Re: [asa] Chinese Laundry problem

Don asked: "How do you keep the hdrogen atoms constituting the irons
stationary
under the impacts?"

The short answer -- it's my universe and I had it built that way.

(I'm just the planner -- the "big picture" guy. As a triple Ph.D. in far
advanced science, I have grad students working for me who take care of
the grubby details).

The technology involved is described in detail by my evil twin, Der Floss
Spode, in the Journal of Alternative Universe Engineering (JAUE), May
2108. But I digress.

Let's change the scenario (thinking of changes and seeing how they
might,or might not, change the conclusion is part of any such activity).

I no longer hold the two irons stationery. At the start, they are at rest
-- absolute zero (to the extent that means anything).

After one billion years, having been hit numerous times by both the other
hydrogen atom and each other, all three atoms are moving around the
ellipsoid at 70/3 mph, 2/3 of the way from room temperature to absolute
zero. Still thermal equilibrium.

Let's replace the original irons with 1900 era irons, each a composite of
just a hunk of iron atoms. Being hit randomly by that single hydrogen
atom, they will both tend to stay at the foci. Let's start them at room
temperature instead of at absolute rest.

One billion years later -- all is the same. Thermal equilibrium. Each
time the hapless hydrogen article smashes into one of the irons, it comes
away (on average) with the same speed.

Extrapolation to Murphy's original problem is left as a sophomoric
exercise.

Or that's how I see it.

Burgy

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Received on Tue Jul 25 14:03:17 2006