Jared called me the other day and told me about a website that lists "Chuck Norris Facts". It is www.chucknorrisfacts.com I have only listed some of them. Some are stupid, but some made me laugh so hard I cried. If you have ever seen a Chuck Norris movie, you will know these facts to be true. They actually weren't true. But became true when gave me a roundhouse kick to the face.
Guns don't kill people. Chuck Norris kills people.
Crop circles are Church Norris’ way of telling the world that sometimes corn just needs to lie the heck down.
There is no chin behind Chuck Norris’ beard. There is only another fist.
Chuck Norris’ tears cure cancer. Too bad he has never cried. Ever.
Chuck Norris is currently suing NBC, claiming Law and Order are trademarked names for his left and right legs.
The chief export of Chuck Norris is pain.
Chuck Norris has counted to infinity. Twice.
Chuck Norris does not hunt because the word hunting implies
the probability of failure. Chuck Norris goes killing.
Chuck Norris is 1/8th Cherokee. This has nothing to do with ancestry, the man ate a freakin’ Indian.
Chuck Norris drives an ice cream truck covered in human skulls.
The quickest way to a man's heart is with Chuck Norris' fist.
Chuck Norris can win a game of Connect Four in only three moves.
There is no theory of evolution, just a list of creatures Chuck Norris allows to live.
Chuck Norris is the only man to ever defeat a brick wall in a game of tennis.
A Handicapped parking sign does not signify that this spot is for handicapped people. It is actually in fact a warning, that the spot belongs to Chuck Norris and that you will be handicapped if you park there.
If you spell Chuck Norris in Scrabble, you win. Forever.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool Chuck Norris once and he will mess you up.
The opening scene of the movie "Saving Private Ryan" is loosely based on games of dodgeball Chuck Norris played in second grade.
Chuck Norris once shot down a German fighter plane with his finger, by yelling, "Bang!"
Chuck Norris has two speeds: Walk and Kill.
Someone once tried to tell Chuck Norris that roundhouse kicks aren't the best way to kick someone. This has been recorded by historians as the worst mistake anyone has ever made.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is based on a true story: Chuck Norris once swallowed a turtle whole, and when he crapped it out, the turtle was six feet tall and had learned karate.
Faster than a speeding bullet ... more powerful than a locomotive ... able to leap tall buildings in a single bound... yes, these are some of Chuck Norris's warm-up exercises.
Time waits for no man. Unless that man is Chuck Norris.
In an average living room there are 1,242 objects Chuck Norris could use to kill you, including the room itself.
There are no steroids in baseball. Just players Chuck Norris has breathed on.
A Chuck Norris-delivered Roundhouse Kick is the preferred method of execution in 16 states.
When Chuck Norris falls in water, Chuck Norris doesn't get wet. Water gets Chuck Norris.
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could Chuck Norris? ...All of it.
When an episode of Walker Texas Ranger was aired in France, the French surrendered to Chuck Norris just to be on the safe side.
While urinating, Chuck Norris is easily capable of welding titanium.
Chuck Norris doesnt shave; he kicks himself in the face. The only thing that can cut Chuck Norris is Chuck Norris.
Chuck Norris invented black. In fact, he invented the entire spectrum of visible light. Except pink. Tom Cruise invented pink.
On his birthday, Chuck Norris randomly selects one lucky child to be thrown into the sun.
Chuck Norris ordered a Big Mac at Burger King, and got one.
Chuck Norris and Mr. T walked into a bar. The bar was instantly destroyed, as that level of awesome cannot be contained in one building.
Little known medical fact: Chuck Norris invented the Caesarean section when he roundhouse-kicked his way out of his monther's womb.
There are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Chuck Norris lives in Oklahoma.
Chuck Norris doesn't believe in Germany.
Chuck Norris once ate an entire bottle of sleeping pills. They made him blink.
Chuck Norris can touch MC Hammer.
Chuck Norris played Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun and won.
It takes 14 puppeteers to make Chuck Norris smile, but only 2 to make him destroy an orphanage.
Some people wear Superman pajamas. Superman wears Chuck Norris pajamas.
Monday, January 30, 2006
Kidz Life
I just felt like posting something new, so I'd thought I'd mention how happy I am that the Sunday night program at church (for kids) is going so well.
