These pages describe matter from the very small to the very large. This description begins with the objective world around us, what I call the "World of Objective Observation" and moves up to astronomical descriptions of the universe and down into the operation of molecules, atoms and sub-atomic particles. Our intuitions about how the world works is based upon the World of Direct Observation. Our minds are attuned to what we see and have evolved short-cuts allowing us to operate with our world without explicitly calculating the laws of physics.
As we shall see, the Lorenz transformations and Einstein's special and general relativity defy our evolved knowledge based upon the World of Direct Observation, as does Quantum Mechanics.
Enjoy!
Click here to begin with the World of Direct Observation.
Navigation Guides:
Standardized Icons appear on each page to assist you in navigating around this site:
 |
The telescope icon takes you to bigger levels of matter. For example, if you are viewing an atom and you select the telescope icon, you will be taken to the world of molecules. |
 |
The microscope icon takes you to lower levels of matter. For example, if you are viewing an atom and you select the microscope icon, you will be taken to the world of sub-atomic particles. |
| At times, a concept can be described at various levels of difficulty. When a simpler explanation is available, the icon to the left will appear. Selecting the "simpler" icon will take you to the simpler explanation of the phenomena we are studying. | |
| Similarly, when a more complex explanation is available, the icon to the left will appear. Selecting the "complex" icon will take you to the more complex explanation of the phenomena we are studying. | |
| At times, a closely related subject from the the other natural sciences can be reasonably introduced with the phenomena we are studying. In these cases, the "related" icon to the left will appear. Selecting the "relate" icon will take you to the closely related subject. For example, when we are studying basic molecules, it is reasonable to introduce organic molecules from the life sciences. |
An example page is shown below.
|
