STAR FLIGHT UNLIMITED

by: Robert L. Carroll

Chapter 1

Chapter One: The Circle of Time

In his book, A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking's comment that, "Every mathematical equation used results in the loss of one-half the number of readers," is essentially true. His acceptance of the basic principles of general relativity and unified field theory is unfortunate, but in no way reflects upon the integrity of the man. . . . . .

Chapter 2: Let There Be Motion

One school of thought of the Greek philosophers required that the concept of motion was an error in the human mind. The reasoning which led to this conclusion is as follows: Let us suppose that a ball is tossed from one person to another. We can assume that the distance covered required a certain interval of time. If only a part of the distance is considered, the time required is reduced. In the limit, a zero time interval requires a zero distance covered. It follows that at any point in time, the object in question was at rest. Since the time point considered is arbitrary, the object was at rest at every point. Then it could not have moved at all. . . . . . . .

Chapter 3: The Ezekial Equation

The author likes to consider himself a wit. Others at times have conceded that he is half right, which makes him a half-wit. The title of the chapter is a case in point. If we proclaim: "Ezekial emcee squared," this sounds very much like an equation attributed to Albert Einstein. . . . . . . .

Chapter 4: It Ain't Necessarily So

In his high school years, the author heard about a man who had created a theory which was so abstract and difficult that there were only three people in the world who could understand it. Since no physics courses where taught in the local high school, only the supposed fact that the mass of an object increased with its velocity and that velocity distorted time was given. The commentator spent most of his time in praising the genius of a man who was so smart that he could out-think himself. My earliest impression was that the commentator did not know what he was talking about, and the theory had to be an error. . . . .

Chapter 5: Oh Dear, What Can the Matter Be?

In the process of teaching, repetition is an acceptable procedure. In my own classes, I started out by explaining what I was going to tell them. After this preliminary, I told them. When this was done, I closed by telling them what I had told them. Invariably this was the time when the guy in the back of the room popped up with the question: "Would you mind repeating that?" . . . . . . .

Chapter 6: Order, Please

The first law of thermodynamics was indicated to describe the mechanical equivalent of heat. The second law is a statistical law which indicates a general trend. In the transfer of heat between systems, photon activity must be invoked. There can be no doubt that photon transfer occurs in both directions between two systems, but the general trend is a net transfer of such a nature as to reduce the temperature of a hot object and increase the temperature of a colder one. A simple analogy is that heat flows down a temperature hill. In case the two systems are isolated, heat loss to the surrounding space must also occur so that both objects experience a temperature reduction with time as the equilibrium of temperature is approached. . . . . . .

Chapter 7: Will the Real Quark Please Stand Up?

Since the human cannot accept reality, the popularity of any theory depends inversely on the amount of truth contained in it. This popularity may continue for a time until a simple soul who doesn't know better sees through the sham and looks at the naked truth. The fact that there was no deception intended makes the required correction more painful. This leads us to Carroll's Law of Calamity. This may be expressed: When the roof falls in, it does not stop short of the basement floor. This law applies to all of relativity theory. . . . . . .

Chapter 8: Go With the Flow

The electron moves in such a way that the spin axis coincides with the direction of motion. It is in error to assume that the electron spins only to the left with respect to the direction of transfer. Since it doesn't seem to care whether it is backing up or moving forward with respect to the vortex motion, it may spin left or right as it moves. If there are many electrons in the flow, the possibility of spin pairing appears. . . . . . .

Chapter 9: A Tragedy of Errors

The entire history of physical science has been a tragedy of errors. Oog, the son of Moog, was willing to believe his senses that space had directional characteristics. He definitely knew which way was up. With the concept of an infinite, linear, homogeneous space; the philosophers did not. The trouble with an idea is that the originator comes to believe it. When this happens, he finds himself stuck with it. With the best of intentions, he lets it be known to the world. The difficulty is that once it gets loose, there is no way under heaven to get rid of it. I have no doubt that the concept of the Euclidian space will be carried on to the end of time. . . . . . .

Chapter 10: Tomorrow the Stars

Stephen Hawking's book, "A Short History of Time" is a masterful expression of everything that is wrong in the field of physics. His acceptance of general relativity and unified field theory gives the impression that everything is on the right track. The basic traits of complacency and smugness are evident. This, of course, is an absolute necessity if any volume of sales is expected. . . . . . .