We have a program called "Kidz L.I.F.E" (LIFE stands for "Living Intentionally For Eternity") And it is basically Awanas. But without the AWANA name brand stuff. Kids have a special t-shirt, a sash that badges go on after they complete levels of their book. Levels are about different things, like level 1 is about the Bible and they have to memorize verses and answer questions about the topic. They have game time, club time, and memory verse time. The kids are having a blast, learning tons of verses, and it is growing so fast we have run out of materials. It's so neat to hear a little kid be able to say ALL of the books of the Bible.
I am ADD and I am watching tv while I type this and tv is winning....goodbye.
We have a program called "Kidz L.I.F.E" (LIFE stands for "Living Intentionally For Eternity") And it is basically Awanas. But without the AWANA name brand stuff. Kids have a special t-shirt, a sash that badges go on after they complete levels of their book. Levels are about different things, like level 1 is about the Bible and they have to memorize verses and answer questions about the topic. They have game time, club time, and memory verse time. The kids are having a blast, learning tons of verses, and it is growing so fast we have run out of materials. It's so neat to hear a little kid be able to say ALL of the books of the Bible.
I am ADD and I am watching tv while I type this and tv is winning....goodbye.
Friday, January 27, 2006
Update on Micah
I decided to post this on my blog, because I really don’t feel like talking on the phone today. If someone wants to call tomorrow, that’ll be fine. I just don’t feel up to talking on the phone tonight (Friday).
These will be just basic details, because the extensive details are so numerous, even I have a hard time keeping up with them. Tori took Micah to the doctor today. The doctor diagnosed Micah with “mild cerebral palsy”. They took some blood to do tests to see if he also has Muscular Dystrophy. The doctor was not saying that he had Muscular Dystrophy, but that they did need to test for it. We certainly are praying that he does not have that. She actually told us about one of the doctors who had treated Micah before in the hospital; how he had mild cerebral palsy as a child. It does not have to affect the mind; it does however, affect someone physically. She said Micah would probably not be able to be involved in sports. There are different levels of CP and we will have no way of knowing the full outcome until is about 2 years old. Even Muscular Dystrophy has different “levels” and cannot fully be ruled out until he is a little older. So we ask for everyone's prayers, that if God is willing he not have Muscular Dystrophy, and will be as healthy and normal as possible.
Needless to say, this has been an emotionally draining day.
There has been other times in life, when God has shown me two possible paths life could take; one being deliverance, the other being suffering. I told God then, before finding out which path I would be taken down, that I would praise His name, and serve Him regardless of His decision. Every other time, I have landed on the trail of deliverance. He, in His omnipotent wisdom, has chosen the other path. And I say, with steadfast resolve, “Great is the LORD, and worthy to be praised!”
Micah’s path has become partly revealed. And although it is not the path we would have chosen, I know that God’s grace is sufficient, and His power is made perfect in our weakness. It reminds me of a woman named Annie Flint. She wrote this poem after having been riddled with arthritis, lying on pillows, joints swollen, not even able to control her bladder. It was in that state of physical anguish, that she penned these words, that quell my heart now…
He giveth more grace, when the burdens grow greater
He sendeth more strength, when the labors increase
To added affliction, He added His mercy
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace
When we have exhausted our store of endurance
When our strength has failed and the day is half done
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s forgiving has only begun
His love has no limit
His grace has no measure
His power has no boundaries
Known unto man
For all of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth and giveth and giveth again
These will be just basic details, because the extensive details are so numerous, even I have a hard time keeping up with them. Tori took Micah to the doctor today. The doctor diagnosed Micah with “mild cerebral palsy”. They took some blood to do tests to see if he also has Muscular Dystrophy. The doctor was not saying that he had Muscular Dystrophy, but that they did need to test for it. We certainly are praying that he does not have that. She actually told us about one of the doctors who had treated Micah before in the hospital; how he had mild cerebral palsy as a child. It does not have to affect the mind; it does however, affect someone physically. She said Micah would probably not be able to be involved in sports. There are different levels of CP and we will have no way of knowing the full outcome until is about 2 years old. Even Muscular Dystrophy has different “levels” and cannot fully be ruled out until he is a little older. So we ask for everyone's prayers, that if God is willing he not have Muscular Dystrophy, and will be as healthy and normal as possible.
