Larry’s Comments (group member since Nov 23, 2020)

Larry’s comments from the Nonfiction Reading - Only the Best group.

Element creation is pretty fascinating. Most natural gold (all the gold on Earth) is thought to come from collisions between two neutron stars, but there is this: “The first synthesis of gold was conducted by Japanese physicist Hantaro Nagaoka, who synthesized gold from mercury in 1924 by neutron bombardment. An American team, working without knowledge of Nagaoka's prior study, conducted the same experiment in 1941, achieving the same result and showing that the isotopes of gold produced by it were all radioactive. In 1980, Glenn Seaborg transmuted several thousand atoms of bismuth into gold at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. Gold can be manufactured in a nuclear reactor, but doing so is highly impractical and would cost far more than the value of the gold that is produced.”

Anisha Inkspill wrote: "Chapter 1: as an atheist I agree with Hawking’s sentiment of the existence of god. However, Larry it’s interesting that you say this cannot be explained scientifically. I am left to wonder what are the views of scientists, who are also religious? It’s funny, before the last few years, I always had this impression that science and religion were completely separate..."

Not all scientists believe that the existence of God is not subject to scientific investigation. Paul Dirac, a physicist who some believe was the equal of Einstein, believed that his work proved the existence of God. Well worth reading this IAS piece on Dirac: https://www.ias.edu/ideas/2008/farmel...

Likewise Kurt Gödel believed that he had logically demonstrated the existence of God. While Gödel may have been unequaled as a mathematician, many others believe that his proof relied on unjustified assumptions. See this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%B6...

Anisha Inkspill wrote: "Larry wrote: " ... I can also recommend the many books written by John Gribbin. In one of his recent books ( Before the Big Bang ), he suggest that we may actually be able to infer what was going o...I've not heard of John Gribbin, but the title is a question I have wondered about, and in my newbie way to think of the sun being any generation is a bit mind-boggling"

The matter of what generation our star is gets down to what elements were available to it in its formation. All the first generation stars had only hydrogen, helium, and a small amount of lithium when they were formed. Those stars created elements up to iron in the process of fusion and then eventually went nova or in a few cases supernova ... and that that created more elements. Depending on the kind of nova (that's mainly a mater of how large the original star was), certain certain and isotopes were created. Interestingly, two isotopes of titanium are created by two different kinds of novas. We find both isotopes on Earth, so we know that these came from the two nova events. (I wear a titanium wedding ring and like to think about how it came from two earlier stars,)The second generation stars (and the planets in their solar systems) didn't have as many heavier elements as the third generation stars.

There is a good review article of element creation here: Wallerstein et al. "Synthesis of the elements in stars: forty years of progress" in Reviews of Modern Physics, Vol. 69, No. 4, October 1997.

And a good book can explain it all in much greater detail: The Evolution of Matter: From the Big Bang to the Present Day. From the GoodReads review:

"The Evolution of Matter explains how all matter in the Universe developed following the Big Bang and through subsequent stellar processes. It describes the evolution of interstellar matter and its differentiation during the accretion of the planets and the history of the Earth. Unlike many books on geochemistry, this volume follows the chemical history of matter from the very beginning to the present, demonstrating connections in space and time. It provides also solid links from cosmochemistry to the geochemistry of Earth. The book presents comprehensive descriptions of the various isotope systematics and fractionation processes occurring naturally in the Universe, using simple equations and helpful tables of data. "

John, that is fascinating information about left-handed golfers.

Carol wrote: "Historically it has been difficult for left handed people so it is good that times have definitely changed. My son is left handed as was his grandfather who was forced to use his right hand at scho..."


Carol,

My son is also left handed as are many of his cousins and the grandchildren in our family. I am glad that teachers and schools have become much more enlightened about left-handedness.

Anisha Inkspill wrote: "Cynda wrote: "Anisha Inkspill... For me, God exists outside of Time and Space, so the physics just become the framework God operates in for His Creation."

This is an interesting way of looking at ...
a few years back I tried

Seven Brief Lessons on Physics,
The Origin of the Universe

I grasped little of both and is on my pile of books to return to."


Anisha, those are billiant books. I've read Barrow's books for years and have just recently read that book by Rovelli. I can also recommend the many books written by John Gribbin. In one of his recent books ( Before the Big Bang ), he suggest that we may actually be able to infer what was going on to lead to the Big Bang. I think that Hawking would have differed with this, but Gribbin is a reputable physicist.

I once had an email exchange with Gribbin, in which I asked him whether our sun is a second or third generation star. HIs simple answer is that it is not clear, but that it is probably a third generation star ... based on the elements in the stellar interior.

