A brief repose...

So, I'm off to India for a month to study Buddhist Philosophy with a few other students from Salisbury University. If you want to follow my progress over there, jump on over to my travel blog, Restless Soul. Suffice it to say, I'll be taking a break from this research (granted, I haven't made any updates for a while as it is).

Have a great holiday, everybody!

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Theories

Let's start with theories. There is a wonderfully diverse library of theories out there that attempt to understand the workings of the universe, each getting progressively more difficult to understand. For the purpose of this post, we'll look at three: Newton's Gravitational Pull, Einsteins Relativity (Space-Time) and String Theory. And yes, I've linked to wikipedia, because despite what many would say about the quality of information there, I find it to be a wonderful place to gain an understanding if you're smart enough to weed out the useless junk, and do subsequent background work on what you learn.

I'm not going to even try to explain the subtleties of these theories. However, in short:

Gravity is a theory of attraction. It explains how planets stay in orbit, and generally why things stay grounded on planets and dont go floating away. But as a force, it is undefined. It predicts that something is pulling us towards the Earth, but cannot define what that thing is.

Space-Time is a theory of, for lack of a better word, repulsion. It explains the same things as gravity (and indeed, some might consider it a more thorough definition of gravity), but utilizes the idea that instead of gravity pulling on us, particles of space are pushing objects towards objects of enormous mass. A planet, for example, would make a deep imprint on Space-Time, thus creating a sloping surface into which an object "falls", or more appropriately, is pushed. Interesting, but it faces the same downfalls as gravity in that this force is undefined. There are also a great deal of contradictions it faces, which I encourage anyone who wants a better explanation of these to read the website "Space, Time and Relativity", a fairly in-depth review of everything that's been said about the whole business of current theories. Complete with references to published articles, for those who like that kind of thing.


String theory is...well, it's quantam in nature, and if you understand quantam physics, you're light years ahead of me. However, from what I've read, the theory is completely untestable. The scale of testing it would require is enormous, going far beyond the hadron-colliders the world currently has in use. For this reason alone I'm going to step away from it.

So, why did I start with theories? They are a very general way of looking at things if you dont go too deep into each, and more importantly, they are just that - theories. More to the point, I needed to explain why I won't be including them in any level of importance for the time being. Not only are they vastly complex, but most are not proven. In fact, none are completely proven, which is why they stay in the realm of theory and haven't become fact (though you wouldn't know it, the way we teach gravity like a religion).

That having been said, I suppose I should define my approach a little better. Unfortunately, I will have to take into account some portions of theories to better acknowledge the occurrences in space. And since gravity is what I know best, it is what I'll be using at first. But like any scientific study, I have no doubt my ideas will expand to encompass a multitude of ideas and models.

As a side note, I was recently introduced to a video series by the late astronomer Carl Sagan. These are old videos, granted, but the way in which the universe is explained and presented is a wonderful starting point. That is to say, it shows what's there and what it is doing, not necessarily why it's doing that. Look him up.

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A Road to Nowhere, or Everywhere

Every story has a beginning, every idea a starting point. Mine starts here. I'm entering a realm I know little about, and starting down a road that may not have a conclusion. So I'll begin with a bit about myself.

I'm 21, and still working on my B.S. in Geography, with a focus on Geographical Information Systems. I'm competent at a technical level, and starting to come into my own in analytical terms. Focus has only recently come into the equation of my education and pursuits. I'm a traveller, a vagabond, and a scientist, though that last one I never thought to hear myself say.

Of late, I've begun to look to the stars. Not quite as last frontier-ish as the ocean, but still vast and important in its own right. As my knowledge of physics and astro-sciences are limited, I've taken a geographical approach to my questioning; that is to say, how would one go about mapping the universe to accurately portray...well, the universe, and how everything in it interacts. I've spent the better part of two months pondering this with any spare brainpower I could, and along the way numerous questions have arisen, which, when answered, only raised more questions. Such is 'science'.

Now to the important bit. I'm going to begin the process of...actually, I dont know what I'm beginning. A thesis? A dissertation? Just a bit of research? It will be whatever it will be, I suppose.

So, the proper way to begin any bit of scientific study is to ask a question. Here goes...

What are the difficulties and hurdles that must be approached and dealt with when modelling the universe in as accurate a way as possible?

Not quite an epic question, by any means. But I'm working with what I know, and what I know are spatial relations and mapping technologies.

The answer to this question, though, is difficult at best. There are numerous variables that need be accounted for, and not all of the theories that are widely regarded as true are even completely proven. Worst yet, I'm ill-equipped to really approach and understand some of the more advanced concepts presented. Not that it will stop me from trying. But I do expect mistakes along the way.

Such a broad question to answer has no real starting space, but instead requires a list of research topics. Each should help flesh out the necessities, and each in turn will add new theories and topics to the list. But I'm going to stop getting ahead of myself and get to it.

The List:

• Newton's Theory of Gravity
• Einstein's Theory of Time-Space
• String Theory
• Astrophysics
• Wave Theory
• Particle Theory
• Atmospheres (and, more importantly, Vacuums)

Well, it's a start.

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