Needless to say, this has been an emotionally draining day.
There has been other times in life, when God has shown me two possible paths life could take; one being deliverance, the other being suffering. I told God then, before finding out which path I would be taken down, that I would praise His name, and serve Him regardless of His decision. Every other time, I have landed on the trail of deliverance. He, in His omnipotent wisdom, has chosen the other path. And I say, with steadfast resolve, “Great is the LORD, and worthy to be praised!”
Micah’s path has become partly revealed. And although it is not the path we would have chosen, I know that God’s grace is sufficient, and His power is made perfect in our weakness. It reminds me of a woman named Annie Flint. She wrote this poem after having been riddled with arthritis, lying on pillows, joints swollen, not even able to control her bladder. It was in that state of physical anguish, that she penned these words, that quell my heart now…
He sendeth more strength, when the labors increase
To added affliction, He added His mercy
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace
When we have exhausted our store of endurance
When our strength has failed and the day is half done
When we reach the end of our hoarded resources
Our Father’s forgiving has only begun
His love has no limit
His grace has no measure
His power has no boundaries
Known unto man
For all of His infinite riches in Jesus
He giveth and giveth and giveth again
Thursday, January 26, 2006
uh oh
Today, at dinner, we introduced Micah to the butter and jelly biscuit....
I am afraid we have awaken a sleeping giant.
The moment the butter/jelly/biscuit combination hit his tongue, ...he stopped.
His eyes suddenly became wide open,
and he stared into my eyes.
And almost in an audible thought, he said,
"....What....the ....CRAP ...have you been feeding me?!!"
I am afraid we have awaken a sleeping giant.
The moment the butter/jelly/biscuit combination hit his tongue, ...he stopped.
His eyes suddenly became wide open,
and he stared into my eyes.
And almost in an audible thought, he said,
"....What....the ....CRAP ...have you been feeding me?!!"
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Micah is made of spam?
I was trying to post pictures to Micah's blog, and I got a message saying that Blogger thought his blog might be a "spam blog". I had to fill out a form and send it in to be verified by a real person. Then finally I got this email:
Hello,
Your blog has been reviewed, verified, and whitelisted so that it will
no longer appear as potential spam. If you sign out of Blogger and sign
back in again, you should be able to post as normal. Thanks for your
patience, and we apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.
Sincerely,
Blogger Support
Hello,
Your blog has been reviewed, verified, and whitelisted so that it will
no longer appear as potential spam. If you sign out of Blogger and sign
back in again, you should be able to post as normal. Thanks for your
patience, and we apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.
Sincerely,
Blogger Support
Call of Duty 2 bug
David, I encountered this bug. So if this happens to you, here's how to deal with it...
_________________
Call of Duty 2, the Xbox 360's highest selling game, has a bug that could render your saved games corrupted and unplayable. For a gamer who has just slogged his way through 10 hours of WWII battlefields, this is a big problem. IGN contacted Activision and luckily, there is a solution: cheat.
From the Mission Selection screen, hit "Select and HOLD both shoulder buttons and simultaneously hit D-pad left, left, right, right, Button Y, Y." This will allow you to select any level. There is another solution involving loading your profile before starting the game, although IGN found this method sketchy. Activision is working on a permanent fix.
_________________
Call of Duty 2, the Xbox 360's highest selling game, has a bug that could render your saved games corrupted and unplayable. For a gamer who has just slogged his way through 10 hours of WWII battlefields, this is a big problem. IGN contacted Activision and luckily, there is a solution: cheat.
From the Mission Selection screen, hit "Select and HOLD both shoulder buttons and simultaneously hit D-pad left, left, right, right, Button Y, Y." This will allow you to select any level. There is another solution involving loading your profile before starting the game, although IGN found this method sketchy. Activision is working on a permanent fix.
John Travolta Jr.
Micah has started "dancing". You know, the bobbing up and down when he hears music. Biggest of all, "The Wheels on the Bus". He does some big bobbin' for that one.
Monday, January 23, 2006
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Saturday, January 21, 2006
What I woke up with on my heart and mind this morning
If you sow sparingly, you will reap sparingly. If you sow generously, you will reap generously. I am sick of sowing sparingly. I want to sow generously, because, I want to reap generously.
