Video About Peer Review

Video About Peer Review

This is a video description of Peer Review

Observation and the Viewing and Recording of. Data

The process of viewing and recording events is called observation. Viewing and recording mainly consist of watching a phenomenon and recording the observation.

The accuracy of observations are limited because real world observations some times miss stuff. An important event may occur when observations are not being mad or outside the range of the observer’s sight. As a result observations can be some what subjective since it is too easy for an observer to see what he wants to see because the observer is looking for what he wants to see So patterns resembling what the observer wants to see are more likely noticed. It is also too easy for an observer to not see what he does not want to see because the observer is not looking for what he does not want to see and patterns not resembling what the observer is not looking for can be over looked. Knowing of such problems helps avoid them.

As important as Observation  is in science it does have its limitations and pitfalls. Being aware of those limitations helps one to avoid them.

Repeatability its Importance in Science

The replication of a scientist’s experiments and results by other scientists is called Repeatability. Since the physical laws are the same every place any experiment conducted by one scientist should work for any other scientist so to provide a double check the results.

Experiments with well controlled variables are the best prospects for repeatability to work because replication can be as completely as possible. It does not work well in situations where there are difficulties in controlling variables. In such cases results are not easily replicated. The degree of repeatability varies from field to field.

The Scientific Process of Experimentation

The investigation of the causal relationships among variables or the testing of a hypothesis is called Experimentation. Experimentation under controlled conditions is fundamental to the ideal of science. Both the scientific method and repeatability works best with controlled experiments but not all area of scientific study lend them selves to experiments. There are a lot of real world observations that are beyond the possibility of a controlled experiment do to things like distance, size and time. In some cases such as in historical sciences experiments can only be used to test the possibility of a hypothesis by trying to replicate a past event to show it could have happened.

In an Ideal Experiment the number of variable should be reduced to one and be easily repeated by other scientists. This increases the likely hood that someone will try to repeat it and makes it more likely that the attempt to repeat it will succeed. It should also be limited in complexity and cost which also increases the likely hood that someone will try to repeat it making it more likely that the attempt to repeat it will succeed.

What is Peer Review is in Science

Peer Review is the submission of scholarly works and research to the review of other’s in the same field.

Peer Review practically speaking refers to review for publication in a journal proving a way to find and correct mistakes before publication of a paper includes spelling, grammar, mathematical and other form of mistakes. It a method of quality control to the research being published helping guard against poor research.

Unfortunately this provides a means of blocking the publication of novel concepts that run contrary to the current paradigm. If dissenters respond be publishing their own peer review journals they are criticized and their journals are often decried as non reputable. Some times it is denied that they are even legitimate peer review. This has been shown too happened in origins research with Creation Science peer review journals and climate research with climate peer review journals that publish papers that go against Global Warming.  So called reputable journals seemed to be defined based on agreement with establishment paradigms. Attacking sincere peer review efforts in this way harms scientific Research.

Are Scientists really objective?

It is not possible for human beings be totally objective since we all have preconceptions about the world. It is only possible to be really objective if you know nothing about a topic since knowledge on a topic creates opinions that influence preconceptions. This is the reason every effort is made for juries to know little or nothing about the case in advance. The fact is that you can only be totally objective if you are totally ignorant.
There are three steps in dealing with data collection, organizing and interpreting Collecting data involves measuring and recording and it is the most objective part of science. Since much of this is done by machines it is where true scientific objectivity is found. Even this process is not totally objective since the selection of data to be tested is not always objective and is often based on the theory being used says to look for. This part of the process is still the most objective. Organizing Data includes the categorizing of data sets. As soon as an organizing system exists it influences how the data is seen and this causes a loss of objectivity. The interpretation of data depends on the theoretical system being used to do the interpretation because different theoretical system produces different interpretations. Scientists using different theoretical systems on the same data can produce different and even contradicting interpretations and a flawed theoretical system causes flawed interpretation,

What is the Scientific Establishment?

The scientific establishment  consists of all of the mainstream scientific institutions and those that run them. Those in these positions give them the ability to control many aspects of main stream science making it possible for them to limit research and distribution of material they don’t like. These positions include those with control over publishing, employment, research grants, research facilities and education.

Such control hampers innovation by keeping concepts down that are outside the ruling paradigm. This not only includes Creation Science and Intelligent Design but alternative totally naturalistic concepts as well. There are areas where progress occurs only because older influential scientists die and are replaced by younger more receptive scientists. It has been said that scientific progress occurs one funeral at a time.

This is not conspiratorial but just people protecting their power and world view. However the result is the same. This actually happens in all fields of human endeavor such as science, religion, politics, business, and education. It is a result of human nature.

