Hi guys;
I thought I would interject a little.
Thanks
Massie wrote:
> Subject: Re: Two Times
> Date: Mon, 20 Dec 1999 07:53:38 -0800
> From: Massie <mrlab@ix.netcom.com>
> To: Starkja@aol.com
> References: <0.6124a928.258fa0c5@aol.com>
>
> Starkja@aol.com wrote:
> >
> > In a message dated 12/19/1999 10:02:37 PM, Bert wrote:
> >
> > <<Jim
> >
> > Yes we cannot for certainly know the past because we cannot perform an
> > experiment
> > on the past. Thus, only laws are testable not past events.
> >
Actually it is quite the opposite. The information gleaned from all astronomical
observations is "from the past" It is the present state of the universe that we are
ignorant of; e.g., the sun that lights our world is about 8 minutes old and may
presently be exploding.
>
> > OK, I have no problem with projections from equations to estimate the past,
> > especially when it allows further experimental work. I do question the
> > projection of what might happen if observers are presumed to move near the
> > speed of light. I do not think equations are that good for estimating truth.
> >
> > Besides more and more physicists are questioning the speed of light, itself.
> > It may have been much faster in the past.
> > Jim
>
The physicist that I hang with do not question the speed of light's constancy; only
its value to the n'th place. In the past, measurement techniques were cruder and
therefore gave different values. Such is progress.
The speed of an EM wave in a vacuum is a consequence of Maxwell's theory of
radiation and independent of observer or measurement.
Chow
George A.
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