Chapter 34: Q28CQ (page 1237)
Discuss whether you think there are limits to what humans can understand about the laws of physics. Support your arguments.
Short Answer
In terms of what humans can grasp, the laws of physics have no bounds.
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Chapter 34: Q28CQ (page 1237)
Discuss whether you think there are limits to what humans can understand about the laws of physics. Support your arguments.
In terms of what humans can grasp, the laws of physics have no bounds.
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Must a complex system be adaptive to be of interest in the field of complexity? Give an example to support your answer.
To get an idea of how empty deep space is on the average, perform the following calculations: (a) Find the volume our Sun would occupy if it had an average density equal to the critical density of\({\rm{1}}{{\rm{0}}^{{\rm{ - 26}}}}{\rm{kg/}}{{\rm{m}}^{\rm{3}}}\)thought necessary to halt the expansion of the universe. (b) Find the radius of a sphere of this volume in light years. (c) What would this radius be if the density were that of luminous matter, which is approximately\({\rm{5 \% }}\)that of the critical density? (d) Compare the radius found in part (c) with the\({\rm{4 - ly}}\)average separation of stars in the arms of the Milky Way.
Olbers’s paradox poses an interesting question: If the universe is infinite, then any line of sight should eventually fall on a star’s surface. Why then is the sky dark at night? Discuss the commonly accepted evolution of the universe as a solution to this paradox.
Consider a supermassive black hole near the center of a galaxy. Calculate the radius of such an object based on its mass. You must consider how much mass is reasonable for these large objects, and which is now nearly directly observed. (Information on black holes posted on the Web by NASA and other agencies is reliable, for example.)
Find the approximate mass of the luminous matter in the Milky Way galaxy, given it has approximately\({\rm{1}}{{\rm{0}}^{{\rm{11}}}}\)stars of average mass\({\rm{1}}{\rm{.5}}\)times that of our Sun.
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