User talk:Art Carlson

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snoyes 16:09, 4 Feb 2004 (UTC)

Thanks for your help on modern geocentrism. :-) Evercat 13:50, 27 Oct 2004 (UTC)

Thanks for the honest perspective. I cannot make you (or any one else) "believe" in geo-centrism, but it clearly is as feasible as heliocentrism, discounting the notion of natural simplicity (i.e., God would likely have to have willed it for it to turn out this way). Does understanding that fact make you wonder sometimes? Truth_Seeker.

Contents 1 Langmuir 2 Homeopathy 3 Infobox 4 Nuclear fusion exceptions? 5 Fusor tubes 6 Faraday disc 7 IEC 8 Aether - thanks 9 User:Reddi RfC 10 Elerner RfC 11 Reddi RfAr 12 Wolf effect 13 Depleted uranium RfC 14 Redshift RfC 15 Troika 16 Cold fusion 17 Ball Lightning 18 Marmet's physics 19 Are You a drowser 20 Mediation 21 A plasma question 22 Fundamental Limitations to Non-Maxwellian Fusion Reactor Concepts 23 Contentless POV? 24 Redshift quantization 25 Pinch (plasma physics) 26 Eric Lerner's Focus Fusion 27 Brantz J. Craddock 28 Plasma (physics): Wikipedia:Peer review 29 User:Lucaas on Talk:Modern geocentrism 30 Fulcher band 31 RfArb 32 Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration/Pseudoscience 33 Jive /Jibe 34 Aneutronic fusion 35 Got a few minutes? 36 Thanks 37 Mediation for article 38 Quasineutrality 39 Edits on Aneutronic fusion 40 Check this Wiki-entry

[edit] Langmuir

I saw that you were basically the only one to edit the Langmuir probe page. I was wondering if you had any knowledge in Langmuir himself. I am currently working on reworking his page (my grandmother was his secretary and i have some of his journals and notes in my possession). 01:33, 7 Feb 2005 (UTC)

Sorry, I don't think I can help. I believe that there is considerable biographical information in "The Complete Works of ... ", but you must know that already. I am a plasma physicist specialized in Langmuir probes, so if there are entries in the journals and notes that you would like me to analyze or comment on from the technical side, I would be eager to do that. I live in Muinch but make occasional trips to the States. Where are you located? Art Carlson 20:32, 2005 Feb 9 (UTC)

The above message was left by bakuzjw (aka 578) 20:36, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)

I am currently rewriting the article and i just wondered if you would like to help, (I am rewriting the article in word and either tonight or tomorrow night i will upload it to wikipedia), i was wondering if you would be willing to look through it for spelling or grammar errors after i upload to wikipedia thanks. I live in Gainesville Florida, but i was born in Munich Germany so its a small world eh, (my german is rather bad i can speak it but wirting it is a whole differnt story) bakuzjw (aka 578) 20:36, 9 Feb 2005 (UTC)

I think Wikipedia could use a page on emmisive probes. I found the page on Langmuir probes very helpful. I don't know if you have the knowledge to start such an article, but perhaps you might know someone who could. Just an idea.

I added a paragraph on emissive probes to the Langmuir probe article. --Art Carlson 12:19, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Homeopathy

A fair "compromise"; but I fear that it will probably be declared too wordy by the homeopathy apologists and watered down/removed. Jooler 20:09, 14 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I do not appreciate your reversals of the Totally Disputed tag. I have detailed precisely what points are factually incorrect and misleading, and I think readers need to be made aware that your version of the truth is disputed. --Leifern 15:16, May 24, 2005 (UTC)

Looking through [Talk:Homeopathy]], the only specific objections I can find from you are POV disputes. Will you please do me the favor of writing a bulleted list of the statements you feel are factually inaccurate? Art Carlson 15:27, 2005 May 24 (UTC)

Off the top of my head:

• That homeopathy is best known for its use of chemically inactive ingredients
• That Hahnemann's texts are the final word on homeopathy
• That homeopaths explain potency of extremely diluted remedies as a "vital force"
• That there is a scientific establishment that rejects the "theoretical foundations" for homeopathy
• That the guy on quackwatch has any credibility
• etc...

I realize you and Geni have decided your grasp on science exceeds that of anybody who disagrees with you, but I have caught a) Geni making so many wrong assertions about statistics, rhetorical fallacies, and clinical trials that he has lost all credibility, and b) being polemic about the topic, that it's clear that this article is worthless for anyone who is interested in learning about the topic (as opposed to being indoctrinated on one perspective). --Leifern 15:50, May 24, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Infobox

The infobox removed had two versions - one added manually into the article, and the other, containing the same information and formatting, that could be added through use of a template. The template version was deleted, which means that manual versions of it are bad for comparable reasons (In this case, because of a consensus that it was not really an infobox at all). In this case, if you wanted to preserve the information, I'd suggest categories, or simply adding the relevent facts into the text of the article. Snowspinner 13:48, Mar 22, 2005 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Templates for deletion/Log/Deleted at the bottom. Snowspinner 16:03, Mar 22, 2005 (UTC)

To see the infobox on Acupuncture and Homeopathy simply click on their repective history hyperlink. Then look for my name and click on the time and date stamp to the left of my name and you will see an old version of the respective articles complete with the very useful infobox that Snowspinner keeps on deleting. -- John Gohde 13:21, 23 Mar 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Nuclear fusion exceptions?