You ever feel that way? Do you ever say to yourself, "How rarely it is that I actually engage somebody with the gospel"? I have seen the generous return, and I want to recommit myself to sowing generously.
Those who would accept are worth the rejection of those who will not.
You ever feel that way? Do you ever say to yourself, "How rarely it is that I actually engage somebody with the gospel"? I have seen the generous return, and I want to recommit myself to sowing generously.
Those who would accept are worth the rejection of those who will not.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
6th Graders
(Upon learning that the Earth's core is made primarily of iron and nickel.)
"Roger": How do we know that the center of the Earth isn't just a giant nickel spinning around?!
"Bob": Because the Earth doesn't know who Thomas Jefferson is!
"Roger": Yeah huh, he was buried in it!
"Roger": How do we know that the center of the Earth isn't just a giant nickel spinning around?!
"Bob": Because the Earth doesn't know who Thomas Jefferson is!
"Roger": Yeah huh, he was buried in it!
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Development of new Micah Fu techniques
Previously I was the victim of the gotee grab while striking of the face.
Now Micah has a new learned stance; called "Way of the Distracted Mongoose".
With this method he deceives you, because usually he looks you in the eyes, and then strikes. Now, he looks you in the eyes -- catches your gaze -- and then looks to the side. As soon as the victim lets down his guard, knowing that the attacker is distracted... -- while STILL LOOKING at the decoy, he strikes with a fatal blow to the eyeball with a slobbery palm strike.
Now Micah has a new learned stance; called "Way of the Distracted Mongoose".
With this method he deceives you, because usually he looks you in the eyes, and then strikes. Now, he looks you in the eyes -- catches your gaze -- and then looks to the side. As soon as the victim lets down his guard, knowing that the attacker is distracted... -- while STILL LOOKING at the decoy, he strikes with a fatal blow to the eyeball with a slobbery palm strike.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Don't you hate it when...
...you're walking across a grocery store parking-lot, unknowingly talking to yourself, and you look up and someone's staring at you
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Friday, January 13, 2006
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Children of the Eighties
I found this and thought it was amusing...
___________________________________________
We are the ones who played with Lego Building Blocks when they were just building blocks and gave Malibu Barbie crewcuts with safety scissors that never really cut.We collected Garbage Pail Kids and Cabbage Patch Kids and My LittlePonies and Hot Wheels and He-Man action figures and thought She-Ra looked just a little bit like I would when I was a woman.
Big Wheels and bicycles with streamers were the way to go, and sidewalk chalk was all you needed to build a city. Imagination was the key. It made the Ewok Treehouse big enough for you to be Luke and the kitchen table and an old sheet dark enough to be a tent in the forest. Your world was the backyard and it was all you needed. With your pink portable tape player, Debbie Gibson sang back up to you and everyone wanted a skirt like the Material Girl and a glove like Michael Jackson's.
Today, we are the ones who sing along with Bruce Stringsteen and The Bangles perfectly and have no idea why. We recite lines with the Ghostbusters and still look to The Goonies for a great adventure. We flip through T.V. stations and stop at The A Team and Knight Rider and Fame and laugh with The Cosby Show and Family Ties and Punky Brewster and what you talkin' 'bout Willis? We hold strong affections for The Muppets and The Gummy Bears and why did they take the Snorks off the air? After school specials were only about cigarettes and step-families, the Polka Dot Door was nothing like Barney, and aren't the Power Rangers just Voltron reincarnated?
We are the ones who still read Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, the Bobsey Twins, Beverly Clearly and Judy Blume, Richard Scary and the Electric Company. Friendship bracelets were ties you couldn't break and friendship pins went on shoes - preferably hightop Velcro Reeboks - and pegged jeans were in, as were Units belts and layered socks and jean jackets and jams and charm necklaces and side pony tails and just tails. Rave was a girl's best friend; braces with colored rubberbands made you cool.
The backdoor was always open and Mom served only red Kool-Aid to the neighborhood kids- never drank New Coke. Entertainment was cheap and lasted for hours. All you needed to be a princess was high heels and an apron; the Sit'n'Spin always made you dizzy but never made you stop; Pogoballs were dangerous weapons and Chinese Jump Ropes never failed to trip someone. In your Underoos you were Wonder Woman or Spider Man or R2D2 and in your treehouse you were king.
