Re: Nobel Prize for David Thomson?!

From: David Thomson (news5_at_volantis.org)
Date: 01/08/05 

Date: Sat, 8 Jan 2005 14:52:04 -0600

"Bilge" <dubious@radioactivex.lebesque-al.net> wrote in message
news:slrnctlqja.gam.dubious@radioactivex.lebesque-al.net...
> David Thomson:
> >"Bilge" <dubious@radioactivex.lebesque-al.net> wrote in message
> >news:slrnct8a4o.3tr.dubious@radioactivex.lebesque-al.net...
> >> David Thomson:
> >> >"Bill Hobba" <bhobba@rubbish.net.au> wrote in message
> >> >news:nBcAd.91960$K7.50290@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> >> >>> The units of c=1 is nonsense.
> >> >>
> >> >> Are you serious? Are you claiming it is not possible to devise
> >> >> units
> >> >> in
> >> >> which the speed of light will measure 1?
> >> >
> >> >E = mc^2
> >> >
> >> >therefore
> >> >
> >> >mc^2 = mc^2
> >> >
> >> >therefore
> >> >
> >> >m = m
> >>
> >> >If you're going to make c = 1, you have to do it on both sides of the
> >> >equation. And if you say that E doesn't really equal mc^2, then you
> >> >didn't
> >> >have an equation to begin with. Do you see the nonsense of c=1 now?
> >>
> >> You left off the momentum:
> >>
> >> E^2 - p^2 = m^2
> >
> >Hey, did you take algebra in grade school? You can't subtract momentum
> >squared from energy squared because the dimensions don't agree.
>
> Did you take reading in grade school? You wrote that c = 1 makes no
> sense. I wrote an equation with c = 1, pointing out what you left off,
> contradicting your assertion. If you plan to argue that units with c = 1
> don't make sense, don't pretend you didn't realize that I used those
> units.

You didn't use the units on both sides. E^2 has units of c, too, which you
did not factor out. Also, you ended up with E^2 - p^2, which is
mathematically invalid. You can't subtract different units.

Dave

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