FIZIX

KORNER

With

Peter

indemann

Albcrt EinsteiD

|as8 brillisDt EAD-

He tumed

the scieDtific

crcld on it8 ear

with bis Eathematical

rcpresetrtatioDs

nd his

tbcdi€&

E=MC2

is

probably the m6t hEous

equation

in

science

odsy 8od

is I

perfecl ilustration

of his thmrem

of

equivalence.

t states

hateoer$r

cqualsmass imcE

he speed

of light squarcd

Thc

slsumptioo3

his 8 built

on must be rue

at all times or

tbc cquatlm

o be arcpr€€eotation

of rcality.'8" stand8

or

cnergr and

tbc orsumpion

is tbat all brEs

of ener$f, such

a8

cbctrkity

(mcasur€d in hlocEtt hours),

mecbanical

ener$f

(Ecssurcd

in bcsepocEr

hous), and

heat (measured n calo-

rEs) are a[

equivaleol'C'Etands

for Oe

8@of liShtwbicb

is sssumed

o be coDstant

nd tie

absolule

ntnmum

velocity-

Logicaly,

it's a[ very

brillisnt, but

docs t repre6eot he actual

bchrior

ofphfBical rEaliqd

I say t

do€8noL

At tbe hcart of the

problem

8 he

oquivalencebeoren

It

bringsus oocvcrsioo

actorssuc.b

s be formula for

converting

electical

po

€r

into me-

cbsni€l

poYDr

vltere

716

wass

=

550 bot

poun& per

recood

=

1 bq8cpor\l€r.

This cotrv€r8ion uEula

i8

lot

8 rcbntific truth,

it

mcre9 rcpre8€nt8

he uppor

limit of the c6cimLy

of the

chctrc|D€clanical

df'vice

upon which the roossure-

mentEw€r"

t8lc.

Rclativity

thcory iE

bos€d oo tb€s€

cquivaleocc

assumptioD&

fvle can di8-

prol€

tbc alsumptim tbe

tbctryb bsscd

on, hc thmry

EIs.

A mountain offlssl€t8

bgq ifbuilt oo

a tabe

prem-

ise,

b

just

a c.orthlessbesp.

One

oftbe ccoerEtoneE

of rclativity

theory i8 tbat

ircrtial D8s8

8 equiialent to

grsvitati@al

6es&

There is a certaiD ogic to this atrd a hir

amunt of €ryerimental evidcnce o

support it, so et'8 ook at

tbis assunptioo

Ery clcely so hst I msy showho|/ it is ot uni-

versally ru€. Ircrtial mass s derived

rom the formula F=MA

y/tcre

'F

'

is 8 mef,,bsnicalucc

pushing

otr be

'.I\tr'

or rDars f

ao objcct

ceusing t

to

".N'

accelerate, hat i8

,

move at ao ever

incressing atc ofspaed

We can say hat the nertial ma6s f an

objc{t b iu} re3istance o a cbangc b motio[

wheD a forcc i6

applicd to iL Gravitatimal Dass s

wbat we u6ualy cal the

c,eigbt

of

sn objcct and is m.ssured by

placing

be objecl on a

s.alc.

Thc

value

ur

thc inerti8l massof an objert is discovered

itr

a dFamb t'aEecrorkwherc

the objecl s n motion, rvhereas

tbe raluc

b( th€

grsvitstional

massof an objef,t b dircor€red tr

a static ramcarst wberc thc object i8 8t r€sl

Thc

questio[

4

b tbc x,€igbtof atrobject equsl to its resistance

o scceleration?

Qu6tion3

ike hisarc at

the heartofwbat

scieooc all

sboul

If ane.periment

anshow bat

a uniform orcc

spplicd o teo

idetrtical

bjectsbaty/eigb

tresame

aureiom tosocclerate

l

different 8t€s,

beEiDstcinian

elstivitysnot rue

n tbeuni\r€r-

salsetrse,

r at e88t as

somc ev€re

ublic

clatims

Pf,oblcm&

EnterBruccDePalma"

n l97a

BruceDePalEaErst

8n

one of tbe mct

remarkabl€

yeriments

h tbe

bietqy d

phy6ics"ts Xrplicatioos

reso

Probund

batoDty b8[dtul

d

sciantiftsbar€

raspedthemfuly. ndrou

canlccfu

]outrctr

becausehb crpcrident

msybc un blow

bsc,kysrdu uod€r

$10@.

DROPPING

HESPINNING

AI.I

Thc

photograph

s a

stsobacopic

icture

of

the rajcctory

taLen y

c/o dentical "diaEcter

st€elballs auncb€d

nro bc

air by a

uniturm urce8ndactrd

uponby

gravity.

Onc

oftbcm

is otating

t27,000 IM

itr hevertical rb 8nd be

otbcrb Dot

rotatin& Rotating tbc

ball

does not changc tr

qEight,

but do€s cbangp tr

gravita-

timal acocleratim ar88c8t-

ing that iui inertial maEE

a8

changpd

n

the

\Ertical ui&

Tbe strobc b flsshing

st @

flashe

persccmd

sDdisEyD-

cbrcnized vitb tbc

powcr-

line.

The apparatus

l8u[ching

the bals b

simpc

8nd

can b€ Da(b Am m

clcctric rorter tbat turE

at

high speed

(at

l€st 24,(m

RPM). Fashion

2 smalc1lF

tbst hold tbe bslb

witb 8

c l e € r a D c e o f a h t b o u -

saDdtbsof an incb- Itoutrt

me c1rp

m tbc 8baft of tbc

router motor a[d Eouut

tb€

other c1|p claEpcd @

tbc

sideofthe motorsothat thetc,o

orp3 arest €qual beigbt& Plsce

1bau n eachc1rp, tart be motor

aDdbriog t uP o

sPe€{LThcn

bolding

hc motor \rith botb bands, bnst

thc balb blo th€

Tbe bals

wil

bebav€

ike thsc in the

pidurc

sbown

bcre, with

the rotating bal rising higber aod

falling

bstrf,

th"

it8 nm-

rotating

tfli[

Build tbis e4eriment 8nd

atc it to the

phtEics epartunt

at

],our

local udi\€r8ity atrd ask

them sbat

it EesB.

Tbc

hct

tbat rctating tbe bal alters t8 iDcrtial massb Dot

prcdicrrd bt

any theory and is not

cov€red

B

ary tcd book

In fact, it b

assumed bat rotating

the bal wil nste NO DIFFERBNCE

ATALL

Somuch

or assumptioos.- nd h€ thetrts3bflcd otbeE

Build this €ryeriment 8nd s€e oryourseE

Albert Eitrsteitr

r*?8

brilliant mao, but bi8 b€trie8 8r€

wrong.

Tl76,hxrd d W Fesarctr Septembet-Octoberlgm,

Page?5