    Does anyone have any proof of either of these statements or are they assumptions?

                                    This really hits at the heart of Special and General Relativity and why Einstein wanted to call it the "Theory of Invariance." I could go on at length because I used to teach Special and General Relativity and love the topics. One could say that the Einstein's entire opus was built upon absolutism and that he dreaded the term "Theory of Relativity." Do a google search on "Theory of Invariance + Einstein" and see what people much smarter than me have written about it.

                                    Sovereign ingredient for a happy marriage: Pay cash or do without. Interest charges not only eat up a household budget; awareness of debt eats up domestic felicity. --Lazarus Long

                                    R 1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • R Rich Leyshon

                                      Back in the days when I went to school, when the world was black and white and young ragamuffins spent their days acquiring soot stains from their travels up and down chimneys, I was taught the following: 1) The laws of physics are the same, everywhere in the universe 2) The laws of physics do not change Does anyone have any proof of either of these statements or are they assumptions? Rich

                                      S Offline
                                      S Offline
                                      Super Lloyd
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #18

                                      well, this is true. think of it this way: the universe works the way it does and it's true everywhere the universe works. but the real question is, do we know the law of physics? you can tell it an other way: the law of mathematic don't change. but does our description of the universe is mathematically accurate?

                                      A train station is where the train stops. A bus station is where the bus stops. On my desk, I have a work station.... _________________________________________________________ My programs never have bugs, they just develop random features.

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • C Chris Maunder

                                        These are assumptions made in order to allow physics to proceed. Otherwise if the laws of physics were different in different places then abservations we make of things such as the motion of stars and of light become meaningless. It's essentially wishful thinking based on gut feelings backed by reasonable common sense. However recent work has shown that things such as the speed of light may actually have changed over time, leading the possibility that the laws may change over time, may be different in different places, or may simply be beyond what we can currently grasp. Physics is phrustrating.

                                        cheers, Chris Maunder

                                        CodeProject.com : C++ MVP

                                        S Offline
                                        S Offline
                                        Super Lloyd
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #19

                                        this a communication problem. maybe the speed of light change, mybe this or that change. but the law of physics don't! it's just what we know of them which does!

                                        A train station is where the train stops. A bus station is where the bus stops. On my desk, I have a work station.... _________________________________________________________ My programs never have bugs, they just develop random features.

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • R Rich Leyshon

                                          Back in the days when I went to school, when the world was black and white and young ragamuffins spent their days acquiring soot stains from their travels up and down chimneys, I was taught the following: 1) The laws of physics are the same, everywhere in the universe 2) The laws of physics do not change Does anyone have any proof of either of these statements or are they assumptions? Rich

                                          B Offline
                                          B Offline
                                          Bob Beechey
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #20

                                          These are simplifying assumptions - an application of Occam's Razor. However, any phycisist worth his salt would love to find that the laws of physics change over very large distances or over large time scales. Physics would become difficult, scarey but VERY interesting. Would this be any different than giving the kiss of life to Schrodinger's cat?

                                          1 Reply Last reply
                                          0
                                          Reply
                                          • Reply as topic
                                          Log in to reply
                                          • Oldest to Newest
                                          • Newest to Oldest
                                          • Most Votes


                                          • Login

                                          • Don't have an account? Register

                                          • Login or register to search.
                                          • First post
                                            Last post
                                          0
                                          • Categories
                                          • Recent
                                          • Tags
                                          • Popular
                                          • World
                                          • Users
                                          • Groups