Empty Space?

[K'riq Sa]

Has there been a thread on empty space? It is a topic that has fasicinated me to no end. If a space is empty, how can it have stuff in it? Is empty space a metaphor? Where does the empty space go when it's full? Can empty space be saved? Can you have multiple empty spaces in one space? What is the cure for empty space? Are empty spaces transaminase? Is empty space big enough to get inside of?


These are all burning questions that may or may not have an answer...







k'riq

 

[trekkiedane]

Plus, of course, can any space really be considered "empty" if it has electromagnetism (light, cell reception, whatnot) and/or gravity in it -that's the big Q if you ask me!

 

[Jadzia]

Erm. a related question...

I have crossed legs... and now I don't... Where did they go?

 

[Alidar Jarok]

There was an ancient philosopher named Parminides who argued that there was no such thing as "nothing" and this led to some very strange consequences in what real life was (I'll give you a hint, it isn't what it looks like. We're all actually one homogeneous substance). According to him, there is no empty space.

 

[Holdfast]

According to him, there is no empty space.

<valleyspeak> There so Is. </valleyspeak>

 

[iguana_tonante]

Personally, I go with Democritus. Nothing exists besides matter and void: everything else is opinion.

 

[Zulu Romeo]

According to him, there is no empty space.

As opposed to non-empty space? If a space was occupied, it wouldn't be a space, now, would it?


I'm with Kiri-kin-tha on this. Nothing unreal exists.

Erm. a related question...

I have crossed legs... and now I don't... Where did they go?

I have no idea, but now I have crossed legs on my mind. I think we need to keep looking at... I mean, for them. (Whew, that was close. [Pathetic, ZR, just pathetic - everyone])

Of course, keep your legs crossed all the time and the common peroneal nerve (at the head of the fibula of the crossed leg) can become compressed, leading to transient numbness.

 

[trekkiedane]

The thing is that empty actually is an acronym:

Emergency
Makeshift
Place
To
Yield

In other words, an EMPTY drawer (for instance) is a place to store your stuff

-Where STUFF, of course, means:

Shit
That is
Used
For
Filling

 

[sojourner]

I traversed M-T Space once.

 

[ITL]

.








So there.

 

[K'riq Sa]

Does This Hurt?

Erm. a related question...

I have crossed legs... and now I don't... Where did they go?

No, but there are a few scientific experiments we can try that may give us a clue. Somebody get me some Mayo, two hot towels, and bottle of Jack stat, let's do this.

My question is why you were looking there for empty space in the first place...




K'riq

 

[K'riq Sa]

I traversed M-T Space once.

Did you get us a t-shirt?




Easy E (einstien), theorized that the only thing in empty space was gravity, and that was caused by a mass outside of the space. hmmmm whoda thunk.

here is the equation if you need it...
http://rafimoor.com/english/GRE3_files/image006.gif







k'riq

 

[Jadzia]

The point I was making is that empty space is describing a relative state of an entity, not an existentially independent entity.

Much like crossed legs... I can create and destroy crossed legs. But they're not an independent entity, it is mutually exclusive with uncrossed legs. If I create crossed legs, I necessarily destroy uncrossed legs, and vice versa.

To say that space is empty is declaring a state of an entity, but it is relative to what? How are you defining unempty space?

 

[RJDiogenes]

Empty space is an abstract concept. All space is a quantum foam of virtual particles. Which means that Black Holes can evaporate, among other things.

 

[melancholymecha]

empty space? I still can't figure out that Shrodinger's cat thing. The cat is alive and dead at the same time = parallel universes =

 

[StarryEyed]

According to general relativity, 3-dimensional space is a tangible fabric which can be distorted by gravity.

 

[ITL]

empty space? I still can't figure out that Shrodinger's cat thing. The cat is alive and dead at the same time = parallel universes =

It's not meant to be taken literally. That's the whole point. It was a way of pointing out that you can't apply quantum rules to non-quantum states.

(As far as I'm aware, that is. Cue someone with greater knowledge to put me right in 5...4...3..)

 

[RJDiogenes]

^^ The way it works is, until you open the DVD, Star Trek is both alive and dead....

 

[Zulu Romeo]

^^ The way it works is, until you open the DVD, Star Trek is both alive and dead....

That would be Schrodinger's Canon.

 

[USS Triumphant]

That would be Schrodinger's Canon.

Whereas this is Schrodinger's Cannon: