Showing posts with label Measure. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Measure. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Space Its More than the Final Frontier

The three dimensional extent in which objects and events occur with a relative position to other objects and events is called space. In a more general sense space can refer to an nth dimensional hyper-volume. The notion of higher dimensions has gained more acceptability in physics with M-Theory. This opens the door to possibilities such as the supernatural that are usually considered out side the realm of science.

Often illustrated by 3 lines representing the three dimensions of space are the lines of  the axis of a 3d graph. In 3d space you can move in 3 directions forwards and backwards; up and down and left to right. General Relativity depicts space and time as a fabric that can be warped, bent, twisted, stretched and contracted. Quantum Mechanics describes subatomic particles coming and going even in a vacuum. Space is not empty, it is not nothing. Yes I am well aware that  this is a double negative however empty space is normally thought of as nothing but it is something.

Basic SI unit – meter (m) which is the distance traveled by light in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second. The most common methods of measuring space are rulers but odometers are another common way of measuring distance and there by space. Other methods include bouncing light, radio waves, or sound off of an object using the return time to measure distance. These include radar and sonar. Parallax uses geometry to measure distance it is used in Astronomy and land surveying.

Distance and position must be measured according to some standard. The standard has to be a chosen point in space. The point is selected by ether convenience or convention with out such a starting point determining distance and position is impossible..

Space is one of the three main parts of the Universe space, time and mass. Relativity shows them to be inter-related with space and time are so interrelated that they form a single entity.  Intern mass warps space-time forming gravity and motion of mass contracts both space and time. Based on common experience space is basically where you are. You are at a particular point in space relative to other objects. Physics however has shown it to be a lot more. It is a fundamental part of the universe.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

The Major Tool of Science, that of Measurements

The process of obtaining numerical values representing physical properties is called measurement. These properties include such things as length, mass, or time, by way of a unit of measurement. A unit of measurement is a magnitude representing a physical quantity by use of a standard for measurement of that physical quantity. A measuring device is a piece of equipment used to measure a physical quantity based on a standard for measurement.

 Measurement and Objectivity
Measurement is the most objective part of science since the resulting numbers are what they are. Using mechanical devices for measurement improves objectivity by removing human subjectivity. The validity of a measurement is only as valid as the theory behind it.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Units of Measure in Physics

Numerical values given physical quantities relative to some standard are called unites of measure. The global standard system of measurement units is called the International System of Units or SI units for sjort.


Seven SI Base Units



meter
distance


kilogram


mass


second


time


ampere


current


kelvin


temperature


mole


amount of substance


candela


intensity of light




Common Derived SI
Units



newton


force


coulomb


charge


Joule


energy


volt


potential


tesla


flux density


farad


capacitance


hertz


 frequency


ohm


resistance


SI unit prefixes

Prefix 10n Scale Decimal

10     
As a result 1,000 meters is a kilometer, a hundredth of a meter is centimeter and a thousandth of a meter is a millimeter.