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More Spacecraft Velocity Anomalies
ZonkerWilliam recommends a bulletin from the American Institute of Physics, which discusses a study noting that recent spacecraft, such as NEAR, appear to display velocity anomalies much like those seen in Pioneer 10 (which were observed beginning ten years ago). The anomalies amount to up to 13 mm/sec., with a measurement accuracy of 0.1 mm/sec. Quoting: "A new look at the trajectories for various spacecraft as they fly past the Earth finds in each case a tiny amount of surplus velocity. For craft that pursue a path mostly symmetrical with respect to the equator, the effect is minimal. For craft that pursue a more unsymmetrical path, the effect is larger."
Could this anomaly possibly be explained by dark matter?
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Here is an interesting explanation for it by a PhD. with the following credentials:
Beginning in 1979 he worked for Sandia National Laboratories (New Mexico) in nuclear physics, geophysics, pulsed-power research, and theoretical atomic and nuclear physics. In 1985, he began working with Sandia's 'Particle Beam Fusion Project', and was co-inventor of special laser-triggered 'Rimfire' high-voltage switches, now coming into wider use.
The last few years at Sandia had seen greater emphasis on theoretical nuclear physics and radiation hydrodynamics in an effort to help produce the world's first lab-scale thermonuclear fusion. Besides gaining another U.S. patent, Dr Humphreys has been given two awards from Sandia, including an Award for Excellence for contributions to light ion-fusion target theory.
Here's his explanation: ( Includes physics equations. )
http://www.creationontheweb.com/images/pdfs/tj/j21_2/j21_2_61-70.pdf
...but those variations have been quantified with exquisite precision by half a century of satellite tracking. I'm guessing it has something to do with motion of molten metal in the earth's core, only now beginning to show up because it's a long-term effect.
rj
I'm amazed that they can apparently measure the speed of spacecraft that's millions of kilometers away, to a precision of 10e-4 m/s. How do they do this? I imagine it must be some sort of interferometry. Still, awesome. If only cruise control (with automatic distance control) was this accurate. :-)
I wish, though, that that were more true than it actually is in science. Quite a few anomalies are being ignored because resolving them would challenge "sacred" theories.
Anyone familiar with modern physics should be appalled by its complexity, confused by the many correction and perturbation factors, and amazed at the many weird theories propounded in all sincerity to explain observations in terms of "established theories". Anomalies are the rule rather than the exception, and the amount of data which just won't fit is colossal. All in all it is fairly obvious the mainstream view of the Universe is bogging down and we are in reality conjuring up a mathematical monstrosity and raising it to Deity status. It is truly the modern Golden Calf.
The solar wind output from the sun is anisotropic, and can certainly account for variations in a space probe's velocity. I'm wondering if that was taken into account in their calculations.
*** Quantum Mechanics: The Dreams of Which Stuff is Made ***
I think it is more of the human ability to interpret vagueness into anything. The genesis description of the origin of the universe lends itself to analogy, which he uses in that paper. Now his physics may be accurate in that the Universe may extend much further than the matter we can detect, and that may explain the velocity anomaly. But to extend that to say that a very vague story from 3000 years ago is a true an accurate description of the universe's origins and that therefore the bible is literally true is just fantasy.
I've never been a believer. Recently, after reading The Selfish Gene and seeing just how much real evidence there is for evolution and seeing that science really _is_ an accurate and true explanation for how we came to be on the earth. It really does explain away any "need" for any sort of "personal god" as an alternate explanation. So, to give equal time to "the other side", I tried to read the bible. I got thru Genesis, but realized that there really is "nothing there" as far as explanatory power. And certainly to try to extract morals from the old testament would be a mistake. So then I got "Skeptics Answered" and again, there really isn't anything to the arguments of the believers.
While I'm interested in why people believe, and how we can change that going forward, I've really lost interest in _what_ they believe. It really holds no value as near as I can tell.
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The scientists have already admitted such, to some extent at least. It would help if we had any sort of clue as to 'what' gravity is. There is active research to determine the rate of propogation of gravity. If it were at the speed of light, the earth's orbit would double every 1800 years. With quasar-assisted measurements, the best estimate now is that gravity propagates at 20 billion (2 times 10 to the 10th) the speed of light. Our concept of gravity was taught as being instantaneous, and this speed is far from infinite. And if electromagnetic radiation and mass doesn't often exceed the speed of light, this gravity stuff is something very unknown.
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