« With some exceptions, nuclei lighter than iron release energy when they fuse, while heavier nuclei absorb energy [...] ». What exceptions had you in mind? I can't think of any.

Urhixidur 19:19, 2005 Apr 22 (UTC)

There exist certain metastable nuclei, at the very least, which fuse and also release a ton of alphas. I don't know any specific one, but that might be how to find one. Danielfong 08:59, 4 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Fusor tubes

I'm trying to gather information to update the fusor article (see Talk:Farnsworth-Hirsch_Fusor#updates), and found this article. Unless there's a large secret underground organization of PhD physicists named Art Carlson, I'm going to assume it was written by you. Do you have a link to a current version? I just get dead links everywhere else. Or perhaps you changed your mind and took it down? Regardless, I bet you could help expand on the article... - Omegatron 18:53, May 2, 2005 (UTC)

That's me, all right. And I still stand by what I wrote. It's just that I've left the business and neither I nor anybody else is maintaining the pages. The original thesis is now available online, which is a much better reference anyway: http://theses.mit.edu/Dienst/UI/2.0/Describe/0018.mit.theses/1995-130

I'll try to take a look at the fusor article in the next few days. I hope I'll be able to say something intelligent on the subject. If you have any specific questions before then, shoot. Art Carlson 16:47, 2005 May 3 (UTC)

Can I have your vote on whether to move the page to Fusor? Talk:Farnsworth-Hirsch_Fusor#Rename_to_plain_old_.22Fusor.22_or_.22Fusor_tube.22.3F - Omegatron 23:41, May 11, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Faraday disc

Hi Art. Thanks for merging the Faraday disc and homopolar generator articles: you did a good job. I found the disc to be a fascinating subject. When I started the article I thought I was writing about a simple dynamo, but then I realised that I had to learn about the Lorentz force, and to understand that I had to read about special relativity. I'm hoping that providing an easy-to-read explanation in Wikipedia will help combat the unnecessary mysticism that surrounds this device. Regards, --Heron 29 June 2005 09:24 (UTC)

Happy to help. Actually I'm not satisfied with the explanations on the page. I can't believe it makes a difference that charge comes in discrete bundles (electrons). But I need to mull it over before I can say any more. Art Carlson 2005 June 29 09:30 (UTC)

Hi again, Art. User:Occultations has just queried your addition of the "Configuration without a return path" section to the Faraday Paradox article, and I have to say I agree with him, although I'm an engineer and not a physicist. Could you give a reference to back up your information, please? (And it would be nice to know whether anybody has verified it experimentally.) You seem to be saying that either (1) the field is not uniform, so its rotation can have an effect on the disc, or (2) somehow the disc knows that the source of the field is rotating, even though the field itself is uniform. Which of these statements is true, or are they both wrong? --Heron 22:45, 18 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] IEC

See: Talk:Inertial electrostatic confinement Maury 5 July 2005 21:43 (UTC)

[edit] Aether - thanks

Thanks for sorting out aether. You might perhaps be interested in Wikipedia:WikiProject Pseudoscience and Wikipedia:Pages needing attention/Physics. William M. Connolley 08:32:13, 2005-07-13 (UTC).

[edit] User:Reddi RfC

Could you ask User:Reddi to respond on the Talk:Plasma cosmology page? He seems to have decided I'm not worth discussing.

If this fails, would you support an RfC against User:Reddi? He responded on his talk page that he will not respond to my comments because he considers me a troll.

Thanks, --Joshuaschroeder 20:56, 21 November 2005 (UTC)

See User_talk:Reddi. We passed each other in an edit conflict. If he persists in reverting without entering the discussion, then an RfC would certainly be called for. --Art Carlson 21:24, 21 November 2005 (UTC)

Now he's at it on the Quasi-steady state cosmology page. I'm going to start the RfC.

--Joshuaschroeder 21:42, 21 November 2005 (UTC)

I've started the RfC here: Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Reddi. Joshuaschroeder 22:17, 21 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Elerner RfC

I have added a request for comment on Eric Lerner's editing, at Wikipedia:Requests_for_comment/Elerner. Please take a look at it and endorse if you feel it is appropriate. –Joke137 00:23, 22 November 2005 (UTC)

Art, If you would, please take a moment to comment on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Requests_for_arbitration/Pseudoscience/Proposed_decision, since you have experience discussing aneutronic fusion with Lerner. Thanks. ABlake 21:01, 9 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Reddi RfAr

Arbitrartion request for Reddi's refusal to engage me. I don't know what else to do at this point: Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration.

--Joshuaschroeder 18:16, 22 November 2005 (UTC)

I'll do what I can. --Art Carlson 18:49, 22 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Wolf effect

Your comment on the redshift page just disappeared, but here are the references.

