0/0/2012
Hints of 'good sense' on the scientific-technological progres.
by C. Vitali
Every technological progress has been realized after the scientific knowledge has improved our capacity to emulatethe natural laws thanks to mathematical representations capable to describe the spontaneous processes and reconstruct them within machines adequate to replicate on human request in time, intensity and location at his will and under his control capacity.
The scientific progresses have always improved therefore the symbolic representation of nature by means ofmathematical models of a growing complexity. The natural reality that scientists can observe thanks the use of technological instruments that extend constantly their limited biological senses, has therefore been since ever submitted to representations in conceptual and abstract terms though fit to compare by analogy the hypotheses with experimental evidences apt especially to be submitted to critical checks that could evidence any possible aspect of logical errors and allow their falsification under the logical rebuttals before the mere experimental ones. Such approach has led science on the level to transcend the pure observable reality and its language on the level ofabstract logics peculiar of mathematics in its diverse disciplinary branches. Since natural reality that Man is allowed to observe in his limited perceptual bio-logical view, it has been endowed by our space and time dimensions, our capacity to represent it by means of models of growing sophistication has always had a geometrical dimension and a measurement in terms of abstract calculus algorithms.
Man’s duty has always been to verify the validity of the matching correspondences between the aspects of thegeometrical-mathematical models and the referred phenomenological reality he perceives in grades of growingtranscendence of his bio-logical limits. The effort produced by human creativeness in the growing sophistication of his model of representation of nature, has led Man to distrust his senses and rely better on the capacity of logical transcendence of himself.
Philosophy of science has matured tank to epistemology the tools needed for a solid scientific research and has led to recognize that geometry is just an aspect of topology that permits the representation of space types more complex and rich as compared to that proposed originally by Euclid to represent the world where we live. This allowed science to try adopting types of space likely to result more representative and useful to solve the emerging lacks of logicsevidenced means of paradoxes unexplained by the formerly selected mathematical languages. From Euclid’s flatspace,science tried to propose a better way to represent the Nature reality by means of the Riemann’s curved spaceand by an algebra (allowing to verify scientifically and through practical development of constantly advanced technological applications) that had to adjust the change of geometry. Vector’s algebra was replaced at first by thetensor’s algebra then by quaternion’s algebra, types of more general algebras that would be compatible with the former, less inclusive ones in order to explain their past models within the wider one proposed by the new space geometry.
This good sense led Man to entrust growingly science and technology to the quest of constantly betterfit mathematicallanguages for the scope to transfer the new scientific intuitions into really innovative technologies. This happened through the recent and familiar information revolution. A technology possible for the transfer of phenomena forecasted by quantum physics in applications of solid state physics. Quantum phenomena governing since ever the even most common substance widely employed by Man - the silicon - before Man had ever had the faintest perception of the possible more profitable technological use of that same substance, “silicon” - from knives and axes to micro-circuits. Structures capable of opening fully new frontiers in other technological areas such as communications where the same primeval substance employed - light - supplies today outstanding revolutionary performances to replace the one-time’s light signal towers with multi-medial transmissions in optical fiber of the same substance, the electro-magnetic wave a part of optics as Maxwell thought. Communications where the silicon revolution could supply its benefits thanks to another, fully independent scientific revolution the theory of computing machines a pure mathematical theory developed by Gödel and Türing in the first thirties of ‘900 and with the theory of Informationdeveloped by Shannon. A theory aimed to measure the essential information content carried by any abstract concepts’cluster. They simplified the transfer of those algebraic theories from their early domain of the abstract concepts to the equally mathematical ones employed to represent the natural reality through the analogy of models. At first roboticsthen informatics have created an unprecedented synergy among scientific and technological disciplines up to the present scientific integration between the traditional inanimate world and the biologic one. Informatics namely tank its mix of mathematics and technology has allowed to observe the molecular DNA structure and to decode itsinformation content in coherence with the rules of information theory. Finally thanks knowledge established by thequantum-electro-dynamic relativistic theory Man could inaugurate an innovative discipline integrating robotics, medicine and bio-genetics. Thanks to bio-engineering Man could perhaps create micro-organisms capable to injectcorrective information within DNA fragments no longer adequate to perform in a correct way their functions (a truecorrecting process of human software).
