Questions of a philosophical nature.
Discussion
jmorgan said:
My gods said they would get back to me with proof after their girls night out, however they scribbled a few notes down on a flag stone somewhere to go on with at the moment. And they said non believers smell.
there is truth and wisdom wrote large herenon believers DO smell
so do I
I ham?
You have reminded me of something I was wondering this morning. I was wondering why gold is yellow whereas most metals are silver/white/grey. So I looked it up.
Wikipedia:
Whereas most other pure metals are gray or silvery white, gold is yellow. This color is determined by the density of loosely bound (valence) electrons; those electrons oscillate as a collective "plasma" medium described in terms of a quasiparticle called plasmon. The frequency of these oscillations lies in the ultraviolet range for most metals, but it falls into the visible range for gold due to subtle relativistic effects that affect the orbitals around gold atoms.[23][24] Similar effects impart a golden hue to metallic caesium.
[23] http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/Relativity/S...
So, it's actually quite an interesting reason and when your child asks why gold is yellow or copper pink you can say it is due to relativistic effects. And hope they don't ask what they are.
You have reminded me of something I was wondering this morning. I was wondering why gold is yellow whereas most metals are silver/white/grey. So I looked it up.
Wikipedia:
Whereas most other pure metals are gray or silvery white, gold is yellow. This color is determined by the density of loosely bound (valence) electrons; those electrons oscillate as a collective "plasma" medium described in terms of a quasiparticle called plasmon. The frequency of these oscillations lies in the ultraviolet range for most metals, but it falls into the visible range for gold due to subtle relativistic effects that affect the orbitals around gold atoms.[23][24] Similar effects impart a golden hue to metallic caesium.
[23] http://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/physics/Relativity/S...
So, it's actually quite an interesting reason and when your child asks why gold is yellow or copper pink you can say it is due to relativistic effects. And hope they don't ask what they are.
Simpo Two said:
jmorgan said:
Light is light and can be measured (I don't mean there is only one version of light....). That is the way the photons interact with stuff with colour and then your eyes see what is left. But change the colour of the illuminating light or filters bits out and green is not always green. But we do not calibrate our eyes but we can measure colour, but my guess it is not far out considering the differences in peoples eyes and other conditions and the way evolutions has made our eyes.
Waits for the shoot down in flames......
There are three factors here. One is the wavelength of the light, which is precise and definable. Two is what your brain resolves it as (which we cannot know). The third is what you have been *told* each wavelength is.Waits for the shoot down in flames......
t properly sorted out once and for all... 
Eric Mc said:
Is philosophy a science?
Religion definitely isn't.
What is either topic doing in this forum?
I think philosophy is the foundation of science. Philosophy being more than a quick nod at creators and reasons for being that is.Religion definitely isn't.
What is either topic doing in this forum?
Philosophy to me draws everything we know together and asks are we thinking about 'thinking', science, religion, arts and such like in the best possible way.
A topic that definitely warrants a thread in this forum.
jbudgie said:
"So, it's actually quite an interesting reason and when your child asks why gold is yellow or copper pink "
Copper pink ??
My old eyes must be worse than I thought.
Well, it's really copper colour but if you take the shine away then it would be closer to pink than any other standard colour. Salmon pink. I wouldn't call it orange. They add it to Gold to create Rose Gold after all.Copper pink ??
My old eyes must be worse than I thought.
But then just to confuse things further we specify it on buildings when we want a green surface...
TheExcession said:
I tried this on PH when I first joined up.
I postulated that the 'subject & object' metaphysics which is the norm for the way we are taught to think is fundamentally flawed.
I suggested that a metaphysics of quality as described by Pirsig was a much better framework on which to hang our understanding of the world around us.
I didn't get very far.... but I'm still a huge fan of Pirsig's work, you can read about it here.
A little Googling will find you the full book in PDF - well worth 10 or 20 reads; I threw out all the Readers Digests, and this is the only book on the shelf in the toilet!
Though I did enjoy Zen and the Art of motorcycle maintenance I came up with the definition below without too much thought:I postulated that the 'subject & object' metaphysics which is the norm for the way we are taught to think is fundamentally flawed.
I suggested that a metaphysics of quality as described by Pirsig was a much better framework on which to hang our understanding of the world around us.
I didn't get very far.... but I'm still a huge fan of Pirsig's work, you can read about it here.
A little Googling will find you the full book in PDF - well worth 10 or 20 reads; I threw out all the Readers Digests, and this is the only book on the shelf in the toilet!
Quality = the difference between a thing and the sum of its parts.
Next question.
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