Week 4: e=mc2 and more

Sunbathing can provide a needed boost to Vitamin D levels, is immensely pleasurable, and is courtesy of e=mc2. 

Honestly, before this class, I had not grappled with the immensity of e=mc2. It seems to me that the implications of this principle are revelatory, given that we would (do) live in a universe of matter that is atomically, explosively powerful. It's not how I experience my everyday reality, but hey, maybe discovering a lived reality of e=mc2 is part of the enlightened experience?

The equation has made me consider my perspective on the power of matter. Thankfully, it offers a logical equation for the immense power of the millions of tonnes of hydrogen exploding each second in our Sun, offering us sunlight as a byproduct. The equation bridged the previously disconnected worlds of energy and matter, which spawned a revolution in science that I imagine has affected how I view the world.

The Four Forces & Gravity

Its an interesting point that the modern scientific view of the three fundamental forces (sans gravity) is that "objects do not directly interact with each other but rather generate a field which affects the behavior of distant objects (2)."

The strong nuclear force is a force that acts between the protons and neutrons of atoms (1, strong nuclear force). The weak nuclear force is the mechanism of interaction between subatomic particles that is responsible for the radioactive decay of atoms (1, weak nuclear force). These forces are believed to be "the result of some fundamental symmetries of nature (2)," and seem to me as forces that keep matter in integrity with itself and objects around it. 

The function of gravity is to keep matter in integrity, as far as I can tell. Gravity is most accurately described by the general theory of relativity (proposed by Albert Einstein in 1915) which describes gravity not as a force, but as a consequence of the curvature of spacetime caused by the uneven distribution of mass (1, gravity). It was a fundamental force in the creation of galaxies, planets, and therefore us, as gravity brings things with mass closer together. 

Sources: 

(1) Wikipedia, search terms noted

(2) Class handout,  Four Forces