All the above suggests that, from the classical electro-magnetism of the second half of ’800 through the gravitationalrelativity of the first half of ‘900 up to the present relativistic quantum-electro-dynamics and the ongoing efforts to describe a unitary model of the disciplines inherited from the past, science’s progress hasn’t yet produced the scientific and technological quality jump that would only be reached by means of newer and more appropriatemathematical languages.
We are anyway allowed already to adopt the yet strongly consolidated notions to improve the living conditions on Earth and to implement types of technologies allowing to growingly extend the capacity of Humanity to extend collecting evidences beyond the limits imposed to science by the traditional service tools.
Among these consolidated (not yet adopted on the practical level of applied research), notions appear those ofgeneral relativity and quantum-electro-magnetism. Relativity namely supplied exhaustive evidence that the Universedimensions we observe aren’t correctly described by a flat space suggested by Euclid’s geometry but are better described by a multi-dimensional topology among whose appears too time since ever perceived by Humans under abio-logical constraint a preferential dimension unilaterally travelable. A curved space-time realitytherefore replacing the flat Euclidean one still adopted by the electro-magnetic technologies. Relativity has evidenced too that Energy is the unitary entity source of any material diversity and that relativity of time suggests that Maxwell’s electro-magneticradiation is the independent energy vector from the occasionally selected system of topological reference to express our scientific representations. Light is a Nature’s invariant among different metrical references and element ofequivalence between mass and energy. Electro-magnetism gave evidence as well of a theory, expressed in an appropriate mathematical language, can forecast with huge advance in time phenomena that will be described by different sectors of science half a century later; such as gravitational relativity or quantum theory.
Maxwell accomplished indeed a huge synthesis highly innovative effort unifying both magnetic, electric and optical phenomena in a unique theory introducing electro-magnetism. In order to describe those different phenomena into a unitary representation, Maxwell adopted a highly sophisticated mathematical language ignored even by the majority of scientists and academicians of his time; the quaternion algebra. Shortly a non commutative, non linear algebraic metrics in a non Euclidean four dimensional vector space useful to express measurements within a natural space coherently supposed, curved and of four dimensions.
Maxwell’s original mathematical equations resulted therefore difficult for a general comprehension and teaching though adequate to express early a representation of general relativity concepts proposed fifty years later by Einstein along the patterns of Maxwell’s electro-magnetism and additional later evidences.
The original set of equations was never understood in its transcendent power as compared to the previous hugerevolution established by Newton-Leibnitz metrics of the physical Galilean space. Maxwell’s unitary theory (between optics, electricity and magnetism) were therefore simplified by other scientists with the mere scope to reduce the difficulties adopting another mathematical language more familiar and more simple to learn. The mathematical representation was therefore transformed from the original version (complex but scientifically suggestive) to the final one simpler but of lower scientific suggestiveness and justified by complying with the Galilean Relativity’s metrics.
The equation’s transformation among different languages compares to translate literary texts between different languages. Many meanings present in a language risk being lost for the absence of analogies of background conceptual references. A simpler language may fail in structuring some meanings that are instead clearly expressed in the original language because of a shared sense. As a matter of fact in terms of good sense, the operation ofsimplification for pedagogical scopes resulted in an operation of unwanted reduction of the powerful scientific contents.
In a later time after that simplification namely all that had been lost by the simplifiers of the original mathematical equations for the absence of meaningful references with the physical reality was evidenced to exist instead in nature in the prospect of both relativity and quantum fields theories. Einstein recognized the full compliance of Maxwell’stheory with general relativity as well as light speed invariance as stated by the original Maxwell’s formulation of his theory explaining too some of Feynman and Prigogine’s scientific paradoxes.
