Hidden energy in tiny pallets

Energy is hidden in tiny pallets.

(The story of Atom)

Debi Prasad Choudhary

Sunspot, New Mexico

11/17/2014

My childhood was blessed without electric lights that offered me an opportunity to explore the night sky. I used to do my homework in the morning under sunshine and with an oil lamp in the evening throughout my elementary school, since our village did not have electricity. Every year in the mock marriage function of our God Sri Ram, we used take him in evening procession with few cotton lamps poured with scented oil. After about one year of my father’s transfer to a small town, I started living under the electric streetlights. One day, the school authorities decided to illuminate our government quarter with electric light. After completion of wiring, there was a sacred ceremony to please Gods before putting the main switch on. A small 40-watt bulb illuminated our home, which was much better than oil lamp. I was able to see many things in the night that was not possible with the oil lamp. I was in 7^th grade and informally learned danger about electricity. I decided to test it by touch a wire carrying live current. I got a shock, but since I was prepared I could quickly save myself. This was my first encounter to electric current. Later in my physics class, I learned that electric current is carried in the wires that glow the bulbs.

After several years, I travelled to north India for my higher studies. This region is generally dry in winter. I noticed sparking light by rubbing the woolen blanket. This happens as the blankets accumulate excessive free electrons while rubbing. This was the time; our hostel installed a bulky black and white television set (not flat TV) in the hostel. These televisions worked as a beam of electrons swiped the screen from behind producing images. By the end of my first year in Master of Science in Physics, I was amused to know the same electrons working to glow our bulbs, spark in blankets and producing images in TV set.

More than hundred years ago, J. J. Thompson, an English physicist received Noble Prize by developing tools to control a beam of electrons with magnetics. The bulky televisions produce images by controlling this beam in a very sophisticated manner. Robert Millikan, who lived in Pasadena, California, about 20 minutes drive from my house, experimentally determined the charge of these particles that fetched him Noble Prize in 1923. The electrons are negatively charged particles. Around the same time another positively charged alpha particle was discovered, which is essentially Helium atom without electrons. These are now used in smoke detectors to ionize the air in the vicinity that is hindered due to presence of smoke. In early 20^th century, Rutherford, born in New Zealand conducted an experiment by bombarding alpha particles on to a thin gold foil. He noticed that almost all the particles passed through the foil and one in 20,000 particles bounced back. Rutherford concluded that most of the gold foil was empty. The tiny gold particles contain heavy positive nucleus at the center and the electrons move far away leaving the space in between empty. If you consider the size of the nucleus to that of an orange placed in the middle of a Cricket or football field, the electrons surround them at the field boundary. The entire field is empty. This is one of the greatest experiments conducted in last century upon which most of our modern physics is based. Rutherford received Nobel Prize in 1908.

Although, the gold foil experiment showed that atom consist of electron and proton, it was not clear why are they not coming together due to Columb force. In ordinary situation, when a positive and negatively charged particles are placed at some distance they would be attracted by a force known as Columb force the strength of which would depend on their charge and separating distance. These forces would bring the particles together and destroy an atom. But, we know that the atoms are stable and not destroyed so often. In order to counter the attractive force physicists thought that the electrons must move around the nucleus. But, if a charge particle moves, it would loose energy by radiation and eventually fall onto the nucleus and destroy it. Around this time, many bright scientists including Niels Bohr, Einstein, and Heisenberg developed theories to explain the structure of the atom. It became clear that the nucleus contain another charge-less particle called neutron and electron does not loose energy as long as it orbits at a certain distance from the center. Electrons jump from orbits further from nucleus to the nearer ones to produce light.

How come the positively charged particles, protons, stay together at such short distance in the nucleus and not repels each other?  It was found that when they come very close they remain bound by very strong attractive force.

Using the same theories that describe the structure of atoms, Indian born astrophysics Chandrasekhar could explain the stability of the stars and showed that same set of physical laws govern the material on earth and objects in the heavens. This is remarkable.

Before the structure of the nucleus was known people thought sun is shining by due to similar processes we employ to illuminate dining table by burning a candle. If that were true, the sun would not last more than few thousand years, which contradicts the fact that it is older than 4.5 billion year old earth. This led British scientist Eddington to predict that nucleus of the atom must contain enormous energy, which is the source for shining of the sun. Many years later Hans Bethe of Cornel University showed how to harness this reservoir and Enrico Fermi of Chicago University invented a device to produce them. Both Bethe and Fermi got Noble prize. The atom bombs unleash energy contained in the nucleus, when controlled can illuminate our home.  Hydrogen bombs are much more deadly that work under same principle as the energy production mechanism at the center of the sun.

