Re: pi (was Re: Is lightvelocity accelerating?)

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Article #4786

#4786

From: Michael Weiss
Date: Tue, 21 Mar 1995 22:51

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On 21 Mar 1995 son3776@utdallas.edu wrote:

> But seriously, the circle that's drawn is part of spacetime.  We are part
> of space time.  The instruments we measure are part of space time.  To
> use a planar analogy, draw a circle, us, a ruler measuring the
> diameter and a tape measure measuring the circumference on a stretchable
> sheet.  Stretch the sheet into a curve and you'll see that we, the
> circle, the ruler and the tape measure have stretched.
>
> The ruler still measures the same length for the diameter, and the tape
> measure still measures the same length for the circumference.  If the
> ratio was pi to being with, it'll still be pi.

This is just plain wrong.  Take a look at Hans Ohanian's excellent book
*Gravitation and Spacetime*, in which he discusses at great length the
problem of "measuring" changes in spacetime, when presumably your
instruments are "changing" as well.  You *do* notice the change.


 +------------------------------------------------------------------------+
 | Michael Weiss           |                                              |
 | email: mkw21@cam.ac.uk  |            "Got my mojo working!"            |
 | Darwin College          |                   -- Muddy Waters            |
 | Cambridge CB3 9EU       |                                              |
 +------------------------------------------------------------------------+

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From: Michael Weiss <mkw21@cus.cam.ac.uk>
Newsgroups: sci.astro,sci.skeptic,alt.sci.physics.new-theories,swnet.sci.astro,fj.sci.astro
Subject: Re: pi (was Re: Is lightvelocity accelerating?)
Date: Tue, 21 Mar 1995 22:51:42 +0000
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