Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id KAA24690 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Wed, 24 Jan 2001 10:52:59 GMT Message-ID: <2D1C159B783DD211808A006008062D3101745BFE@inchna.stir.ac.uk> From: Vincent Campbell <v.p.campbell@stir.ac.uk> To: "'memetics@mmu.ac.uk'" <memetics@mmu.ac.uk> Subject: RE: ....and the beat goes on and on and on... Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 10:51:48 -0000 X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2650.21) Content-Type: text/plain Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
<Surely, electron microscopy is a Socratic shadow in the cave. Are
electrons
> *really* particles, clouds or shells? Fuck if I know! These are models,
> quite likely metaphoric.>
>
Metaphoric perhaps, but not without predictive or explanatory power.
QM regards electrons as quanta that have a particle function and a wave
function.
Chandresakar (I think I've spelt that correctly), utilised QM,
particularly the idea of electron degeneracy, in explaining (to an
unreceptive audience at the time) the nature of white dwarf stars, his
approach laying the groundwork for the existence of black holes, something
Einstein's theories predicted but which he himself rejected. There's a
major section on this in Thorne's book that I quoted a couple of posts back.
Of course, current thinking is that super massive black holes exist
in the middle of galaxies, but whether the term 'electron' is entirely
metaphoric or not, doesn't matter as it is useful in helping us to achieve a
degree of predicitive and explanatory power in regard to the universe.
Otherwise I wouldn't disagree with your other comments (nice turn of
phrase too:-)).
Vincent
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