Re: [asa] New interp of distant starlight

David -

I'm not sure who you may have in mind in your 2d paragraph. In any case particles can of course travel faster than the speed of light in a material medium & that (for charged particles) is the source of Cerenkov radiation. He - with Frank & Tamm - got the physics prize in 1958 for that.

Interestingly, some of the properties of Cerenkov radiation were worked out well before the work of those Russians by Schott in 1912. This was after special relativity but apparently Schott wasn't convinced that speeds faster than c were impossible so he calculated radiation from charges moving faster than light in vacuum. The results of course are very similar to those for a charge moving faster than the speed of light in a medium.

Shalom
George
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: David Campbell
  To: asa@calvin.edu
  Sent: Thursday, July 06, 2006 4:42 PM
  Subject: Re: [asa] New interp of distant starlight

  Humphries also tries to claim that a geocentric universe will allow young-earth interpretation of the astronomical evidence. Perhaps in part they have bought into the claim that rejection of geocentrism was a triumph of rationalism? It doesn't work, but then neither do other young-earth models.

  Does anyone know of a young earth claim based on asserting that the speed of light in a medium is the fastest that anything can go in that medium? If this paleobiologist can remember how to spell Cerenkov radiation, it seems like an odd error for a physicist to make. At least one Nobel was for studying particles traveling faster than the speed of light in a particular medium. Wile's middle school textbook makes that error. He doesn't make any argument based on it, just an incorrect homework problem or two.

  --
  Dr. David Campbell
  425 Scientific Collections
  University of Alabama
  "I think of my happy condition, surrounded by acres of clams"

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Received on Thu Jul 6 17:07:27 2006