by Googolplex » Sun 18 Sep 2005, 02:26:30
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('richardmmm', 'i') therefore don't think that you can rule out ZP energy from the vacum just because a frictionless envrionment apparently explains how planets and suns wizz about through space.
Ok, first, enough of the "persecuted visionary" crap. The people who laughed at those sailors did so because they were ignorant and/or risk averse (Im sure some thought they might be right, but were stupid to take the risk and sail out into the unknown). Those early captains were experimenters who were willing to take the risk to confirm their hypothosies with observations. They were true scientists. They left behind the ignorance and blindness of belief systems and embraced truth. Any fellow scientists who saw them off would not have been laughing (or at least would have been laughing due to the risk aversity reason

).
Second, whos ruling out ZPE from the vacume? As far as I know, according to current evidence, zero point energy is probably real and it seems to exist in all vacumes.
Its even possible, I suppose, that ZPE is pushing planets and stars around a tiny bit. If its happening at all, however, there is NO evidence that it is by any meaningful amount, at least not on the scale of our solar system. And constant planetary movement isn't
appearently explained by the frictionless environment, it IS. Period. What you have yet to explain is why the planets
wouldn't be in continual movement. If ZPE is keeping them going, then something else must be counteracting that energy by trying to slow them down, otherwise they would accelerate out of the solar system!
Also, I don't know why you seem to be crusading against science. Science is nothing more then looking at the world around us and trying to determine how and why things are the way they are through the scientific method. It hasn't "become a form of religion", thats freaking rediculous! You're just repeating stupid buzz words you heard once. Religion and science are not mutually exclusive, they are also not simlar or the same thing, they in fact have nothing to do with each other at all! It just makes no sense, like saying "an apple is just another airplane". What?!?
Besides, ZPE is entirely the product of hard, physical science. To rail against science is to rail against ZPE.