Table of Contents

Preface

1. Scientific Theories and Laws

2. The First Decade (1936-1946)

3. Relativity

4. The Second Decade (1946-1956)

5. Quantum Mechanics

6. The Third Decade (1956-1966)

7. The Big Bang

8. The Fourth Decade (1966-1976)

9. The Non-Bang

10. The Fifth Decade (1976-1986)

11. The Never-Bang

12. The Sixth Decade (1986-1996)

13. Evolution

14. The Seventh Decade (1996-2006)

15. The Theory of More than Everything

16. The Eighth Decade (2006-2016)

17. Now What?

18. The Ninth Decade (2016-2026)

Appendix A Paintings

Appendix B TTOMTE and a Steady State Universe

Appendix C Musical Compositions

Bibliography

Chapter 0-Page 0

IS THERE EVERYDAY EVIDENCE FOR SPECIAL RELATIVITY

Here are three pieces of evidence:

1. The sun rotates relative to us, but the light from the edge coming towards us has the same speed as the light from the edge going away. That's a pretty good sign that light doesn't care how fast the source moves.

2. We've produced the most spectacular evidence in atomic blasts and nuclear power plants proving E equals MC2. In addition, look up in the daytime at that bright thing in the sky. Well, not directly, of course. We've depended on the sun keeping us warm all these years by changing some of its mass to heat energy. Then it sends the heat to us at the speed of (well, you know).

3. We've built cyclotrons, those huge doughnut-shaped chambers in which we use magnetism to speed up electrons and other particles. The electrons zip around almost to the speed of light, and just as the special theory predicted, each electron becomes about forty thousand times heavier than if it were standing still, relative to the Earth. Cyclotrons aren't exactly an everyday, common experience, but you can read all about them.

The Special Theory of Relativity has been confirmed a few times already.

ARE WE DONE TALKING ABOUT MOTION

So far, we've come to the conclusion there isn't any way to tell what's moving and what's standing still when things don't change speed. Pick whatever's the easiest; that's our motto. When an object keeps going in the same direction at a steady speed, we call the motion uniform.

Chapter 0-Page 0

Sections

WHAT IS COMMON SENSE

WHAT'S A WAVE

IS LIGHT A WAVE

HOW FAST DOES LIGHT GO

WHAT IS MOTION

CAN WE TEST REAL MOTION

WILL METHODS WORK IN SPACE

CAN WE DISCOVER REAL MOTION

LIGHT SPEED AFFECTS TIME

SOME SPECIAL THEORY ODDITIES

EVERYDAY RELATIVITY EVIDENCE

ARE WE DONE TALKING MOTION

ACCELERATED MOTION

WHAT IS SPACE

FINAL THOUGHTS

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