In the tiny pallets at the heart of atoms enormous energy is stored. It is not that we think so; we can harness this energy to illuminate our home through nuclear power plants or destroy our civilization making bombs. It is up to the man, who discovered them, to decide not the creator, who might have made them.

Science and Religion

Debi Prasad Choudhary

Sacremento Peak, Sunspot, New Maxico

11/14/2014

I did not have a formal elementary schooling until that last year in 5^th grade since my father was the head master of the school. I had complete freedom to sit in any class I wanted. It was a good school, with dedicated teachers in a remote village.  I learned most of the material from my grand mother and my father, who took it seriously only towards the end. That fetched me a merit scholarship in 5^th grade statewide examination. I learnt many Goudiya Vaistanv Songs from my grand mother, while accompanying her to the village temple and the river to take a bath.

My father was preparing for his Master in Arts (MA) in Oriya language in those days and reading loud. I still remember one line he used read loud. The context is: a villager goes to a fortuneteller to find out where about of her cattle. After consuming country made alcohol, when the goddess entered her, he told about the hidden location of the brass utensils of the villager. Politely she tried to correct the fortuneteller that she is asking about her cattle and not the brass utensils. The fortuneteller was angry and told “don’t you know, in our language it is brass utensil what is in your language cattle.” The standing by gentle man and women warned the villager not to make such mistake again!!

In recent times, the use of science by religious practitioners reminds me of this story that my father was reading for his MA examination. Recently, I came across a facebook posting that said heavy storms and earthquakes are the results of our thoughts and emotions. I tried to clarify that it is not true, but the sadhu asked me read some literature for enlightenment!!

On another occasion, I was travelling on the roof of a bus, with my two students to Nathadwar, a famous Sri Krishna temple. There was serious looking sadhu with us. One of my students told him, that I am very knowledgeable in Bhagabat Gita and Upnisheds. The sadhu was angry and told, that it is not enough to know these scriptures, which might be due to the money of his father. One has to live like sadhu to own them. Many other sadhus and powerful leaders have similar attitude. There is an increasing trend to argue that the concepts of atoms, electromagnetic radiation and plastic surgery, medicine, airplane etc. were all known in spiritual world. They use them to describe inconsistent and disjoint stories. Ironically, modern youth seems to get influenced by this trend.

This seems to me as a recent trend, because my association with my spiritual master was different. On one occasion, while working for my PhD at a leading research institutes, we invited my spiritual master to look through a telescope that was installed in the outskirt of Ahmedabad. He was visiting the city to record some bhajans and songs. In spite of his ill health, he obelized and came to see the telescope.  I was in charge of making some tea for him. He stayed late and took keen interest asking various question of astronomy to understand what he was looking.

On another occasion, knowing that we were PhD students of Astrophysics, my master asked us what will happen when the planets co-align. He was keen to know, because several spiritual leaders were telling all sort of stuff. We gave Him a short account of the fact that this is not significant from physics point of view. He appreciated our answer.

When I was completing my Bachelorette in Science with Physics Honors, I got an opportunity to serve as a gatekeeper of my spiritual master. This gave me some privileges to know Him better. During this visit, one of His disciples, a magician, invited Him to a evening magic show. The master obliged. In the show, he was asked to keep a ring inside a box, which was kept in side another box, and another box and so on about ten boxes. He was also asked to lock each box before keeping them. In the end he kept the key with him safely. The magician showed his trick and took out the ring. When the master opened the box, the ring was not there. The master was extremely impressed and presented his magician disciple with gifts and monetary reward.

As a student of science, each of these events added respect and my confidence on the master. He was good, did good to many of his followers. My life was shaped by the hope and inspiration that he imparted during my youth. As a service to Him, in next several blog posts, I plan to write the big concepts of modern science for people who are not science majors. This is my tribute to my spiritual master. I am motivated to do this guided by the Bhagabata Gita teaching:

न ही ज्ञाने न सदृसं पबित्र एह विद्यते !

“Na he Gyanen Sadrusham Pavitram Iha Vidyate” Nothing appear to be more sacred than the Knowledge.

So stay tuned for real stuff.