• The Wolf effect and the Redshift of Quasars (1998) Daniel F. V. James [1] (Full)
• Correlation-induced spectral changes (1996) Wolf, Emil; James, Daniel F. V. [2]

--Iantresman 21:04, 8 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Depleted uranium RfC

Your input to an RfC at Talk:Depleted uranium#Request for Comments would be appreciated. DV8 2XL 07:51, 15 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Redshift RfC

User:Iantresman is using you as a supporter of his RfC that he thinks was inappropriately closed. Can you comment on the Talk:Redshift page please? Thanks, --ScienceApologist 15:00, 20 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Troika

I have suggested a small panel of users competent in science to evaluate editors of scientific articles. Please comment at Wikipedia:Requests_for_arbitration/Reddi_2/Workshop#Troika. Fred Bauder 20:26, 31 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Cold fusion

Hi Art, sorry for bothering you, but I wonder if you could help with a problem. The foxes appear to be guarding the henhouse in the cold fusion article. Could you have a look at the talk page, and also Wikipedia:Featured article removal candidates/Cold fusion? Much obliged. –Joke 19:26, 3 January 2006 (UTC)

Hello,

There's currently a controversy at Cold fusion that I would appreciate it if you could look at. The article is about to fail a Featrued Article Removal Candidate vote. There are at least 3 fairly different versions in play: one based on the original Featured Article dating back to 2004-08-20 and tossing out all edits between now and then [3] ("FA version"), one which was the current version up until that [4] ("current version"), and a proposed new draft written originally by Edmund Storms (a retired Los Alamos scientist) and edited by me [5] ("Storms version"). At the moment the article is being rather agressively edited by a few people who support the version from a year ago, and if this stands, a lot of good material will be lost. Frankly, I can't entirely support any of the versions; the article just needs more work and more different perspectives. Hence this invitation. I hope you can help.

I'm posting this to you because I've seen you on various physics-related pages, and/or because you've worked on the Cold fusion page before. Thank you for your time.

ObsidianOrder 06:24, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

Dear Joke, dear ObsidianOrder (hope you're both listening),

I looked through the three versions of the cold fusion article. I have criticims, but none are as bad as I feared. The problems can probably all be cleaned up. Examples of phasing that I consider POV:

From 33645188 - current version:

The autoradiograph shown here is a good example of what the skeptics demand: conclusive evidence other than excess heat. Only a nuclear reaction could produce the copious x-rays shown here.

We know that cold fusion is a nuclear effect because …

It is more likely that the current understand of physics is incomplete, because highly loaded metal deuterides have not been studied in detail before.

From 33876153 - Storms version:

On the other hand, reactions initiated by the "cold fusion" process occur in a unique solid structure without significant energy being applied.

This is not the result of biased, true believers continuing to be deceived, but of trained scientists who trusted what they saw with their instruments after much skeptical evaluation. This approach is identical to how all new discoveries are treated by science.

Most disagreement over the validity of the results, that continue to the present day, ignores the fact that all of the demands by skeptics have been met.

At this time, it is safe to conclude that anomalous energy is produced regardless of its source.

Clearly, unusual nuclear processes are occurring in material where none should occur.

Although the order of my preference is FA, current, Storms, I don't see the problems as so massive that I need to cast a vote. If I had the time - which I unfortunately don't - I would enter the fray and comment and edit in more detail. I'll try to drop by from time to time anyway. Good luck. --Art Carlson 16:55, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Ball Lightning

Be assured the pdf exits on the web on a Royal Society server. I downloaded it round about 2000 GMT. It is itself a review, so summarising a conclusion in one sentence would be 'Singer did review'!.If it's characterisable as POV, then we are all doomed! Please track down and read so we can reach an agreed position. Bob aka Linuxlad 21:20, 14 January 2006 (UTC) Here's the link (it was still on an open page!)

[6]

I didn't find it with google, but I downloaded it from your link. I'll try to read it soon. It seems to me (before I have actaully read the article) that it is inappropriate to single out one article in the intro. More an editorial issue than one of content (I hope). --Art Carlson 21:52, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

I found it quite high up Google earlier- but it seems to not be in pole position now (odd, but not unknown). Tend to agree it probably shouldn't be in Intro. But its general style seemed appropriate to what finally goes there. Bob aka Linuxlad

[edit] Marmet's physics

Hi I gave a little more precision on the Tired light Talk page. Is his mechanism clear now? I would be interested to discuss a little more about it if you like, although it won't be fast as I don't have much time. Harald88 08:01, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Are You a drowser

Hey, Art, are you not a big name in the world of drowsing? I think I remember seeing your name in some drowsing literature I picked up from the library. I don't mean to accuse you of being POV. I just thought it would be cool to be arguing with someone of your status. JohnJohn 02:52, 12 February 2006 (UTC)

I do a lot of drowsing myself, in the evenings, with a nice cup of cocoa. I don't much rate dowsing though. William M. Connolley 11:29, 12 February 2006 (UTC).

