Post by Empress Palpatine on Dec 29, 2009 18:38:40 GMT -6
There is much said about using the Force and many instructions about how to use the Force in various ways. Yet little is said about exactly what is the Force? It may be helpful to know exactly what it is because that will be helpful when it comes to using it. What is it made of? How does it flow? There are two kinds of people that are interested in the Force: Mystics and scientists (especially physicists). The two camps seldom get together because their approach is so different. The mystic camp tends to think in terms of deity and of good vs. evil. The scientist sees a phenomena and asks what is it?
We know the mystic version pretty well because this is the approach given by George Lucas. There is a Force with a Light Side and a Dark Side. The scientific version is less known by most people. A Sith, who wants as much power as possible, would seek to know the Force from all points of view. More knowledge of the Force=more power.
There is a risk, however, with looking at the scientific side; and many Force sorts sense it. There is a tendency not to want to leave the mystic realm. Why? It has to do with cherished notions, faiths, and beliefs. Science is ruthless and will slay any unsubstantiated superstition. People are afraid that some pet belief will die when confronted with science. But then, if such a belief were so easily destroyed by science, how strong is that belief? At least the beliefs that are left standing are the ones that will truly work. Shadow of doubt means it was a weak belief to start with.
It is the spirit of Darth Bane whose thought bomb destroyed all of the other weaker Sith. The same story happened on earth in 1919. Darth Einstein let loose a thought bomb that defeated Darth Newton. That was the date that it became official because that was the year that Einstein's new theory was proven and altered everyone's perception of reality forever.
Everybody remembers Newton. He was the guy from the late 1600's who had an apple fall on his head. This caused him to discover gravity. At least this is the tale they tell about him. As far as explaining all the laws of physics up until the 20th century, he was the reigning Dark Lord. Until the early 20th century, there had been no challengers.
Newton can explain what happens everyday, and as far as everyday things, he still does. It is just that now his empire is limited to the mundane. He has been cast out of the heavens to the earth. In the world of Newton, there was absolute space, an unmoving stage where events in the universe played themselves out. This space was separate from the contents within it. Time was absolute and it ticked by in a steady and unchanging fashion. Matter perhaps changed forms and combinations, but it itself was permanent. The universe was one universe. There was no other. Various forces were separate from the rest.
The demise of Newton began in 1905 by the ideas of a patent clerk. Albert Einstein said that time was not absolute. Time was an illusion based on your point of view, your frame of reference. Time can be different if you are traveling at near the speed of light. Later, in 1915, he said that space was not absolute, that it can be bent and distorted by gravity. Time can be bent as well. Space and time was now to be called space-time. He also found that the boundaries of forces and matter are not absolute. Matter can become forces and forces can become matter. The two become force-matter. Later on, based on Einstein's ideas, it was found that we do not just have one universe, but many universes overlapping. There is not just one "now" but many "nows."
Until 1919, the temple of physics lead by Darth Newton was secure. After all, this flaky patent clerk might just be a loony. Not too many believed Einstein at first. Then one major feature of his theory was proven. Gravity does bend light. They found that the sun's gravity did bend light that was near. Then, they believed him. He became the new reigning Dark Lord of Physics.
So what does this have to do with what we call "The Force?" Everything! The idea of one Force that united everything was in fact, Einstein's idea. After discovering relativity and certain other things, he started a quest to find a unified field. This unified field, the way he described it, sounds very much like the Force of Star Wars. His approach was to examine all the known invisible forces and to see what was their common base. Jedi and Sith believe in this one great Force because they sense it. Einstein tried to prove it with hard science. He tried to figure out the math that is the Force. This is why Einstein offers insight into the nature of the Force. Like Palpatine, he had a larger view. He did not divide it between Light and Dark. Well, everyone knows the result, as Palpatine would say "unlimited power!" Einstein unlocked the power of the atom which led to the atomic bomb.
