Re: [asa] QED

Precisely. The point was not the 4%, which depends on many factors, but the inherent random probability of a given photon being reflected vs being transmitted. More broadly, randomness and indeterminacy underlie most, if not all, processes in nature.

BTW, Craig Story just recommended to me the following book:
David J. Bartholomew, "God, Chance and Purpose: Can God Have It Both Ways" published in 2008 by Cambridge University Press. He is Emeritus Professor of Statistics at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Have any of you read it? It looks good. But the price is outrageous. $80 list for a small book. I think I'll borrow Craig's copy.

Randy
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: George Murphy
  To: Dick Fischer ; ASA
  Sent: Monday, May 05, 2008 1:36 PM
  Subject: Re: [asa] QED

  Of course the amount of light that's transmitted depends on the angle of incidence, the composition of the glass &c - it's a standard calculation of classical E & M that can then be translated into the language of photons & probabilities. There's nothing special about 4%.

  Shalom
  George
  http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
    ----- Original Message -----
    From: Dick Fischer
    To: ASA
    Sent: Monday, May 05, 2008 1:17 PM
    Subject: RE: [asa] QED

    And, of course, the amount of impurities in the glass, the angle of the glass to the direction of the light, thickness, clarity, cleanliness, etc, etc. Just send me the plaque, I'll put it next to my daughters physical fitness award.

    Dick Fischer, author, lecturer

    Historical Genesis from Adam to Abraham

    www.historicalgenesis.com

    -----Original Message-----
    From: asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu [mailto:asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu] On Behalf Of Randy Isaac
    Sent: Monday, May 05, 2008 12:13 PM
    To: asa@calvin.edu
    Subject: Re: [asa] QED

    Feynman didn't say "exactly 100 photons..." "..precisely 4..." Rather, the meaning was that for every 100 photons, on average 4 will be reflected. Which I would suggest is equivalent to 4% of the light being reflected.

    I'll be happy to pass along to you any Nobel prize which might apply--maybe the "alternative Nobel prize?"

    Randy

      ----- Original Message -----

      From: Dick Fischer

      To: ASA

      Sent: Sunday, May 04, 2008 9:27 PM

      Subject: RE: [asa] QED

      Hi Randy, you wrote:

>> A well known topic touched on in the play was the reflection/transmission of photons and how when 100 photons strike a pane of glass, 96 will be transmitted and 4 will be reflected--how does a photon know whether to transmit or to reflect?<<

      To say that a pane of glass reflects 4% of the light striking it is one thing. To say that if you fire exactly 100 photons at a pane of glass precisely 4 will bounce back every time is quite another. My uneducated guess is that the first case is closer to the truth. If I'm right can I have a Nobel prize too?

      Dick Fischer, author, lecturer

      Historical Genesis from Adam to Abraham

      www.historicalgenesis.com

      -----Original Message-----
      From: asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu [mailto:asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu] On Behalf Of Randy Isaac
      Sent: Sunday, May 04, 2008 2:57 PM
      To: asa@calvin.edu
      Subject: [asa] QED

      This weekend we were able to attend a production of Peter Parnell's play QED on the life of Richard Feynman. We had seen this play previously when it was first produced on Broadway when Feynman was played by Alan Alda. Keith Jochim played Feynman this time and did almost as well.

      One brief segment of the play struck me as odd. The script had Feynman exchanging a conversation with a colleague concerning a simulation of the role of sexual selection in evolution they were doing jointly. Feynman's comment was that the simulation showed a remarkable modulation of rate of development that seemed to be similar to punctuated equilibrium. The topic then changed abruptly, never to be addressed again. I don't recall ever reading about anything Feynman published in this area. Do any of you know about such a topic in Feynman's work?

      A well known topic touched on in the play was the reflection/transmission of photons and how when 100 photons strike a pane of glass, 96 will be transmitted and 4 will be reflected--how does a photon know whether to transmit or to reflect? In the discussion following the play, led by Nobel prize winner Jerome Friedman, someone asked him if we didn't have the answer by now. Friedman semurred, saying no one knows.

      This production was only in the preview phase now but will be live in July and August in Boston for any of you that are in this area then. Well worth seeing.

      Randy

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Received on Mon May 5 14:26:11 2008