| Cougar Press PO Box 894 Meadview AZ 86444 |
| Light |
So, what is light? For us humans, light is one of the predominant features of reality. This is also
true for many other animals, as well as for green plants. Photosynthesis, a process performed by
the chlorophyll in leaves and algae, releases oxygen for us to breathe, and it produces
carbohydrates that we can burn to provide energy. The energy comes from sunshine, and
sunshine is light.
In spite of this, there are plants and animals which have no relation to light. Some creatures live
in darkness, under logs and rocks, down in deep caves or in deep crevices at the bottom of the
ocean.
Not only that, but even among the animals that can see and do live in the light, there are those for
whom vision is not the primary sense. Dogs and other predators depend more upon the air for
information about the environment. They use their noses to sniff it out. Contrasted with them,
our own noses are almost vestigial, entertaining us with the fragrance of flowers and barbecue,
but not usually vital to our survival.
Bats rely on sound which is also transmitted through the air. Worms sense the vibrations in the
earth. Pit vipers are in tune with the heat, so in tune that they can virtually see in the dark using
infrared rays. We can sense heat through our skin, but it is a generalized feeling, hardly suitable
for any purpose beyond comfort.
However, heat is... infrared waves are ...a form of light. So are ultraviolet waves, which we cannot
see, but which are crucial to the conduct of other creatures like honey bees. The electromagnetic
waves range in frequency from radio waves through microwaves, infrared, visible light,
ultraviolet, X-rays and Gamma rays.
We listen to audible translations of radio waves. We cook and send information with microwaves.
We can only see the electromagnetic radiation in the frequency range that lies between infrared
and ultraviolet. We can feel the infrared waves. The ultraviolet waves can make us turn brown, or
red. Our bodies can bounce the X-rays, enough to show the doctor our bones. Gamma rays can
cause genetic mutations.
For about 300,000 years following the big bang, the Universe was too dense to allow light to get
through. The brand new cosmos was still a maelstrom of subatomic particles and energy. The
light was constantly absorbed into the particles. The particles, electrons, quarks and neutrinos,
were constantly smashing into one another as the cloud expanded.
At some point in this process the cloud of matter became less dense, enough so that quarks could
combine to form protons and neutrons, and enough so that electrons could team up with the
protons and neutrons to form stable atoms and molecules of hydrogen and helium.
This condensation of primal elements left plenty of room for the light to beam in all directions.
The universe was now a vast explosion of hurtling atoms and light, expanding from the center of
origin into an empty void of space and time.
This initial period before the elements coalesced is a relative moment in contrast to the age of the
Universe. Dividing three hundred thousand by some thirteen point seven billion gives us
0.0000219. Expressed as a fraction, that ratio would be 219/10,000,000. The point is that, by
cosmic standards, this period was very short. And then there was light. Most of the 13.7
billion years has gone past with the light streaming through the universe from its source. With
the source being at the center, and with the light radiating in all directions, we can deduce that the
radius of the universe must be about 13.7 light-years. A light-year is the distance that light travels
over the course of one of our years. A year has 31,536,000 seconds, so at 186,000 miles per
second, which is the speed of light, the radius of the universe must be at least
80,360,035,200,000,000,000,000 miles, or more than 80 sextillion miles.
true for many other animals, as well as for green plants. Photosynthesis, a process performed by
the chlorophyll in leaves and algae, releases oxygen for us to breathe, and it produces
carbohydrates that we can burn to provide energy. The energy comes from sunshine, and
sunshine is light.
In spite of this, there are plants and animals which have no relation to light. Some creatures live
in darkness, under logs and rocks, down in deep caves or in deep crevices at the bottom of the
ocean.
Not only that, but even among the animals that can see and do live in the light, there are those for
whom vision is not the primary sense. Dogs and other predators depend more upon the air for
information about the environment. They use their noses to sniff it out. Contrasted with them,
our own noses are almost vestigial, entertaining us with the fragrance of flowers and barbecue,
but not usually vital to our survival.
Bats rely on sound which is also transmitted through the air. Worms sense the vibrations in the
earth. Pit vipers are in tune with the heat, so in tune that they can virtually see in the dark using
infrared rays. We can sense heat through our skin, but it is a generalized feeling, hardly suitable
for any purpose beyond comfort.
However, heat is... infrared waves are ...a form of light. So are ultraviolet waves, which we cannot
see, but which are crucial to the conduct of other creatures like honey bees. The electromagnetic
waves range in frequency from radio waves through microwaves, infrared, visible light,
ultraviolet, X-rays and Gamma rays.
We listen to audible translations of radio waves. We cook and send information with microwaves.
We can only see the electromagnetic radiation in the frequency range that lies between infrared
and ultraviolet. We can feel the infrared waves. The ultraviolet waves can make us turn brown, or
red. Our bodies can bounce the X-rays, enough to show the doctor our bones. Gamma rays can
cause genetic mutations.
For about 300,000 years following the big bang, the Universe was too dense to allow light to get
through. The brand new cosmos was still a maelstrom of subatomic particles and energy. The
light was constantly absorbed into the particles. The particles, electrons, quarks and neutrinos,
were constantly smashing into one another as the cloud expanded.
At some point in this process the cloud of matter became less dense, enough so that quarks could
combine to form protons and neutrons, and enough so that electrons could team up with the
protons and neutrons to form stable atoms and molecules of hydrogen and helium.
This condensation of primal elements left plenty of room for the light to beam in all directions.
The universe was now a vast explosion of hurtling atoms and light, expanding from the center of
origin into an empty void of space and time.
This initial period before the elements coalesced is a relative moment in contrast to the age of the
Universe. Dividing three hundred thousand by some thirteen point seven billion gives us
0.0000219. Expressed as a fraction, that ratio would be 219/10,000,000. The point is that, by
cosmic standards, this period was very short. And then there was light. Most of the 13.7
billion years has gone past with the light streaming through the universe from its source. With
the source being at the center, and with the light radiating in all directions, we can deduce that the
radius of the universe must be about 13.7 light-years. A light-year is the distance that light travels
over the course of one of our years. A year has 31,536,000 seconds, so at 186,000 miles per
second, which is the speed of light, the radius of the universe must be at least
80,360,035,200,000,000,000,000 miles, or more than 80 sextillion miles.
| Where is the center? |
| Yoga for Carnivores by Jay Dyck |