___________________________________________
We are the ones who played with Lego Building Blocks when they were just building blocks and gave Malibu Barbie crewcuts with safety scissors that never really cut.We collected Garbage Pail Kids and Cabbage Patch Kids and My LittlePonies and Hot Wheels and He-Man action figures and thought She-Ra looked just a little bit like I would when I was a woman.
Big Wheels and bicycles with streamers were the way to go, and sidewalk chalk was all you needed to build a city. Imagination was the key. It made the Ewok Treehouse big enough for you to be Luke and the kitchen table and an old sheet dark enough to be a tent in the forest. Your world was the backyard and it was all you needed. With your pink portable tape player, Debbie Gibson sang back up to you and everyone wanted a skirt like the Material Girl and a glove like Michael Jackson's.
Today, we are the ones who sing along with Bruce Stringsteen and The Bangles perfectly and have no idea why. We recite lines with the Ghostbusters and still look to The Goonies for a great adventure. We flip through T.V. stations and stop at The A Team and Knight Rider and Fame and laugh with The Cosby Show and Family Ties and Punky Brewster and what you talkin' 'bout Willis? We hold strong affections for The Muppets and The Gummy Bears and why did they take the Snorks off the air? After school specials were only about cigarettes and step-families, the Polka Dot Door was nothing like Barney, and aren't the Power Rangers just Voltron reincarnated?
We are the ones who still read Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, the Bobsey Twins, Beverly Clearly and Judy Blume, Richard Scary and the Electric Company. Friendship bracelets were ties you couldn't break and friendship pins went on shoes - preferably hightop Velcro Reeboks - and pegged jeans were in, as were Units belts and layered socks and jean jackets and jams and charm necklaces and side pony tails and just tails. Rave was a girl's best friend; braces with colored rubberbands made you cool.
The backdoor was always open and Mom served only red Kool-Aid to the neighborhood kids- never drank New Coke. Entertainment was cheap and lasted for hours. All you needed to be a princess was high heels and an apron; the Sit'n'Spin always made you dizzy but never made you stop; Pogoballs were dangerous weapons and Chinese Jump Ropes never failed to trip someone. In your Underoos you were Wonder Woman or Spider Man or R2D2 and in your treehouse you were king.
Monday, January 09, 2006
Trapped mouse thown into fire gets revenge
funny...
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/stories/0109mousefire.html
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/stories/0109mousefire.html
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Philip sighting
Its like being on CSI
http://www.ancient-sun.com/forums/printthread.php?t=317&page=5&pp=10
http://www.ancient-sun.com/forums/printthread.php?t=317&page=5&pp=10
Friday, January 06, 2006
Maybe it's the Science teacher in me, but...
...I have a fascination with trying to grasp Einstein's theories of "special" and "general" relativity. I just think their so neat. Even though I had heard of them before it wasn't until one day several years ago that I took my class to the library because the librarian (or Media Specialist as they are called now) was going to do a lesson with them, that I found myself with some extra time. So I found a book about his theories. I had heard of them, but didn't really know what they meant. So I went through that whole book. I couldn't put it down. It was so interesting.
So anyway, I actually got to read some of his original paper published in 1920. Its too much for me to understand the details, but I get the overall ideas. Here is a good simple summary. There is a fun question thing at the end.
This very well may be one of those posts that no one reads. But it had been awhile since I posted and this is what I was thinking about today, so here it is anyway.
____________________
Brilliantly simple
Einstein's theory put world in a different light
Richard Halicks - Staff
Sunday, September 25, 2005
One hundred years ago on Tuesday, a 26-year-old patent clerk in Switzerland published a short paper in Annalen der Physik. In it, Albert Einstein introduced what would become the most famous equation in history. His breakthrough on "special relativity" does not explain why your relatives' three-day visit turns into three months. The theory, after all, has its limitations. Among them is that, 100 years later, most of us don't understand it. So read on, and see whether this helps.
Einstein saw the light.
And the light changed everything.
One of the things Einstein postulated is that light travels at the same speed for any observer, regardless of how fast or slow that observer may be moving.
