Introduction. The intent of this book by my friend and colleague Harry Stine is to challenge the technical community and ama­teurs to Build these Machines

The intent of this book by my friend and colleague Harry Stine is to challenge the technical community and ama­teurs to build these machines, then try to figure out why they work. All of them seem to violate the well-known laws of physics or mechanics. Thus, the challenge is to resolve the apparent contradiction.

In the history of science, the resolution of a dis­crepancy is one of the most fruitful ways to make progress. For example, it was Rutherford who saw an apparent contradiction in the course of his study of alpha particle emission by radioactive nuclei. He asked how it was possible for an alpha particle of measured range and energy to emerge from a nucleus without having the energy to penetrate the higher energy potential barrier around the nucleus - which could also be measured. Such penetration by an alpha particle was energetically

impossible. It was the challenge of this apparent discrep­ancy that led Gurney and Condon to the discovery and development of quantum mechanical tunneling which has been of major importance not only in physics but also to modern solid-state electronics.

In science, one progresses from an observation to a hypothesis about how or why the observed phenom­enon works, then to an experiment in which one proves not only that the hypothesis is correct but that the hy­pothesis is indeed a theory. The theory must then predict other observable effects that can be tested and experi­mentally confirmed. The fact that a certain device in this book works does not mean that all our theories are wrong but only that our understanding of how these theories should be applied is faulty in this particular case. Essentially, we do not know everything. Indeed, what we do know may not be so, but may have some curious little twist that we have overlooked. Apparent violations of the laws of physics are usually an opportunity to make progress in our knowledge of the universe.

In science, we also seek to understand how na­ture works. And we often misunderstand or follow false leads. Actually, the "laws of nature" are generalizations from experience. For example, the violation of the law of gravity is punished not by a jail sentence but more fit­tingly by falling on one's face. Further, such generaliza­tions are living concepts needing modification in details as we go alone. Einstein did not prove Newton to be

wrong but rather provided the next approximation in our understanding of what actually happens when we make measurements at speeds approaching that of light. Mass, length, and time must be measured, taking the speed of light into account. A basic physics experiment is that of measurement, and it is important to carefully think through the details of the actor procedure in a step by step fashion.

Science is a living and growing discipline, and much remains to be done. This book will, one hopes, stimulate people to build and test these odd devices, to think about them, and perhaps to hit upon further ap­proximations to our understanding of the universe. Good science is done not with apparatus but in people's heads by thinking.

- Prof. Serge A. Korff

(Prof. Korff was professor emeritus, department of physics, New York University; Fellow, American Physical Society; past president and life member, New York Academy of Sciences; life member, American Society for the Advance­ment of Science; past president and director, the Explorers Club; and Chevalier of the Legion of Honor.)

Mind Machines You Can Build

Дата добавления: 2014-12-23