Re: virus: The Fall of Buddhism {W2: LONG}

Corey A. Cook (cookcore@esuvm.emporia.edu)
Wed, 12 Mar 1997 19:37:13 -0800


PREVIOUS POST WAS SENT BEFORE COMPLETE. PLEASE IGNORE.

David Rosdeitcher[SMTP:76473.3041@compuserve.com]wrote:
>An example is the idea that light can be viewed as a wave or a
>particle, according to the model of reality that is used.

Wright, James 7929 wrote:
> Particles are not split by prisms, David, in physics; light waves do not
> have discrete "pieces" emitted.

Sorry guys, but I gotta say this:
1) Particles can be split by prisms. Take a bucket of sand and
pebbles. Throw it at a body of water at an angle to the surface of the
water. The particles with the greater mass will have a lower x value
than those with a smaller mass. (Where x is distance traveled from the
original position.) This is essentially the same way that a prism can
spread a light beam.
2) Light has properties of a wave and a particle. This doesn't mean
that light is both a wave and a particle. This means that light is a
wave-particle. (A thingy with properties of a wave and a particle.)
3) So does matter. A good example of this is the mass laser, recently
constructed in the US. (Perdue, I think.)
4) Light does have discrete packets. They're called photons.

I don't have the subject matter on hand to give references, but I'll go
find it and be back in a few days. You two might want to check on how
the world actually works before making your claims.

Corey A. Cook
cookcore@esuvm.emporia.edu

ps: On looking back over the posts and reading my quotes in context, I
see that David wasn't claiming that light was both a particle and a
wave. He was stating that Buddhists were claiming this. I'm not sure
this is true, but Zenarchists used this phenomenon as an example for one
of thier principles.

****************************
* The One Universal Truth: *
* Sometimes, you're wrong. *
****************************