Re: basic question about light

On Feb 10, 10:18 pm, "Androcles" <Engin...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
"Randy Poe" <poespam-t...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in messagenews:1171151578.342519.102300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On Feb 10, 2:25 pm, "Androcles" <Engin...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
"Randy Poe" <poespam-t...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in messagenews:1171133064.163815.323460@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I asked:
Are TV signals absorbed by aluminium molecules in the antenna?

Answered 3 times already.

Yes, so you agree that molecules do not absorb all EM radiation.

No, nor did I ever say so. However, when any particular photon is
absorbed,
it is 100% gone.

Absorbed by a hogment molecule. Ever heard of electron microscopes?

Its energy is translated into an excited state.

That's what happens in an antenna.



In the case of visual pigments, as I posted from several websites,
the energy of the photon is used to change the shape of the
pigment molecule.

My ex-girlfriend suffered from type II diabetes.
http://medweb.bham.ac.uk/easdec/laserdiabetic_retinopathy.html

So did my dad. So? What do you think the connection is
supposed to be between retinopathy and how a visual
pigment molecule reacts to light?

I suppose as a layman trying to be a physicist you'd call that
"changing shape".

I would call "changing from a cis isomer to a trans isomer"
changing shape. That is the meaning of "isomer". Look up
"cis" and "trans" if you've never run into them.

A microwave oven will change the shape of popcorn, too.

Water is a polar molecule that has a strong molecular absorption
at 2.5 GHz. An "antenna" is not a bad description of how
water reacts with this radiation.

That energy is then converted to heat, which cooks food.

Its energy is translated into an excited state. Pop pop pop...
I call it "cooking".

"Cooking" at the molecule level is "denaturing of protein",
and does involve changing shape at the molecular level.

You have a hard time with ordinary words,
don't you, Poe?

No, ordinary words like "changing shape" are perfect fine
when they describe things correctly. However "antenna" is not
a good description of what happens when a photon encounters
a visual pigment molecule, whereas "changing shape" is.
Look up "isomer". The molecule goes from one isomer to another.
If that's not a change in shape, what is?

Different isomers have different chemical properties. Until
it goes back, it's not the same molecule. You think something
in an antenna acts that way?

So now that we know the answer to your question is "no", I'll
just repeat my original statement:

[A photon] is absorbed by a pigment molecule in your retina.

http://www.catalase.com/retina.gif

Those rods and cones are antennae.

No, they really aren't.

Yes, they really are.

There is almost nothing in the physics of antennas that is in
common with the interaction of light with a visual pigment molecule.

If you'd actually read the quotes I provided, you'd learn that
vertebrate visual reception begins with a photon causing a
molecule to change shape.

I don't believe word soup, it was a load of crap.

That's right. Don't read articles on the visual system if you
want to know about the visual system. Better to make it up.
"Word soup".

That then induces a series of enzyme-catalyzed reactions.

Nothing like that happens in an antenna.

Nothing like that happens in an antenna, but they do operate.

Right. Antennas operate on one principle. Eyes operate on
another principle. But you're scared of an actual description of
what eyes do. "Word soup". "Load of crap". Better to make it up.

- Randy

.

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