Nope. Ain't none of me. --Art Carlson 15:39, 12 February 2006 (UTC)

I have a friend who works for the LaGrange water department. One day I saw him working by the road and stopped to talk. I was astonished to see him walking around with a dowsing rod. What are you doing? I asked him. "Looking for the pipe" he replied matter of factly. "But don't you have electronics to do that?" "Sure, but this works just as good. Finds plastic too." he said. That's when my friends helper chimed in "I have a friend who doesn't believe it." Tommysun 19:27, 11 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Mediation

So, I have dutifully taken the mediation of plasma cosmology. Before we start, I would like to know what form of mediation you would like to take? You guys basically have three options: the first (and most popular) is to just do it on the wiki, probably at Wikipedia talk:Requests for mediation/Plasma cosmology. The second is to do it by email (I wouldn't recommend it as there are quite a few users listed). And the third is to do it be IRC. Please respond at Wikipedia talk:Requests for mediation/Plasma cosmology where you would like to do it. Thanks. Sasquatch t|c 05:18, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

Okay, now that we have all agreed to do it on the Wiki, I have intiated the next step which is an intial statement to see where we all stand. Just state your point of view on the issues at hand without making references to others or the conduct of them. Just to let you know, I have been reading over the talk page and will address the concern of needing a person who understands plasma comology. I feel after reading it, I have a pretty good grasp of it as I am pretty good in science. However, the issues seem to extend beyond just simple right and wrong on the issue but rather into what should be included and where we should draw the line. I hope, as mediator, to rectify these differences and to reach a consensus. As a last note, I suggest you put the mediation page on your watchlist as I will not always give messages like this. Thanks! Sasquatch t|c 01:27, 14 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] A plasma question

Sorry to bother you, but I was impressed with your command of plasma physics on the plasma talk page, and I was wondering if you could answer a question for me. In a one atmosphere uniform glow Discharge plasma (OAUGDP) what is the voltage drop for a large current, say 1000 amps, running across it? Is there an equation that one could use to compute this for different voltages? Thanks a lot for your patience. cc24.137.78.34 00:00, 28 February 2006 (UTC)

That's not the parameter range where I have direct experience, but .... The voltage drop at 1000 A will depend both on the area involved and the distance between the electrodes. Unless you have a very large area, when you try to put 1000 A through a gas, you will generally get an electric arc rather than a glow discharge. --Art Carlson 15:00, 1 March 2006 (UTC)

Thanks a lot. cc 24.137.78.34 16:22, 1 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Fundamental Limitations to Non-Maxwellian Fusion Reactor Concepts

Hi Art. First, I'd like to say that I really respect what you've done so far. It's very impressive (especially your help in the fusion FAQ and the glossary), and your pages have lead me onto an entirely different path of inquiry.

I have a question and concern regarding your repeated citation of Rider's thesis and paper, however. Unfortunately, I can't access the thesis (the links that I could find were all down), nor could I read your review of the paper. Perhaps you still have some copies. In any case, certain statements seemed spurious, and they appeared to be highlighted in the following poster at the APS meeting. I haven't looked at Rider's calculation directly, but the poster notices that Rider assumes that the velocity space is always isotropic, and then proves that the redistribution power required for at least one example is smaller than the ideal fusion power. I see that you cite many of Rider's original paper's without taking this vulnerablity into account. Could you look into this? Is the jury still out on this issue? Articles referencing fundamental limitations and claiming 'impossibility' should really at -least- mention that there is some controversy. From my, admittedly green, standpoint, it looks like there really is a problem with some of the impossibility claims. We should look into this quickly, and revert if necessary. Kindly, Danielfong 09:27, 4 March 2006 (UTC)

Backatcha, Daniel. You've left your mark for me all over Wikipedia. I'll try to speak to the content where it comes up. Here, I'd first like to welcome you to Wiki's fusion pages. I have the impression you will be able to contribute a lot. Second, I'd like you to remember me to Sam Cohen. I spent a few weeks with him at Princeton longer ago than either of us would like to be reminded of. At the time I was just starting to consider leaving fusion - or at least the IPP in Garching. After a long story that is best told with the help of a bottle of red wine, I am currently back in Garching but at a different Max Planck Institute working on grid computing for the German astronomy community. On your list of likes and dislikes I notice you did not include dancing on roller skates one way of the other. (Ask Sam.)

Thanks for pointing out the poster. I had been wondering what Rostoker and friends had been up to since our encounter eight years ago. I'll need some time to look at their argument in detail. I am very surprized that they think they can get around the problem by considering a non-isotopic distribution. Generally speaking, the time scale to reach isotropy is much faster than that to reach a Maxwellian energy distribution, so I would expect the recirculating power required to be even worse. I admit that "impossibility" can never be absolute. A German professor came up with a system several years ago to which Rider's argument did not obviously apply. For whatever reason, he has sunk back into oblivion. I don't say there is no way around Rider's arguments (except when I get polemic), but I do insist that anyone claiming that a proton-boron system is feasible has to specifically address them.

--Art Carlson 12:21, 4 March 2006 (UTC)

It's a specific type of non-maxwellian distribution they're talking about -- a 'drifted' maxwellian. I think these relax much more slowly. Danielfong 21:31, 4 March 2006 (UTC)

The electrons within their own frame of reference are isotropic, so my concern above does not hold. I'm not sure whether Rider's argument depends on the relative average speed of the electrons and ions or not. In any case, I read their poster and reread my critique of the concept. As far as I can tell, none of my criticisms have been answered. What do you think? --Art Carlson 17:04, 5 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Contentless POV?

