The Disappearing Spoon Chp. 18

The Disappearing Spoon Chapter 18

Summary:

The chapter first starts off by giving us a vivid description on just how terribly awful the people from the bureau of standards and measurement are, yet widely relied on by many countries. After describing the bureau of standards and measurement, the chapter starts to describe the type of work they do and just how they do it; basically describe what mathematics they use. Once it finished speaking about the tons of information on the standards of measurement, it introduced Einstein into the topic and started to explain the interactions between electrons and protons. After so, the element, previously mentioned before several chapters ago, Cesium is introduced and how it is completely unique when comparing its one electron in the outermost shell. Since, the chapter thought that there needed to be more numbers in here, the chapter started talking about more numbers. If you can't tell already, I am being bias towards this chapter because of how many times numbers are mentions; I don't want more numbers. 

Finally, after the chapter finishes speaking about how many different numbers are involved, even more numbers are involved and I have yet to see something like a background story that is existent or remotely interesting. Luckily, some background information is then described involving French miners in 1972 that caused a scientific roar. After that lucky break, more scientific notation and other numbers are talked about and how they fir in all of this. Overall, I' just going to end it here and say that the chapter ends with astronomers talking about how humans are very insignificant  and that finding life somewhere in the universe may not be all that impossible in the future. 

Reflection:

By simply skimming through my summary, you'd be able to easily tell that I, in not way, liked reading this chapter. The only remote thing that I enjoyed reading from this chapter was the ending, knowing that I had finished reading this chapter. The main reason as to why I so highly disliked this chapter is because of just how much math was involved and how there was barely any evidence of background history. Overall, I wish I didn't read this chapter.\

Guiding Questions:

1. Why is the official kilogram in Paris made of mostly platinum?

It would change the least in a given amount of time.

2. What is an atomic clock and how does it work? Why is cesium the ideal element for these clocks?

it helps determine the wavelength and cesium is used to determine with great accuracy.

3. What is significant about the constant alpha?

Because it is a dimensionless ratio-all units cancel out-involving three quantities.

4. Why is it impossible for a number like pi to change but apparently possible for other constants like alpha to change? 

Since pi is a constant number, it will always consistently be the same; however, alpha can change because it can be a variable.

5. We all can agree what something like a second or mile is on a daily basis. Do you think that it’s important that scientists have an extremely exact definition of a second? Why or why not?  

If not, any problem using time in the problem will always be inaccurate and unpredictable.

6. Why is it such a big deal if a constant has changed a whopping .001 percent over 10 billion years?

It proves that it was at one point eventually completely change.

7. What does it mean for something to be a paradox?

To be exact, yet also contradicting.