Season's Greetings

[gomezz]

I can see that some can't see that red-shifting means moving in the direction from the blue to the red end of the visible spectrum which is applicable anywhere on the spectrum. What I can't see is why some can't see. I thought everyone had the ability to abstract from the physical? Or is that just pure mathematicians?

 

[Black Hole]

http://arxiv.org/pdf/1202.1272v1.pdf

I like that. I've only skimmed it, but it looks like the sort of answer I was looking for rather than the dismissive rejection from du Sautoy - I expected it to have something to do with surface potentials. Good find.

 

[Black Hole]

I can see that some can't see that red-shifting means moving in the direction from the blue to the red end of the visible spectrum which is applicable anywhere on the spectrum. What I can't see is why some can't see. I thought everyone had the ability to abstract from the physical? Or is that just pure mathematicians?

I think we know that. This is the 'Arms after all!

 

[Deleted member 473]

I think we know that. This is the 'Arms after all!

Wind-up gomezz Arms?

"Low-shift" would be better, otherwise "down-shift." But "red shift" is a historical anomaly that needs to go. We don't talk about red-shifted sound waves!

 

[gomezz]

"He won't sell much ice-cream going at that speed"

 

[Deleted member 473]

"He won't sell much ice-cream going at that speed"

<Throws rotten tomato at gomezz, but it turns out to be a red-shifted lump of coal>

 

[Black Hole]

<you can't red-shift something that's already black>

 

[Deleted member 473]

<you can't red-shift something that's already black>

<Yes you can! You shift its frequency from 0 up to red!>

 

[gomezz]

If you red-shift it too far it will go all Amy Winehouse on you.

 

[RobH1]

I'm getting the feeling that this thread is taking place in 'The Cloud', as it obviously over my head! I used to believe I was fairly bright but I'm beginning to re-evaluate.

 

[Luke]

I'm getting the feeling that this thread is taking place in 'The Cloud', as it obviously over my head!

Cool! A monitor on the ceiling above your bed.

I used to believe I was fairly bright but I'm beginning to re-evaluate.

But on a serious note you must be at least a bit bright to be able to self re-evaluate if you are bright or not.

 

[Black Hole]

<Yes you can! You shift its frequency from 0 up to red!>

Just to be pedantic (what else?): you can blue-shift an infinite wavelength as much as you like and still end up with an infinite wavelength.

 

[RobH1]

But on a serious note you must be at least a bit bright to be able to self re-evaluate if you are bright or not.

You cannot be serious!

Just to be pedantic (what else?): you can blue-shift an infinite wavelength as much as you like and still end up with an infinite wavelength.

So true.

 

[Trev]

you can blue-shift an infinite wavelength as much as you like and still end up with an infinite wavelength

The same would be true if you tried to red shift it. But if it were a frequency with infinite wavelength, it would not be a frequency but would be D.C. and I don't think that you could either blue or red shift D.C.

 

[gomezz]

I bet the Doctor could by shifting it through a relative dimension.

 

[Deleted member 473]

Just to be pedantic (what else?): you can blue-shift an infinite wavelength as much as you like and still end up with an infinite wavelength.

There is no such thing as an infinite wavelength, just to be pedantic.

 

[Trev]

Yes there is. A plot of it is a straight line. Or are you telling us that you don't believe in infinity?

 

[Deleted member 473]

Yes there is. A plot of it is a straight line. Or are you telling us that you don't believe in infinity?

I believe in infinity but not infinite wavelength or frequency.

So, at what height is your straight line?

 

[Trev]

What a silly question. Everyone knows that lines do not have height, only length and in this case it's infinitely long. If you are talking about its position on the X axis of an X/Y graph, then it's indeterminate.

 

[Deleted member 473]

Everyone knows that lines do not have height

But with your definition, they have a height of zero. (Better called width.)


Have you never heard of thick and thin lines? Or spectral lines? Or lines of people? Power lines?

only length

Some lines do not have length. There have to be conditions for length to be defined.