The mathematical model selected by Maxwell to represent the real nature of space-time proposed a structure characterized by analogies with quantum relativity, a space-time where time was an equivalent dimension to the space ones, allo f them of a curved rather than flat character where many of the simpler peculiarities of Euclid space were replaced by more general peculiarities only locally comparable with the former ones as the characteristics ofsymmetry and structural homogeneity.
As far as epistemology of science is concerned a comment shall be made upon the meaning of natural realityassumed by hypotesis in order to legitimate the suppression from the original equations of Maxwell those that had no physical meaning. Today we know from general relativity that the physical reality composing the space-time we are able to observe hasn’t a “real” own consistence to be defined in a distinct way from its base values energy and light speed. Quantum theory additionally has shown evidence of virtual phenomena that charge, by means of uni-directional growth mechanisms, allowed but not-observable energy states up to thel moment when, once reached final equilibrium situations, originate observable phenomena thanks to instrumental perceptions an extension of human five traditional senses. True mechanisms similar to the free hatchet mechanism in the bicycles. An analogy suggested by Feynman to make a popular reference to the way in which the process follows a sequence, well known in the free hatchet mechanism, allowing to avoid pressing on the pedal maintaining free rotation of the traction wheel. Every pressure acted on pedals generates a torque but halting the pressure doesn’t stop the energy already accumulated in the moving system, an unidirectional speed stockpiling process.
These scientific good sense considerations lead us today presuming that the only reality in Universe be theelectromagnetic energy that follows the quantum relativity Laws and animates non observable virtual phenomena having a function similar to the free hatchet gathering mechanism to reach final and observable states of dynamical equilibrium. States where equilibrium isn’t equal to the concept of steadiness but rather to stationarity in analogy to what happens in a frozen waterfall (static) where every element results steady in time both in location and in its relational as related to the flowing waterfall (stationary) where each spot concurs to perform the same role thanks to a constant renewal of elements dynamically alternating in time. This unique all-pervasive reality in a constant renewal may only have an apparent time location as suggested by the biological perception of the human observer (limited within the uni-directional flow of his experience), it doesn’t anyway present an homogeneous distribution and the emergence of physical phenomena is only due to its diverse degree of local density. Virtual or real phenomena that follow the quantum Laws converting thereby Energy cluts in cluts of matter provided of electric charge and therefore able to interact with the total energy field that generated them. In other terms no body exist nor charges and reciprocal distances, a primeval electro-magnetic Energy field exists instead whose local density generates a space-time whose curvature allows us humans to ‘perceive’ charges and masses as transient phenomena always within thelaws of physics governing the allowed processes and energy transformations between the various forms permitted.
Nothing is created, nothing is destroyed but all gets transformed.
The present knowledge on the laws of quantum and relativistic electro-dynamics allow us to reappraise the original Maxwell theory in the light of these good sense considerations to eliminate any harmful reduction imposed both in its form and information contents by the simplification. Such reappraisal of Maxwell has started since years but its practical impact, already inaugurated by Tesla in the first ’20’s of ‘900, hasn’t yet been transferred in science and in electro-techniques due to the high practical effectiveness of the simplification process implemented in the mid ‘800 on its original mathematical formulation. The reduced equations simplicity, both for teaching and design applications, is such that they are still adopted in the industrial and applied research areas to produce equipment and design new experiments. It’s as it would have consolidated a ponderous race on a network of rails hindering us to make a side-step to soar pushed for free by the Energy wind of space adopting innovative processes already available thug not yet familiar or even unknown to the majority of specialists educated by a didactical model that has suppressed those new and possible processes thanks to the work of dwarfs on the shoulders of giants even if we have been enjoying the present processes, ineffective for the effective design simplicity of the reduced version.
hints on the historical errors of science in matters of for-free energy
A series of errors has slowed until today the progress in the final solution of energy shortage problem: A basic issue for industrial growth. Maxwell as said had expressed his original electro-magnetic theory by employing a mathematical language rather complex that had led to resume all the knowledge in that matter into a vector and scalar system of 4 equations in 4 unknowns that gave a synthetic representation thanks the complex but powerful quaternions language of the empiric 20 ‘laws’ derived by the electrical and magnetic phenomena known at the time – beginning of ‘800.