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

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Common Derived SI Units
newton	force		coulomb	charge
Joule	energy		volt	potential
tesla	flux density		farad	capacitance
hertz	frequency		ohm	resistance

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SI unit prefixes
Prefix	10n	Scale	Decimal
yotta- zetta- exa- peta- tera- giga- mega- kilo- hecto- deca- none deci- centi- milli- micro- nano- pico- femto- antto- zepto- yocto- 10 24 21 18 15 12 9 6 3 2 1 0 -1 -2 -3 -6 -9 -12 -15 -18 -21 -24    Septillion Sextillion Quintillion Quadrillion Trillion Billion Million Thousand Hundred Ten One Tenth Hundredth Thousandth Millionth Billionth Trillionth Quadrillionth Quintillionth Sextillionth Septillionth    1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 1,000,000,000,000,000 1,000,000,000,000 1,000,000,000 1,000,000 1,000 100 10 1 0,01 0,01 0,001 0,000,001 0,000,000,001 0,000,000,000,001 0,000,000,000,000,001 0,000,000,000,000,000,001 0,000,000,000,000,000,000,001 0,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,001

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.

Zeroth Law of Thermodynamics

The zeroth law of thermodynamics says that two objects in thermal equilibrium with a third object re also in equilibrium with each other.

The zeroth law of thermodynamics is called the zeroth law and not the fourth law because it is more fundamental than the first law but it was discovered after the other three. 

Imagine having three interconnected beakers of water so that the water levels in all three are the same height. They are interconnected so that any change in one beaker gets balanced out so all three beakers end up ay the same level.

The reason why this occurs is that heat can flow between all three objects so that if one gets out of equilibrium the others supply heat to it or  removed heat from it there by  restoring equilibrium to all three.

The zeroth law is a rather simple concept and it is the most fundamental of the Laws of Thermodynamics.

The Scientific Method

The Scientific Method the description of the general process of scientific observation, it is a general description and not an absolute rule.

• Observation is the viewing and recording. and measurements of facts and data. Experimentation is one way of engaging in observation. Observation is simply the collection of data
• A hypothesis is a tentative explanation of an observed phenomenon used to make testable predictions.
• Predictions are produced by the application of the hypothesis other inputs to predict the results of future observations. These predictions must be unique because the same prediction from two more hypothesizes can’t distinguish between the alternatives.

Testing a hypothesis involves making observations based on the hypothesis so as to see if its predictions agree with the observations.
 

Example 

1. The observation is made of a known particle of known mass and negative charge following a parabolic path.
2. The hypothesis is made that a small massive positively charged particle exists at the center of attraction. This is similar to the way the atomic nucleolus was discovered.
3. The prediction is made of the path of a similar positively charged particle, that it is of the same mass and but opposite charge of first particle. It should follow a hyperbolic path showing that it was deflected.
4. If prediction occurs, then the prediction succeeds and the hypothesis supported.
5. If the new particle follows the same path as the first then the prediction fails and the hypothesis falsified so a new hypothesis needed.
6. The new hypothesis is made of a small neutral extremely high mass particle; possibly a mini black hole; with enough gravity to bend particle paths.
7. The new prediction for is that neutral particle of the same mass as the first two should follow the same path as the other two particles. If prediction occurs then the prediction succeeds and the new hypothesis supported

Scientific Method is just a general description that works best with controlled experiments. It can test for particular predictions with controlled variables. However, it does not always work well for real world observations. Since variables often not controllable it often can not test for particular predictions.

 It does not always work well for historical sciences were variables are usually not controllable. It such cases particular predictions often can not be test. Furthermore destruction of evidence can come from both natural and manmade sources. Unfortunately manmade destruction of evidence can occur by scientists themselves, such destruction can be both accidental as well as deliberate.

The fact is that the Scientific Method is not always used exactly as described and it’s use varies depending on the situation.

New Class of Stellar Body.

Bodies that are too small to be stars and too big to be planets called brown dwarfs have been know for years, but now a body small to be a brown dwarf and too big to be a planet has been found.

Planets like Jupiter can have a “surface” temperature below -200 degrees Fahrenheit. While brown dwarfs can have “surface” temperatures of about   +400 degree Fahrenheit. Labeled a Y-Dwarf this new body which dose not orbit a star has a “surface” temperature of around +80 degrees Fahrenheit which is around room temperature.

The Y-Dwarves are not a lone several Jupiter-sized planets with out stars have been found. It all shows we have a lot to learn about the Universe.

The 2nd Law of Thermodynamics

 

The Second Law of Thermodynamics states the following:

• The entropy in a closed system always increases.
• The amount of unusable energy in a closed system increases.
• It is impossible to turn all of the heat put into a system into work so that you can’t make a 100% efficient engine.

