I came across this site some time ago, and marked it as interesting, and=20
forgot about it. It now appears to have a great deal of relevance. It is=20
most interesting reading.
How Much of Modern Physics is a Fraud?
http://www.homeusers.prestel.co.uk/littleton/mp_physi.htm
Here is an excerpt of a section called:
"Atom Bomb: Proof of the correctness of modern physics? Or merely=20
empiricism":
<<In the popular mind, there is a firm link between Einstein and the mushroo=
m=20
cloud, encouraged by mediocre education, media, and science writers. For=20
example, I remember being assured by a biology experimenter that e=3Dmc squa=
red=20
is =93commonsense=94. Although there are a few opposing voices, for example,=
C P=20
Snow=92s essay on Einstein, which explicitly stated there was no connection,=
=20
most people think that the sort of thing they=92re told is physics=97vague=20
speculation, impenetrable mathematics, paradox=97led to the atom bomb.
The thesis of this piece is that, in fact, the invention of the atomic bomb=20
was almost entirely empirical. Fairly simple new concepts of the nucleus,=20
electrons, neutrons, atomic weights etc. sufficed. Specifically, =91e=3Dmc=20
squared=92, quantum ideas, uncertainty in measurement and the more elaborate=
=20
mathematics had no effect on the discoveries leading to the invention; these=
=20
discoveries each came as a complete surprise. The link with =91modern physic=
s=92=20
is a myth.
[Note on words: because scientific understanding has (so far) been=20
incomplete, there=92s no firm line between empiricism, which is something li=
ke=20
trial-and-error, and science. Empiricism means something that works, even if=
=20
it=92s not understood. Consider metal smelting:=97before the discovery of ox=
ygen,=20
oxides, and so on, metals were made by recipe: you mix reddish ore with=20
charcoal and make the mixture hot, and out comes iron. Or consider=20
electricity generation:=97this looks much more scientific, far more than (sa=
y)=20
a windmill, but arguably is just as purely empirical: Faraday found that a=20
metal thing moved in a magnetic field gives an electric current=97nobody kno=
ws=20
why=97and this is what a generator does. Technology may be scientific, or it=
=20
may be trial-and-error, or a mixture: thus crystallography theory is mostly=20
scientific, while flight is mostly experimental technology, and weather=20
forecasting is a mixture based at present on incorrect theories of air/water=
=20
behavior. I haven=92t attempted here to define these terms precisely; the po=
int=20
is, important discoveries can be made by pure chance.] >>
Sincerely,
DMBoss1021
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