In this thread will be a discussion of Einstein's insight into the nature of the Force in more detail.
The story goes like this: The young Einstein turned things upside down with his relativity theories (1905 and 1915) and certain other theories (quanta and so fourth). He had a hand also into getting the whole atom thing going. When he reached mid-life, he went off in a different direction than the people who were attempting to tap the power of the atom. The atom was big news in the 1930's. They were discovering exactly what atoms were made of and what they could do with it. We all know where that ended up:
Yes, Einstein did have a hand in that too. He gave a rough outline as to how to get a big bang out of the atom, but he was not involved in the actual Manhattan Project. He did not even get the security clearance although he and Oppenheimer were on speaking terms.
Einstein was on a quest of a different kind now. He spent the rest of his life working on a Unified Field Theory. He lived quietly in a house in Princeton and lived a quiet life spending hours working out the math for his theory.
Meanwhile, the search into the mysteries of the atom went on in various labs. The bomb wasn't the only thing. They wanted to know every particle and eventually even the particles in the particles. This was the quantum world, the world of the incredibly small. They had their own ideas, and not all of their ideas agreed with Einstein. They saw the quantum world as haphazard where particles lept all over with no rationale. Einstein would debate them. He felt there was an underlying order in the universe, the smallest parts included. He felt that it was too soon to say for sure about all these things. They went on with their own separate ways. Even to this day the quantum camp is its own world sometimes divergent from the Einstein camp. To follow the story to the present day, one has to be aware of both camps. From both camps came knowledge of new forces: the electro-magnetic force, gravity, the strong force, and the weak force. Einstein was looking for THE FORCE! He was trying to figure out how these others were unified. This was the Unified Field Theory he was working on. The day he died he was still doing math equations to try to figure this out.
In a broad sweeping sort of way, he had the concept down. I believe that deep down he knew for himself, but in the physics world, they do not listen to you until you have the math all worked out. He simply did not live long enough to get through that stage. It was then up to others to follow up. There was a season of a few years where they did not pursue this. The forces making up the world of the very small were thought of separately than the forces in the world of the very large. Each camp just came up with more detail and more data.
I was wondering for quite some time what had happened. Did they ever find the unified field? I was lucky enough to find this NOVA DVD recently that gave me the answer I was looking for. In the 1970's some people came up with a new theory called the String Theory. This would unite all the known forces. Unfortunately, it had kinks and was not accepted by the scientific world. In the 1980's some guys finally came up with math that really worked. This improved the status of the theory and at least the scientific world took it more seriously. There were, however, a few kinks. It seemed there were several versions of the theory. It was not until the 1990's that this was straightened out. This theory now has the status of a solid theory. No experiments have yet confirmed it, but they are working on this right now.
So what is this theory? It is one all Force followers would love. Briefly, it can be described like this: There are atoms. Inside the atom is a nucleus made up of protons and neutrons. These are bound together by the strong force (the strongest force known). The electrons which circle the nucleus are where the electro-magnetic force is. If one goes ever smaller, they find even more particles (in the particles) like quarks and other little things. The strings are even smaller than these. It is said they make up these known particles. They are tiny little wisps of energy that vibrate. They can look like little strands, or wiggly circles, or little membranes. How they vibrate determines what sort of particle they will be, even that which makes up what gives a thing gravity. Little strings of Force.
The above picture is from the DVD "The Elegant Universe," which was three one hour episodes of NOVA (PBS). I recommend this DVD to all Force lovers. This is strictly the science with no admixture of new age or occult ideas. This is good because you can make your own comparisons to mystic ideas. It made me think of runes, the runes which make up everything.
Note: the above picture depicts the little rubberband-like strings of energy that wiggle with vibration. The upper left hand corner shows in symbol the known forces which the strings unite: electro-magnetic, strong force, weak force, and gravity. Electro-magnetic would be the source of Sith lightning most likely and probably what the Jedi and Sith often use. Strong force is what holds the atom's nucleus together. The weak force is the radiation that is around after a nuke has gone off. Gravity is what keeps your feet on the ground. It is said that electro-magnetic is stronger than gravity. Perhaps this is the secret of the force users:Jedi and Sith. Maybe we should all hunt down the electron!?