I may (from a purely theoretical viewpoint) agree that my addition [7] did not add "content", in exactly the same sense that any mathematical theorem does not add content, although it may be surprising or revealing. But what makes you call it POV? I'm about as puzzled by your comment as you would presumably have been, had someone reverted your debunking of the hypothesis that ball lightning is a highly ionized plasma contained by magnetic fields with the comment "POV addition that doesn't add content". Lambiam^Talk 18:02, 6 April 2006 (UTC)

The red flags were expressions like "extremely complicated", "extremely unsatisfactory", and "awkward". I also find the comparison to epicycles to be inapt and designed to ridicule geocentrism more than to objectively characterize or criticize it. The big problem with epicycles was not that they were inherently more complicated than Keplerian orbits, but that they did not fit the data without an indefinite number of additional parameters. Furthermore, we don't have to "devise a geocentric reformulation of the laws of physics". Einstein has already done that for us. In general relativity, the symmetries are broken not by the laws of physics, but by the distribution of matter. I also find the example of a perfectly spherical Earth to be artificial. (konstruiert, gewollt - I can't find a good English equivalent.) The comment line in the history is so short that it is hard not to sound gruff. I hope this explains my reversion to your satisfaction. --Art Carlson 08:21, 7 April 2006 (UTC)

Thank you for the explanation. Perhaps you could have a look at this quote from Geocentric model, which then would seem to be POV and also incorrect:

Geocentrism has been fully disproven by modern science. Science has now shown that the Sun is at the center of the solar system, not the Earth. Further, the Sun is not the center of the universe; it is merely the center of one local solar system, and itself orbits around the center of our galaxy. Space probes which have visited the other planets in our solar system have followed paths which were calculated using Heliocentrism; if the geocentric model were true, then none of these spaceships could ever have arrived at their target planets or moons.

Note the red flags "fully disproven" and "Science has shown". Lambiam^Talk 21:13, 7 April 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for the tip. I cleaned it up. --Art Carlson 08:10, 9 April 2006 (UTC)

I made a few more changes; please have a look. In doing this I noticed that article Ptolemaic system is only a slight elaboration with considerable overlap, in particular in discussing the evolution of the received model. I put a comment on that article's talk page that I think it should be merged; alternatively, it should be pruned back to a pure description of the Ptolemaic model, put in context of course. What do you think? I don't feel quite up to that task, even though this was the topic of the very first public lecture I gave more than 45 years ago; I'm also handicapped by not having access to a library. Lambiam^Talk 12:29, 9 April 2006 (UTC)

I think your changes were sound editing. I also agree that Ptolemaic system and Geocentric model should be merged. I would keep Ptolemaic system as the primary article (It is also better written.), and redirect Geocentric model to it. If we're lucky, maybe someone else will do the work for us. --Art Carlson 14:14, 9 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Redshift quantization

I've started a tentative article on Redshift quantization --Iantresman 15:28, 2 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Pinch (plasma physics)

I've started an article on the "Pinch (plasma physics)" over which you may wish to cast your more experienced eye. I've not merged with Z-pinch, since the latter seems more about the Z-pinch machine, rather than the process. --Iantresman 16:30, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

I don't think it's a good idea to separate the physics (Pinch (plasma physics)) and the technology (Z-pinch) of z-pinches, particularly since both articles are short and currently have considerable overlap.

What is definitely missing, either as a separate article or as part of Pinch (plasma physics), is a description of the theta-pinch.

I don't think I can find the time to do much polishing, but I saw no glaring factual errors. --Art Carlson 20:55, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Eric Lerner's Focus Fusion

Hi Art, you seem to be (one of) the resident experts on fusion, can I ask your opinion of Eric Lerner's attempts to get proton-boron fusion to produce net energy? From what I have read on your talk page, it seems that you agree with Tod Rider's thesis that dismisses p-11B as a viable fuel mix for a future fusion power reactor. Would I be correct in assuming that in your opinion Lerner has not addressed Rider's criticisms either in whole or in part? --User:Jaganath 13:27, 15 June 2006 (UTC)

He seems to have addressed the issue at least in part. The Bremsstrahlung argument depends on a chain of energy transfer from the fusion products to the fuel ions, from there to the electrons, and finally loss by the electrons through Bremsstrahlung. For the sake of argument, perfectly optimistic assumptions are made for the first and last steps. Lerner cuts the chain at the second step by proposing a reduction in the classical energy transfer rate from ions to electrons. I haven't read his paper yet, so I can't say whether his theory and the experimental evidence for it is any good. I also suspect, but can't at present show, that achieving the necessary conditions will have its own set of fundamental problems. I'll report back after I have read his paper. --[[User:Art Carlson|Art Carlson] 09:54, 18 June 2006 (UTC)

After reading Lerner's paper, I've made some changes to Aneutronic fusion. There are many interesting points in the paper, but also several that I find suspect. If we accept his calculation, the effect is only a factor of 2. This is enough to change the ratio of bremsstrahlung to fusion power from just over one to just under one. But since the calculation of the ratio is based on very simple and optimistic assumptions, there is still no way in hell to make a reactor work. I think the most serious problem in this particular case is the neglect of cyclotron radiation. This loss mechanism is hard to get exactly right, but since it scales with B^2, it's going to be a mother at a megatesla. --Art Carlson 09:12, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

I got this one wrong the first time around, as documented in Talk:Aneutronic fusion#Cyclotron radiation, radiation dose, and suppression of bremsstrahlung. Cyclotron radiation could be a problem, but it's not the killer I thought it would be because, if the plasma beta is high enough, the frequency will be below the cut-off and not propagate. Then I realized that these kinds of fields will have so much magnetic pressure that they cannot be contained. --Art Carlson 08:54, 6 July 2006 (UTC)