Cynda wrote: "Anisha Inkspill, I think I will have to have opportunity to write something quick-quick about each chapter. Nothing in depth, just some quick thoughts.

Chapter: Is There a God.
Is There a God.
This explanation of negative energy is clear and concise. Perhaps I am just ready to hear the answer, but I am glad I can understand the concept of negative energy.

Maybe of I were to reread Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson I would not struggle as much and enjoy more...."

One surprise to me is that supposedly the total positive energy for the whole universe is balanced by the total negative energy. He covers so much territory in this chapter and in the next one. What I like is that he doesn't start with Galileo and Newton. So many popular physics books do that.

As for the existence of God, I think that Hawking is quite reasonable in what he says. I am a Christian, but I don't believe that the existence of God can be proven through scientific evidence.

Cynda wrote: "What a supportive law firm the son worked for.

I starting with the chapters tonight."

The law firm also remodeled their son's home so that he could work there for the remained of his life. Our friends had only good things to say about their son's employer.

Last night, my wife and I had dinner with another couple.Near the end of dinner, they mentioned one of their two sons who had died of ALS, the same disease that slowly killed Stephen Hawking. After awhile, I mentioned that I was reading Brief Answers to the Big Questions and that the first part of the book dealt with Hawking's life. Both of the other couple had read the book! We didn't get into the physics at all. They told us a bit about their son's life after he had been diagnosed with ALS and how his son's law firm had paid for a computer assisted speech device like Hawking used so that he could work up until almost the day that he died.

Aril, and I’m still thinking about you and your r3cent loss. Hope your visit by other family members went well. I bet it did.

Ron, it is so hard to be sick yourself or even just be recovering from having been sick and to then take care of those around you. You’re a good person. Take care.

John, I will miss David Johansen's MANSION OF FUN show immensely in the coming days ... It was such an incredible songfest of music, from blues and jazz and pop and rock to African music, all sorts of Latin American and Brazilian music, but even the Great American Songbook and opera … I am sorry for the passing of the man and for the closing of new episodes of his show on Sirius XM.

One thing I did several years ago ... before I dropped Spotify was to find a Mansion of Fun playlist with about 5,000 songs that had been played on the show. Before I dropped Spotify, I exported that playlist to Apple Music. So glad to be able to listen to these songs that capture the wide-ranging tastes of Johansen!

John, to wake up every morning to something different is a blessing itself … until one day, it isn’t. We have had a different few days ourselves. A college friend of my wife is up from Charlotte … along with her dog. Each day since she got here has been different … in good ways. She’s leaving for her trip back home right now.

John, I see you’re reading Dan Jones’ book on the Plantagenets. I just finished his two novels, ESSEX DOGS and THE WOLVES OF WINTER. Both have the same characters in them, but by the time you reach the end of the second, many are dead. The first book deals with the Battle of Crecy and the second with Siege of Calais. The first captures the confusion and pandemonium of a Medieval battle and the second the privation and starvation of a city under siege for months. They bring the historical accuracy that you would expect from a historian to these events.

John, I purchased American Ramble Few months ago when it was on sale. Your words make me want to move it up on my TBR list.

Thanks, John. I love these kind of histories.

Why read Elusive: How Peter Higgs Solved the Mystery of Mass?

GoodReads suggest this: "The first major biography of Peter Higgs, revealing how a short burst of work changed modern physics

On July 4, 2012, the announcement came that one of the longest-running mysteries in physics had been solved: the Higgs boson, the missing piece in understanding why particles have mass, had finally been discovered. On the rostrum, surrounded by jostling physicists and media, was the particle’s retiring namesake—the only person in history to have an existing single particle named for them. Why Peter Higgs? Drawing on years of conversations with Higgs and others, Close illuminates how an unprolific man became one of the world’s most famous scientists. Close finds that scientific competition between people, institutions, and states played as much of a role in making Higgs famous as Higgs’s work did."

Why read Revolutions: How Women Changed the World on Two Wheels?

GoodReads suggests this: "A history and celebration of women's cycling—beginning with its origins as a political statement, beloved pastime, and early feminist act—that shares the stories of notable cyclists and groups around the world

More than a century after they first entered the mainstream, bicycles and the culture around them are as accessible as ever—but for women, that progress has always been a struggle to achieve, and even now the culture remains overwhelmingly male. In Revolutions , author Hannah Ross highlights the stories of extraordinary women cyclists and all-female cycling groups over time and around the world, and demonstrates both the feminist power of cycling and its present-day issues.
"

Having loved ones, especially family, around you during these hard times is so good.

Carol, hard news. I am so sorry.