We know the mystic version pretty well because this is the approach given by George Lucas. There is a Force with a Light Side and a Dark Side. The scientific version is less known by most people. A Sith, who wants as much power as possible, would seek to know the Force from all points of view. More knowledge of the Force=more power.
There is a risk, however, with looking at the scientific side; and many Force sorts sense it. There is a tendency not to want to leave the mystic realm. Why? It has to do with cherished notions, faiths, and beliefs. Science is ruthless and will slay any unsubstantiated superstition. People are afraid that some pet belief will die when confronted with science. But then, if such a belief were so easily destroyed by science, how strong is that belief? At least the beliefs that are left standing are the ones that will truly work. Shadow of doubt means it was a weak belief to start with.
It is the spirit of Darth Bane whose thought bomb destroyed all of the other weaker Sith. The same story happened on earth in 1919. Darth Einstein let loose a thought bomb that defeated Darth Newton. That was the date that it became official because that was the year that Einstein's new theory was proven and altered everyone's perception of reality forever.
Everybody remembers Newton. He was the guy from the late 1600's who had an apple fall on his head. This caused him to discover gravity. At least this is the tale they tell about him. As far as explaining all the laws of physics up until the 20th century, he was the reigning Dark Lord. Until the early 20th century, there had been no challengers.
Newton can explain what happens everyday, and as far as everyday things, he still does. It is just that now his empire is limited to the mundane. He has been cast out of the heavens to the earth. In the world of Newton, there was absolute space, an unmoving stage where events in the universe played themselves out. This space was separate from the contents within it. Time was absolute and it ticked by in a steady and unchanging fashion. Matter perhaps changed forms and combinations, but it itself was permanent. The universe was one universe. There was no other. Various forces were separate from the rest.
The demise of Newton began in 1905 by the ideas of a patent clerk. Albert Einstein said that time was not absolute. Time was an illusion based on your point of view, your frame of reference. Time can be different if you are traveling at near the speed of light. Later, in 1915, he said that space was not absolute, that it can be bent and distorted by gravity. Time can be bent as well. Space and time was now to be called space-time. He also found that the boundaries of forces and matter are not absolute. Matter can become forces and forces can become matter. The two become force-matter. Later on, based on Einstein's ideas, it was found that we do not just have one universe, but many universes overlapping. There is not just one "now" but many "nows."
Until 1919, the temple of physics lead by Darth Newton was secure. After all, this flaky patent clerk might just be a loony. Not too many believed Einstein at first. Then one major feature of his theory was proven. Gravity does bend light. They found that the sun's gravity did bend light that was near. Then, they believed him. He became the new reigning Dark Lord of Physics.
So what does this have to do with what we call "The Force?" Everything! The idea of one Force that united everything was in fact, Einstein's idea. After discovering relativity and certain other things, he started a quest to find a unified field. This unified field, the way he described it, sounds very much like the Force of Star Wars. His approach was to examine all the known invisible forces and to see what was their common base. Jedi and Sith believe in this one great Force because they sense it. Einstein tried to prove it with hard science. He tried to figure out the math that is the Force. This is why Einstein offers insight into the nature of the Force. Like Palpatine, he had a larger view. He did not divide it between Light and Dark. Well, everyone knows the result, as Palpatine would say "unlimited power!" Einstein unlocked the power of the atom which led to the atomic bomb.
In this thread will be a discussion of Einstein's insight into the nature of the Force in more detail.