Eric Lerner and I have had a lot of additional discussions. We still disagree on whether the lifetime of a high-field plasmoid will be limited to something close to the Alfven transit time, but either way, in this case there may not be the kind of all-encompassing proof of non-principle that I love. Come over to Talk:Aneutronic fusion if you want to keep up-to-date. --Art Carlson 15:39, 1 August 2006 (UTC)

Thanks Art for replying so quickly and taking the time to craft a comprehensible and detailed reply. Seems like p-11B fusion still faces huge, if not insurmountable problems before it can become a future energy source; in light of this, can I ask if you think ITER, and (spherical) tokamaks in general are the right direction to be going in if we are to harness fusion to produce useful power within your or my lifetimes? --User: Jaganath 18:42, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

For what it's worth, I believe (1) fusion will work with D-T or not at all, (2) the best bet is an ITER-like tokamak, although similar machines like the stellarator or the spherical tokamak might turn out to be a bit better, (3) despite formidable problems, there is no fundamental reason that fusion cannot become an attractive source of energy, and (4) we will probably never get there, because trying things out is so expensive and time-consuming, and because there are alternatives that are constantly improving. I must, however, admit that I have a somewhat irrational fondness for the Field-Reversed Configuration. --Art Carlson 08:43, 21 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Brantz J. Craddock

You placed a Copyright violation tag on this article. All of the info is from a .mil site. This means it is Public Domain info from the US government. Might be best to remove the tag. Cheers--Looper5920 09:41, 11 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Plasma (physics): Wikipedia:Peer review

Just to let you know that I've requested Peer Review for the Plasma physics artciles, discussion should appear on the page at Wikipedia:Peer review/Plasma (physics) --Iantresman 11:06, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] User:Lucaas on Talk:Modern geocentrism

It is clear that this user won't give up.[8] I suggest that from now on we just ignore his ramblings on the talk page. --Lambiam^Talk 22:18, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Fulcher band

Art, are you familliar with the "fulcher band"? Being a plasma physicist I thought you'd probably have at least some experience with not so hot H₂ plasmas and might be able to help me here: Wikipedia:Peer review/Deuterium arc lamp. Any input is appreciated! thanks. --Deglr6328 07:37, 1 October 2006 (UTC)

Nice try, but spectroscopy is a very large subdivisionn of plasma physics and I only know the rudiments. Sorry I can't help you. If you're really stuck, I could at most give you a couple email addresses of acquaintances who know their way around. --Art Carlson 20:28, 1 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] RfArb

User:Iantresman has started a request for arbitration you may wish to comment on WP:RfArb#Pseudoscience__vs_Pseudoskepticism. --ScienceApologist 12:26, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration/Pseudoscience

Hello,

An Arbitration case in which you commented has been opened: Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration/Pseudoscience. Please add any evidence you may wish the arbitrators to consider to the evidence sub-page, Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration/Pseudoscience/Evidence. You may also contribute to the case on the workshop sub-page, Wikipedia:Requests for arbitration/Pseudoscience/Workshop.

On behalf of the Arbitration Committee, Thatcher131 11:40, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Jive /Jibe

Hi, Art. In your recent diff [9] , "doesn't jive with" should be "doesn't jibe with". I didn't fix it directly because I didn't want to become part of the case. Cardamon 20:52, 14 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Aneutronic fusion

Nice rewrite of the intro! Much better now. Maury 22:20, 16 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Got a few minutes?

Would you mind giving Riggatron and Migma a quick once-over? I noticed both were being referred to in various articles but had no articles of their own. Hopefully I've made a start, at least. I did notice an older thread between you and Gordon on whether or not the non-equilibrium issue applies to the Migma approach. Gordon seemed to be suggesting it didn't really apply. What was the outcome here? Maury 15:17, 18 November 2006 (UTC)

Both articles are OK for a first cut. No howlers. I'll see if I can find some time to polish them. I think the non-equilibrium distribution is a big problem in several ways. I don't remember if I ever convinced Gordon of that - probably not. --Art Carlson 17:38, 18 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Thanks

...For your hard work on Aneutronic fusion. From the little I've read, I can't really tell if you or Elerner is generally right, but it seems that you are, or he does a really (and un-editor-worthy) lousy job supporting or being careful in his edits, which greatly enhances your credibility in my book. If its any consolation, it seems your edit war has resulted in a better-sourced article. And a very good one, even if it's far from perfection. --Elvey 09:05, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Mediation for article

Please respond on the Afshar Experiment Talk Page as to whether you would accept impartial mediation for that article. Thank you! Sdirrim 18:10, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

Hey, I'm not deep enough into this discussion to even have a difference of opinion with anybody. I never have anything against impartial mediation, but I think you're asking the wrong guy here. --Art Carlson 18:50, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Quasineutrality

Hi there, I noticed your edits on Quasineutrality.

I'm no scientist, nor do I exactly know the details of what IP 68 added. However a quick Google search did show that this concept might deserve its own page. Even if a stub, we should have a few lines and a seperate section for external links or references which the user can lookup for further details.

Secondly, if you are in a position to improve on the article content, please do so. Calling a good faith edit "worse than useless" isn't right. Allow me to remind you that the majority of WP's content is written by anon IPs, their inaccuracies and irrelevant material can be improved upon, but shouldn't be removed outright.

