General > General Technical Chat
What's the minimum (physics first) to get an oscillator?
HuronKing:
On the subject of mathematics as descriptor though - I am heavily persuaded by the fact that mathematical constructs have led us to predicting and discovering pretty bizarre phenomena in nature - like the positron.
Like, really, how crazy is that?
"Here is this equation that describes this quantum phenomena... and when we follow the math to its conclusion - it tells us that positively charged electrons should exist. And they do exist!"
Amazing. ;D
RoGeorge:
Indeed, one can discover by observing mathematical results. It is even possible to make discoveries by crunching numbers (by simulation). And in the recent years there are more and more papers with discoveries made by AI exploration.
What bothers me is that they all fail to explain why something happens.
Would be great to have a new type of mathematics, with embedded causality in it.
Nominal Animal:
--- Quote from: RoGeorge on May 30, 2023, 09:02:06 pm ---What bothers me is that they all fail to explain why something happens.
--- End quote ---
That is because we can only describe how, not why, in any language. Even physics don't tell you why, only how.
I suspect 'why' is outside the scope, and belongs to philosophy or religion; one of those axiomatic things that are unprovable from the results/observations, which is all we have.
RoGeorge:
The kind of "why" I am missing is not the philosophical one. Only seeking to explain the sequence of events, what causes something to happen, or to manifest itself.
By explaining, I mean identifying the irreducible basic components that are needed for something to happen. The choice of what would be considered as basic components is not important. Can be the binary 0/1 from information theory, or the water/fire/air/earth, or any other choice, as long as they can be consistent along all the observations we can make in our physical world.
The idea of irreducible laws of physics (or infinite complexity), or the idea that time doesn't exist, seem more like theoretical speculation. I see structure and causality everywhere, plus some progress with physics unification. :-//
IanB:
--- Quote from: RoGeorge on May 30, 2023, 09:02:06 pm ---What bothers me is that they all fail to explain why something happens.
--- End quote ---
If you start out with a simple harmonic system like the mass and spring with damping, then write down the equation that describes it from first principles, you will find that for certain parameter values the solution to the equation contains a term like sin(wt), meaning that it will oscillate. This sequence of steps from analysis to solution explains exactly why it oscillates in the best manner you will obtain.
If you want an intuition about the solution, you can consider what happens if you pull the mass away from the resting position and let it go. If, when the mass returns to the resting position, it is still moving, then it will oscillate. If, when the mass returns to the resting position, it has stopped moving, then it will not oscillate.
--- Quote ---Would be great to have a new type of mathematics, with embedded causality in it.
--- End quote ---
There is already such a type of mathematics. It is called physics.
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