This seems to contradict what we see around us. Speed depends on your frame of reference. If you're standing alongside the road and I drive past at 70 mph, then in your frame of reference I'm going 70. But inside my car, my steering wheel does not appear to me to be going 70 mph. It appears not to be moving at all because it is traveling the same speed and in the same direction that I am. Likewise, if another car passes me going 75, then in my frame of reference it's going 5 mph.
Light doesn't work that way. The observer's frame of reference does not affect it. Nor does the speed of the light's source. For example, light coming from a starship traveling at 100,000 mph will move at the same speed as if the starship were hanging motionless in space.
Einstein also showed that the speed of light, about 186,000 miles per second, is the universe's speed limit. An object may approach that speed, but nothing may exceed that speed.
These deductions had an interesting impact on our concept of time. In a sense, Einstein stopped the clock, or at least slowed it down. Galileo, Isaac Newton and others suspected that there was a universal clock ou there somewhere, keeping perfect time, precisely measuring all of our moments. But Einstein showed that time is not absolute at all, that it moves more slowly as velocity increases.
David Finkelstein, emeritus professor of physics at Georgia Tech, explains it this way. Say you and I synchronize our clocks. Then you take a fast plane around the world, and I stay put. "Of course our clocks will still agree the next time we meet," Finkelstein says. "Time is time. It waits for no man."
Then he takes it all back. "But it turns out that it waits a little bit! Experimentally, this has been shown. If you carry a sufficiently precise clock around the world in a commercial airliner, you'll see it differs from a clock left at home by some fraction of a microsecond. So you don't see it ordinarily, but if you look hard you can see it."
That's another thing about Einstein's theory. You don't start to notice special relativity until things are moving really fast. It isn't something we see in our slow everyday lives.
Einstein, of course, did not seem to dwell in the same world as most of us but in that realm of vast distances and great speeds that we can scarecely comprehend. And because of him, we see our world differently.
Note: Special relativity is not to be confused with Einstein's theory of general relativity, which came years later and is said to be his greatest accomplishment. But that's another anniversary at another point in space and time.
Test your knowledge of relativity
1. Relative to the Earth, you are standing still. Relative to the sun, you are traveling 67,000 miles per hour, which is the speed at which Earth travels around the sun. So motion depends on your frame of reference. In one frame of reference --- Earth's --- you are stationary; in another --- the sun's --- you are moving at high speed.
. . True . . . False
---
2. The speed of light is the same for every observer everywhere, regardless of his or her frame of reference.
. . True . . . False
---
3. If you are riding a bicycle with a headlight at night, the speed of light coming from your headlight increases with the speed of the bicycle.
. . True . . . False
---
4. Einstein's remark that "imagination is more important than knowledge" is an accurate statement.
. . True . . . False
---
5. Nothing in the universe can travel faster than the speed of light.
. . True . . . False
---
6. Bill and John are 20 years old. Bill watches John leave Earth in a rocket traveling near the speed of light. On Earth 20 years later Bill sees John's rocket return. Bill is now 40. But John is still 20. This is possible, provided John's spaceship travels at a high enough speed.
. . True . . . False
---
7. If the speed of light is constant, then the flow of time is also constant. That is, the passage of time is absolute and unchanging regardless of motion.
. . True . . . False
---
8. One net effect of E=mc2 is this: a very small amount of mass can produce an enormous amount of energy.
. . True . . . False
---
9. Mass and energy are different quantities in physics.
. . True . . . False
---
10. In 1895, Einstein failed the liberal arts section of an entrance exam at a school in Zurich, Switzerland.
. . True . . . False
---
ANSWERS AND SCORING
1. True: in spite of your suspicions, this is not a trick question.
2. True: This is a trick question. It was also one of Einstein's great breakthroughs.
3. False: You weren't paying attention on No. 2!
4. True, especially if you are Einstein or the secretary of defense.
5. True: An object gains mass as it gains velocity. The greater its mass, the more energy required to make it go still faster. So an infinite amount of energy would be required to make the object go as fast as light.