The 2^nd law of Thermodynamics is based on the fact that heat will only spontaneously flow from a hot object to a colder object but it never will spontaneously flow from a cold object to  a hot object.

Whenever heat is used to do work a potion of the heat always goes to the colder location. This wasted heat is called entropy. Simply put you can never turn all of the heat into work and percentage of the heat converted in to work it the engines efficiency.  

Now applying work to a system can forced heat to go from a cold object to a hot object, which also reduces entropy, this shows that work can reduce entropy. This process is the basic theory behind air conditioners, refrigerators, and heat pumps.

Entropy is the measure of a system's thermal energy unavailable for conversion into mechanical work. It is also a measure of the equivalent states or multiplicity of a system and there by a measure of the disorder or randomness in a system.

In Classical Thermodynamics entropy is mathematically defined as dS = dQ/T.

These results in the change in entropy as: DS = Q/T.

• S = entropy
• Q = Heat energy
• T = Temperature

In statically thermodynamics entropy is mathematically defined as S = k ln W.

This results in the change in entropy as: DS = k ln W₂ / W_1.

•  S = entropy
•  k = Boltzmann constant
•  W = the multiplicity of a system.

Entropy and Disorder

The relationship between entropy and disorder is shpwn through the multiplicity of a system which is denoted by W. The multiplicity of disordered states (W_d) is many orders of magnitude grester than the multiplicity of ordered states (W_o) such that W_d >> W_o  this means they S_d >> S_o.

Since 2nd Law of Thermodynamics shows entropy tends to increase it also shows that the degree of disorder of a systems tends to increases. The only way to increase a system’s order; decreasing entropy; is for work to be performed on the system.

Abiogenesis and 2nd Law

The spontaneous process of life forming from non life by naturalistic means is called Abiogenesis. Now living things are the most ordered and complex systems that are known to exist, In fact even the simplest known living cell is infinitely more organized and complex than the most organized non-living chemical systems known to exist.

As a result the entropy of a living cell is many orders of magnitude lower than the entropy of the same amount non-living chemicals. This means that for abiogenesis to occur it must go against the 2nd law’s tendency towards increasing entropy.

Now it is true that entropy can be decreased by work being performed on a system but there is no evidence for a naturalistic mechanism performing the work needed for such a large decrease in entropy. Without this mechanism the 2nd law suggests that abiogenesis is impossible.

Applied Energy and 2nd Law

The 2nd Law Thermodynamics does indeed show that when energy is applied to a system it can reduce the system’s entropy. What it fails to show how the manner in which energy is applied affects entropy.  It does not show the deference between construction work and a bomb.

Construction work reduces a system’s entropy while bombs increase a system’s entropy.  Unfortunately the 2nd Law does not show the difference.  The result is that additional principle is needed to show this difference and this is also need to really determine if abiogenesis is possible or not.

The 1st Law of Thermodynamics

The 1st Law of thermodynamics can be stated as follows

1. The Law of Conservation of Energy.
2. Energy can neither be created nor destroyed but it can change forms..
3. Total amount of energy in a closed system remains constant.

The significance of this is that the total amount of energy in the Universe is constant. It is also impossible to get more energy out of a system than is put into it. You can’t get just energy from nothing it has to come from some place. Most often it is stored in the form of some type of fuel but regardless energy has to come from some source. 

The 1st Law of Thermodynamics tells us a lot about what systems are possible and what systems are impossible. Any system that puts out more energy than is put into it from any source is impossible. To be possible a system must it needs to get energy from some place, even if it is not obvious. This does not mean that you can’t get more energy out of a system tan you put into it but it has to come from someplace..

Free Energy is often associated with pseudo-science and conspiracy theories but it is a legitimate scientific term. In classical thermodynamics free energy is the energy in a system available to do work. However “free energy” refers to a group of devices alleged to put out more energy than the user supplies to them. Though I have never seen a convincing demonstration of a free energy device the question here is does free energy violate the 1st Law of thermodynamics? 

The answerer is no as long as the free energy device gets energy from some place. Now there are recognized devices that technically qualify as free energy they include solar cells which get their energy from sun light and wind mills that get their energy from wind. However most alleged free energy devices seek to tape the Universe’s zero point energy. Now it is highly debatable as to whether or not this zero point energy can be taped but in principle it does not violate the 1st law thermodynamics.   

In conclusion the 1st Law of thermodynamics simply says that the amount energy in a closed system remains constant.  This is regardless of how it is changed or is moved around. To add energy to a system it needs to come from some place else.