The story goes like this: The young Einstein turned things upside down with his relativity theories (1905 and 1915) and certain other theories (quanta and so fourth). He had a hand also into getting the whole atom thing going. When he reached mid-life, he went off in a different direction than the people who were attempting to tap the power of the atom. The atom was big news in the 1930's. They were discovering exactly what atoms were made of and what they could do with it. We all know where that ended up:
Yes, Einstein did have a hand in that too. He gave a rough outline as to how to get a big bang out of the atom, but he was not involved in the actual Manhattan Project. He did not even get the security clearance although he and Oppenheimer were on speaking terms.
Einstein was on a quest of a different kind now. He spent the rest of his life working on a Unified Field Theory. He lived quietly in a house in Princeton and lived a quiet life spending hours working out the math for his theory.
Meanwhile, the search into the mysteries of the atom went on in various labs. The bomb wasn't the only thing. They wanted to know every particle and eventually even the particles in the particles. This was the quantum world, the world of the incredibly small. They had their own ideas, and not all of their ideas agreed with Einstein. They saw the quantum world as haphazard where particles lept all over with no rationale. Einstein would debate them. He felt there was an underlying order in the universe, the smallest parts included. He felt that it was too soon to say for sure about all these things. They went on with their own separate ways. Even to this day the quantum camp is its own world sometimes divergent from the Einstein camp. To follow the story to the present day, one has to be aware of both camps. From both camps came knowledge of new forces: the electro-magnetic force, gravity, the strong force, and the weak force. Einstein was looking for THE FORCE! He was trying to figure out how these others were unified. This was the Unified Field Theory he was working on. The day he died he was still doing math equations to try to figure this out.
In a broad sweeping sort of way, he had the concept down. I believe that deep down he knew for himself, but in the physics world, they do not listen to you until you have the math all worked out. He simply did not live long enough to get through that stage. It was then up to others to follow up. There was a season of a few years where they did not pursue this. The forces making up the world of the very small were thought of separately than the forces in the world of the very large. Each camp just came up with more detail and more data.
I was wondering for quite some time what had happened. Did they ever find the unified field? I was lucky enough to find this NOVA DVD recently that gave me the answer I was looking for. In the 1970's some people came up with a new theory called the String Theory. This would unite all the known forces. Unfortunately, it had kinks and was not accepted by the scientific world. In the 1980's some guys finally came up with math that really worked. This improved the status of the theory and at least the scientific world took it more seriously. There were, however, a few kinks. It seemed there were several versions of the theory. It was not until the 1990's that this was straightened out. This theory now has the status of a solid theory. No experiments have yet confirmed it, but they are working on this right now.
So what is this theory? It is one all Force followers would love. Briefly, it can be described like this: There are atoms. Inside the atom is a nucleus made up of protons and neutrons. These are bound together by the strong force (the strongest force known). The electrons which circle the nucleus are where the electro-magnetic force is. If one goes ever smaller, they find even more particles (in the particles) like quarks and other little things. The strings are even smaller than these. It is said they make up these known particles. They are tiny little wisps of energy that vibrate. They can look like little strands, or wiggly circles, or little membranes. How they vibrate determines what sort of particle they will be, even that which makes up what gives a thing gravity. Little strings of Force.
The above picture is from the DVD "The Elegant Universe," which was three one hour episodes of NOVA (PBS). I recommend this DVD to all Force lovers. This is strictly the science with no admixture of new age or occult ideas. This is good because you can make your own comparisons to mystic ideas. It made me think of runes, the runes which make up everything.
Note: the above picture depicts the little rubberband-like strings of energy that wiggle with vibration. The upper left hand corner shows in symbol the known forces which the strings unite: electro-magnetic, strong force, weak force, and gravity. Electro-magnetic would be the source of Sith lightning most likely and probably what the Jedi and Sith often use. Strong force is what holds the atom's nucleus together. The weak force is the radiation that is around after a nuke has gone off. Gravity is what keeps your feet on the ground. It is said that electro-magnetic is stronger than gravity. Perhaps this is the secret of the force users:Jedi and Sith. Maybe we should all hunt down the electron!?