6. True: see No. 7
7. False: If the speed of light never changes, then something else has to. That something else is time. Isaac Newton believed there was a great universal clock somewhere that always kept perfect time. But Einstein showed that Newton was mistaken. Time is relative to motion. That is why time passes more slowly for an object that is gaining in velocity. For example, scientists once set two very precise timepieces to exactly the same time. Then they flew one around the world on a plane, while the other stayed in the same place on the ground. When the plane finished its revolution of the earth, less time had passed on the airborne clock than had passed on the stationary one. And that's why, in question No. 6, John is so much younger than Bill. Twenty years passed for Bill on Earth, but on that speeding space ship, just a few moments passed for John. Stephen Hawking once wrote in Time magazine that you could add time to your life by continually flying east in an airliner. "But," he said, "the tiny fraction of a second you gained would be more than offset by airline food."
8. True: This consequence of E=mc2 accounts for why nuclear weapons are so destructive. When the nucleus of an atom is split into two pieces with slightly less mass than the whole, a tremendous amount of energy is unleashed.
9. False: E=mc2 showed that mass and energy are equivalent. "It followed from the special theory of relativity that mass and energy are but different manifestations of the same thing," said Einstein, "a somewhat unfamiliar conception for the average mind. "
10. True: Nobody's perfect.
---
SCORING
Ten right: 100 percent! You're relatively brilliant.
Eight or nine right: You're way smarter than you've been letting on.
Six or seven right: Are you in your third or fourth year at Georgia Tech?
Four or five right: You may qualify for the HOPE scholarship.
Three right: You have the hair of Einstein, but not the brain.
Two right: Relative to you, everything's moving really fast.
One or none right: You could run FEMA.
---
Sources: American Museum of Natural History Museum, "Nova," BBC, Manhattan Project Heritage Preservation Association, Time magazine
Find this article at:
http://www.ajc.com/sunday/content/epaper/editions/sunday/issue_3463337f90c8e1df0060.html
So anyway, I actually got to read some of his original paper published in 1920. Its too much for me to understand the details, but I get the overall ideas. Here is a good simple summary. There is a fun question thing at the end.
This very well may be one of those posts that no one reads. But it had been awhile since I posted and this is what I was thinking about today, so here it is anyway.
____________________
Brilliantly simple
Einstein's theory put world in a different light
Richard Halicks - Staff
Sunday, September 25, 2005
One hundred years ago on Tuesday, a 26-year-old patent clerk in Switzerland published a short paper in Annalen der Physik. In it, Albert Einstein introduced what would become the most famous equation in history. His breakthrough on "special relativity" does not explain why your relatives' three-day visit turns into three months. The theory, after all, has its limitations. Among them is that, 100 years later, most of us don't understand it. So read on, and see whether this helps.
Einstein saw the light.
And the light changed everything.
One of the things Einstein postulated is that light travels at the same speed for any observer, regardless of how fast or slow that observer may be moving.
This seems to contradict what we see around us. Speed depends on your frame of reference. If you're standing alongside the road and I drive past at 70 mph, then in your frame of reference I'm going 70. But inside my car, my steering wheel does not appear to me to be going 70 mph. It appears not to be moving at all because it is traveling the same speed and in the same direction that I am. Likewise, if another car passes me going 75, then in my frame of reference it's going 5 mph.
Light doesn't work that way. The observer's frame of reference does not affect it. Nor does the speed of the light's source. For example, light coming from a starship traveling at 100,000 mph will move at the same speed as if the starship were hanging motionless in space.
Einstein also showed that the speed of light, about 186,000 miles per second, is the universe's speed limit. An object may approach that speed, but nothing may exceed that speed.
These deductions had an interesting impact on our concept of time. In a sense, Einstein stopped the clock, or at least slowed it down. Galileo, Isaac Newton and others suspected that there was a universal clock ou there somewhere, keeping perfect time, precisely measuring all of our moments. But Einstein showed that time is not absolute at all, that it moves more slowly as velocity increases.
David Finkelstein, emeritus professor of physics at Georgia Tech, explains it this way. Say you and I synchronize our clocks. Then you take a fast plane around the world, and I stay put. "Of course our clocks will still agree the next time we meet," Finkelstein says. "Time is time. It waits for no man."
Then he takes it all back. "But it turns out that it waits a little bit! Experimentally, this has been shown. If you carry a sufficiently precise clock around the world in a commercial airliner, you'll see it differs from a clock left at home by some fraction of a microsecond. So you don't see it ordinarily, but if you look hard you can see it."
That's another thing about Einstein's theory. You don't start to notice special relativity until things are moving really fast. It isn't something we see in our slow everyday lives.