By your contributions, I see you are an expert in this field, please don't take this as criticism, it isn't. Looking forward to working on an article with you in future :) Cheers! - xC - | ☎ 13:50, 2 March 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for your interest. I already said on the Talk page that an article, even a stubby one, might be a good idea, but the current REDIRECT already leads the reader to the essential information. I didn't mean to impute the good faith of 62. I maybe should have chosen softer words. But the content really is bad: "Quasineutrality of a plasma requires that plasma currents close on themselves in electric circuits." Quasineutrality has nothing to do with currents, only with charge densities. The only precise meaning I can assign to currents that close on themselves is that the divergence of the current vanishes, which is required in any steady state, whether it is quasineutral or not. The emphasis on certain concepts like Birkeland currents and double-layers is also a particular point of view (see Plasma cosmology) that is not widely held and thus, even where it is not wrong, not the best choice for an encyclopedic article. --Art Carlson 14:57, 2 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Edits on Aneutronic fusion

Maybe you should seek an IP ban from the non english speaking folks from editing this article. Or maybe you can ask them to seek someone they know who speaks better english or refer them to the japanese wikipedia. I can see that their edits are irritating in that they are hard to understand because of grammar problems as well as the fact that they are discussing fairly obscure technical details. Mathchem271828 04:53, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Check this Wiki-entry

Dear Art, your criterion for notability and Wiki-entries seemed to me very dubious, however I respect your view on the problem. Since Wikipedia is free-encyclopedia and its biographic database is expanding, I have myself been editing several entries on famous bulgarian scientists, yet I have created this entry on Tabish Qureshi, who is known for his analysis of Popper's experiment, and the so-called entangled biphoton wavefunction. Well, this is all based on my old readings done several years ago [when I was not Wikipedian], when I have not even met prof. Qureshi personally. The fact that I have met him in Wikipedia changes nothing, I have opened the entry solely on scientific grounds. You can check the bibliographic list of his publications in the main article. Kind Regards, Danko Georgiev MD 12:16, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

Concerning the NAFL author - definition of complementarity page 6 - "The particle and wave nature of the photon cannot be simultaneously demonstrated to hold ..." and then the author says "Note carefully the location of the word "simultaneously" in this definition; if we were to change BCP to ". . . cannot be demonstrated to hold simultaneously..." then such a definition would arguably fail even in NAFL.". COMMENT by me - I see NO DIFFERENCE in the meaning even IF the word order is changed. I don't think that my English is so poor to fail to recognize a change of the sense due to word order. As this author is obviously with English language problem, I am not sure why it is included on equal footing with Qureshi, and Unruh. Not to mention that he works for commercial IBM corporation and possibly is not involved in academic research seriously, i.e. looks like hobby-scientist. I judge this on the content of his paper, and the discussed passage, NOT on extra-scientific criteria. I am to conclude that this author can NOT even formulate the complementarity principle correctly, as he sees not existent meaning in the word order given above. Danko Georgiev MD 11:41, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

Concerning the Matti Pitkänen work on Afshar experiment, don't be offended but is a friendly joke. I think you have included too much low quality papers in the critique section, and from your previous posts I got an impression that you ridicule me and took this edit personally against my personality. Nevertheless, I still believe your edits are with good intentions, so just want to ask for favour - please let us stop attacking each other e.g. "Are you coming back?", and let us always assume that the relevant thing is the new information in the post, not the way it is presented. otherwise, one can always "see" bad intentions even in a well-written non-offensive paragraph. Danko Georgiev MD 11:52, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

I didn't take much time to try to figure it out, but I didn't understand what Srinivasan was trying to say about the word order either. I only added him and O'Hara because they were cited by Qureshi. After reading the papers, I'm starting to think it was a mistake. As to your paper, I finally found the time to read it. I'm not sure I understand everything you are saying, but I think I agree with you on almost all points. I still read Unruh differently than you (We'll have to get back to this point.), and at the end (but not before) you seem to agree with Qureshi that which-way information is somehow erased when the beams pass through each other. That I cannot accept at all. Assuming I have understood him properly, I think Qureshi's view would be rejected by most physicists, so I am wondering whether the reference to his work should also be removed from the article. --Art Carlson 15:10, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

As near as I can tell, your position is very close to that of Kastner (and Reitzner). Do you see it that way, too? --Art Carlson 19:14, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

Dear Art, as the passion has calmed down, yes I am happy that Unruh personally posted in Wikipedia! (I never expected such a fast solution). Now concerning your comment - Qureshi is completely right, but my work compared to Qureshi's work is more general because I have provided EXPLANATION WHY the information is erased. Yes, in 2004 I said exactly as Qureshi that overlap erases the which way, and physicists didnot believe a word, as I had no math proof. Well, I suspect you did not understand the introduction which is compressed information and one must "decompress" it only by having some acquaintance with decoherence theory of Zeh. But I believe you understand perfectly well the equations [3] and [4] in my paper as they apply only Beam-splitter transformations and mirror reflection.

