Re: truth and science
Thomas S. Jones (tsjones@indqual.com)
Fri, 06 Jun 1997 08:44:35 -0400David Campbell wrote:
>
> >
> >So when I say that gold has atomic weight of 79, or that 7+5 = 12, those
> >are only approximate statements? Granted, God knows the truth of these
> >propositions in *all* their instances, while I only know a paltry few.
> >But nevertheless, they are not approximations!
> >
> These examples involve two means of finding truth. Mathematical truths and
> certain physical constants are true by definition, e.g. carbon 12 has an
> atomic mass of 12 because that's how atomic weight is defined. The atomic
> mass of gold is about 79/12 times the atomic weight of carbon, to the best
Uh, guys, not that it changes your arguments all that much, but since we
are talking about truth, the atomic NUMBER of gold is 79. Atomic
Weight, according to the periodic chart on my wall is 196.9665.
Tom
-- *****************************Thomas S. JonesVice PresidentIndustrial Quality, Inc.640 E. Diamond Ave., Suite CGaithersburg, MD 20877-5323Phone: (301) 948-2460FAX: (301) 948-9037email: tsjones@indqual.com*****************************