Einstein, of course, did not seem to dwell in the same world as most of us but in that realm of vast distances and great speeds that we can scarecely comprehend. And because of him, we see our world differently.
Note: Special relativity is not to be confused with Einstein's theory of general relativity, which came years later and is said to be his greatest accomplishment. But that's another anniversary at another point in space and time.
Test your knowledge of relativity
1. Relative to the Earth, you are standing still. Relative to the sun, you are traveling 67,000 miles per hour, which is the speed at which Earth travels around the sun. So motion depends on your frame of reference. In one frame of reference --- Earth's --- you are stationary; in another --- the sun's --- you are moving at high speed.
. . True . . . False
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2. The speed of light is the same for every observer everywhere, regardless of his or her frame of reference.
. . True . . . False
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3. If you are riding a bicycle with a headlight at night, the speed of light coming from your headlight increases with the speed of the bicycle.
. . True . . . False
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4. Einstein's remark that "imagination is more important than knowledge" is an accurate statement.
. . True . . . False
---
5. Nothing in the universe can travel faster than the speed of light.
. . True . . . False
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6. Bill and John are 20 years old. Bill watches John leave Earth in a rocket traveling near the speed of light. On Earth 20 years later Bill sees John's rocket return. Bill is now 40. But John is still 20. This is possible, provided John's spaceship travels at a high enough speed.
. . True . . . False
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7. If the speed of light is constant, then the flow of time is also constant. That is, the passage of time is absolute and unchanging regardless of motion.
. . True . . . False
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8. One net effect of E=mc2 is this: a very small amount of mass can produce an enormous amount of energy.
. . True . . . False
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9. Mass and energy are different quantities in physics.
. . True . . . False
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10. In 1895, Einstein failed the liberal arts section of an entrance exam at a school in Zurich, Switzerland.
. . True . . . False
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ANSWERS AND SCORING
1. True: in spite of your suspicions, this is not a trick question.
2. True: This is a trick question. It was also one of Einstein's great breakthroughs.
3. False: You weren't paying attention on No. 2!
4. True, especially if you are Einstein or the secretary of defense.
5. True: An object gains mass as it gains velocity. The greater its mass, the more energy required to make it go still faster. So an infinite amount of energy would be required to make the object go as fast as light.
6. True: see No. 7
7. False: If the speed of light never changes, then something else has to. That something else is time. Isaac Newton believed there was a great universal clock somewhere that always kept perfect time. But Einstein showed that Newton was mistaken. Time is relative to motion. That is why time passes more slowly for an object that is gaining in velocity. For example, scientists once set two very precise timepieces to exactly the same time. Then they flew one around the world on a plane, while the other stayed in the same place on the ground. When the plane finished its revolution of the earth, less time had passed on the airborne clock than had passed on the stationary one. And that's why, in question No. 6, John is so much younger than Bill. Twenty years passed for Bill on Earth, but on that speeding space ship, just a few moments passed for John. Stephen Hawking once wrote in Time magazine that you could add time to your life by continually flying east in an airliner. "But," he said, "the tiny fraction of a second you gained would be more than offset by airline food."
8. True: This consequence of E=mc2 accounts for why nuclear weapons are so destructive. When the nucleus of an atom is split into two pieces with slightly less mass than the whole, a tremendous amount of energy is unleashed.
9. False: E=mc2 showed that mass and energy are equivalent. "It followed from the special theory of relativity that mass and energy are but different manifestations of the same thing," said Einstein, "a somewhat unfamiliar conception for the average mind. "
10. True: Nobody's perfect.
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SCORING
Ten right: 100 percent! You're relatively brilliant.
Eight or nine right: You're way smarter than you've been letting on.
Six or seven right: Are you in your third or fourth year at Georgia Tech?
Four or five right: You may qualify for the HOPE scholarship.
Three right: You have the hair of Einstein, but not the brain.
Two right: Relative to you, everything's moving really fast.
One or none right: You could run FEMA.
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Sources: American Museum of Natural History Museum, "Nova," BBC, Manhattan Project Heritage Preservation Association, Time magazine
Find this article at:
http://www.ajc.com/sunday/content/epaper/editions/sunday/issue_3463337f90c8e1df0060.html
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