So let us calculate the evolution of the quantum state in Unruh's setup directly [look my figure 2]:

as you see that that is | D₂ > = | 8 > . It is obvious as D₂ gets half the intensity of light coming at |8> that is D₂ gets light from both paths |1> and |2>. The present momentum of photons coming along path 8, with past history of either path 1 or path 2, is the SAME. The beam-splitter (BS3) reflects the present momentum, and not according to "knowledge" about what the photon momentum WERE IN THE PAST. Danko Georgiev MD 06:07, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

p.s. contrary to Unruh, I have said that putting the obstacle or NOT does not matter. It is the presence of destructive interference at path 5 itself that "erases" the which way. Look at the expression . You can drop the zero term [comment: multiplied by zero vector |5> cannot be regained without dividing to zero! - impossible math operation]. Indeed the existent negative interference mathematically is formulated like that: . The measurement of the negative interference by obstacle physically mathematically is written like that . So my conclusion is that it is IMPOSSIBLE to have difference in the which way claim for interference + obstacle vs. interference + no obstacle. The mathematical expression is always the SAME . I am excited because it seems Unruh will publish his original 1 page letter-to-editor in PP (full of errors), and as his letter explicitly claims the inconsistency decribed in my sec. 3.3, I will have the beautiful opportunity to publicly solve the Georgiev-Unruh issue in the pages of reputable peer-review journal. Danko Georgiev MD 09:08, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

Dear Danko, one thing still has me puzzled. When you and Qureshi talk about the interference "erasing" the which-way information, I have this picture:

Two laser pulses approach each other.

Before they cross, a measurement will yield which-way information.

As they cross, there is an interference pattern.

After they have crossed, there is no longer any which-way information.

Is that what Queshi and you are trying to say?

And a related question. Kastner seems to believe there is never any which-way information when both slits are open, whether or not the interference pattern is measured, and whether one talks about the situation just after the slits or just before the detector. I believe you disagree. What do you see as the flaw in her argument?

--Art Carlson 10:42, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

Dear Art, yes before the overlap there is which way, but after the overlap there is no which way. The critical is the idea of bijection of input state and observables. As one can take the realist interpretation of q-superposition, which in my case is direct ontological interpretation of the AND-gate, one will notice two types of superposition - one of orthogonal states, and one of non-orthogonal states. The states before the overlap [imagine |1> and |2> of Mach-Zehnder] are really orthogonal, so measuring the state at |1> simply gives you information that the state is NOT |2>. This state (not normalized) is superposition in TIME, but in space the wavefunctions |1> and |2> are separated - do not overlap - hence they are orthogonal states - interference is zero. Now consider after overlap the state at the arm |6>. Here you have superposition of non-orthogonal states. States |1> and |2> are vectors that are time dependent. Under time evolution, both wavefunctions overlap, so they are no more orthogonal. Detecting at |6> a photon does not give you information that the photon has passed through only path 1, or alternatively only path 2. You know indeed that the photon passed both paths, interfered and came to arm 6. So in certain sense my work shows another "inconsistency" of the popular presentation of QM, and in OLD Copenhagen anti-realist view. As I use direct math argumentation I show that quantum waves pass through both paths at ones. And this is NOT equivalent to "lack of knowledge of the photon path". Yes, I have knowledge which is quite substantial - "I know that the photon passed both paths at once". The proof is suggested in the introduction of my PP paper. Imagine a double slit - close slit 1 - see Gaussian like distribution1 , close slit 2 - see Gauusian like distribution 2. What knowledge you have? You know that slit 1 XOR slit 2 is open, which means the slits are NOT simultaneously open. Now open both slits - you see nice interference pattern. What you know? Is it "lask of knowledge of slit 1 or slit 2"? NO! You know mathematically rigorously that the setup is NOT XOR. Simple logical gate application of NOT-gate to XOR-gate gives you the XNOR gate. After elimination the "false" "false" outcome which is mathematically trivial, but physically meaningless, then you come to the AND gate. Yes, in coherent double-slit setup with open both slits the photon passed through BOTH slits at once! This is the ONLY mathematically valid way to get the interference. Concerning Kastner, as I said she is in my view incompetent on the topic, so I neither understand her analogy, nor I think she understands the orthogonality of vectors criterion, nor she understands what strictly bijection means in math terms. Sorry, for my mathematically oritented thinking. I love mathematics, and as Drezet joked on Afshar's talk "Mathematics is the queen of all natural science ... and Danko is its prophet" [the meaning was similar]. Danko Georgiev MD 11:20, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

Addendum: as you may see in my paper I say I have defended the MWI of QM. Yes, I mention the Copenhagen interpretation - CI - purely formally, where I envison CI anti-realism based directly on QM formalism. Yet, I think that popular wording of CI as "lack of which way" as MISLEADING and semantically wrong. "You don't know whether photon passed through slit 1 or slit 2" for me is equivalent to "you don't know the density matrix of setup" i.e. you don't know whether two slit wavefunctions 1 and 2 are coherent or they are incoherent. In contrast knowing that the two wavefunctions are coherent, is NOT lack of knowledge, but substantial information. You know the photon has passed both slits at once. In a certain sense you also know the which way bijection is NOT valid, but also the knowledge - "ww bijection is false" - for me is NOT "lack of knowledge of the bijection truth-value". i.e. lack of knowledge suggests it might be true, which is not the case Danko Georgiev MD 11:32, 2 April 2007 (UTC)