That language would have allowed forecasting phenomena fully unknown at that time some of which as the electro-magnetic character of light became immediately recognized wwhile others have been observed gradually in other sectors of physics developed in much later time by means of discoveries in very distinct areas than his original theory. In studies performed in genera relativity by Einstein (who recognized the full relativistic character of Maxwell theory) after forty years from his original formulation or in studies of quantum-electro-dynamics performed by Dirac a century after the original phrasing of Maxwell’s theory. Studies that suggest today various phenomena and paradoxes related by eminent scientists as Feynman to the intuitions expressed by Maxwell in relation to the space-time structurepeculiar of quaternions thanks whose he had formulated his original theory synthesized in 4 equations in 4 unknowns. In sum Maxwell was too advanced in the theoretical field (as was Tesla in experimental field) with respect to the average capacity of science and academy of his time. A massive intellectual effort started by the most eminent academicians of the time (Lorenz-Heaviside) to simplify his original formulation in 4 equations in 4 unknownsexpressed in a mathematical language too complex (quaternions)in the tentative to eliminate those parts of his theory that, at the time, were considered pure mathematical abstractions with no possible reference with the reality of physical phenomena. Phenomena not even conceivable at the time, as those related to general relativity, with the related topologies peculiar of a space-time that had been proposed as curve, opposed to what considered “real”, flatin the light of the limited knowledge and the hegemonic common sense dictated by the experiences observed up to ‘800: i.e. up to Gauss e Faraday’s works.
Such a notable commitment to simplify the theory was led in particular by Heaviside at first and by Lorenz then and led to reduce the complexity of mathematics adopted originally by Maxwell with the selection of a substitutive vectorlanguage that synthesized the electro-magnetic theory in the regular Maxwell’s set of 4 equations in 4 unknowns but expressed by means of three dimensional vectors in full analogy with the metrics adopted to describe the motion of heavy bodies in the Newton’s theory by Leibnitz’s infinitesimal calculus, exactly as they are still taught at school and university today. By means of that language the capacity to understand Maxwell’s theory was carried naturally to the level of the general student and scholars. The teaching productivity of electro-technics was strongly enhancedproducing masses of engineers thanks whose our society could promptly reach levels of today’s technical wellness.
However the other face of the medal of mathematical simplification of the original synthesis proposed by Maxwell, was the permanent obliteration from learning of the skipped part of forecasts potentially suggestive of a better scientific and technological progress carried by the major original complexity. That implied sacrificing even the possibility toimagine the existence of an amount physical phenomena that we are instead gradually discovering in fields of scientific research apparently alien to the electromagnetic theory already present instead (though in mere submerged way), in the original formulation given by Maxwell.
That dramatically slowed too any progress in gravitational and quantum research physics. The preventive reduction of powerful and suggestive scientific information rendered even unimaginable for several generations of engineers (ill-educated on the basis of an academic teaching limited to the most trivial aspects) to even conceive more innovative types of machines, plants and electro-technical solutions to whose research Tesla devoted his last decades and the residual financial and psycho-physical resources of ingenuity confined in an absolute intellectual isolation opposed by the ill informed academic and industrial establishment of the time. An enormous amount of evidence can be brought today to bear on the public opinion on the progresses in mathematics, in physics and in research of electro-technical patented solutions that evidence the informative power of the original form of Maxwell’s electro-magnetic theory and the feasibility of the related Tesla’s applied research efforts. His endeavors seem today worth receiving an adequate attention by the media and the opinion leaders supporting politicians and industrial tycoons in the definition of the strategies aiming to attain a fast and total national energy autonomy.
A new industrial strategy aimed to the portability of the same solutions to the community of developing countries with enormous positive consequences for both international relations and industrial export.