Acceleration and Frame of Reference

As has been previously discussed, in the process of determining the Velocity of an object, the process of measuring Time can be conceived as a Frame of Reference with respect to which the Distance traveled is measured.  Likewise, the process of determinating the Acceleration of an object can be conceived as constituted by the referral of that Frame of Reference to a second, i. e. as the process of determining Velocity with respect to the process of measuring the Time of that Velocity.  So, there are two Times entailed in the concept of Acceleration, and since they are routinely conceived as identical, they are combined by squaring it.  But, according to a cardinal principle of Physicist Relativism, the Times of distinct Frames of Reference cannot be assumed to be identical.  Thus, the rigorous application of the principle prevents that routine squaring of Time in the representation of Acceleration, as well as that of any derived concept.

Light, Light-Source, Speed of Light

That the Speed of Light is independent of the velocity of a light-source, whether natural or manufactured, does not entail that Light is independent of a Light-Source.  For, as is plainly observable both inside and outside the Physicist's laboratory, no matter what the conditions, Light is located at a Source, e. g. at a bulb, as well as wherever else it emanates to.  Now, according to established formulae, the Length of an object contracts to Zero as it approaches the Speed of Light; in other words, it becomes a Plane.  But, it seems difficult, at best, to conceive of a body or device becoming a Plane, and still functioning as a Light-Source, in which case, Light ceases to exist.  Thus, the existence of Light is dependent on not only the existence of a Light-Source, but of its velocity, as well.

The Construction of 4-Dimensional Space-Time

In the actual world, Velocity is a ratio of the displacement of an object in motion to the displacement of a part of a measuring device.  In both cases, the displacement is linear.  Hence, Velocity consists in two Spatial dimensions, i. e. lines, but not as combined, i. e. not as combined in the way that length and width are.  Now, the points that are the termini of the motion can each be characterized by three coordinates, e. g. in a vehicle moving down a street, in relation to the top of a nearby tree and the ground, to the sidewalks on either side of the street, and to the beginning and end of the block that it is on.  Furthermore, to each 3-tuple can be affixed a fourth coordinate, the corresponding terminus of the linear displacement in the measuring device, and called 'time'. The result is the 4-Dimensional Space-Time representation of what, in the actual world, is a heterogeneously 2-Dimensional event.  Even if the representation proves useful for elaborate predictive purposes, it does not replace actuality, contrary to what many Physicists seem to believe.

Light as Object and Light as Medium

A peculiar, rarely examined, characteristic of Light is that it can be either an object of observation, or a medium of observation.  Now, generally, the former is the topic of interest in Physics.  But, any assumption that the two are equivalent is question-begging, so all propositions hitherto, e. g. regarding its Velocity, pertain only to Light qua object of observation.  Accordingly, Physicists have been unfamiliar with a Kantian argument for the proposition that the Speed of Light is a maximum: The limits of the experience of any object are determined by the Forms of Experience; Light as the medium of any observation is a Form of Observation; thus, nothing observable can surpass the Speed of Light. However, acceptance of this argument depends on the acknowledgement that Physics is Interpretation, not Description, an acknowledgement that has seemingly remained unentertained by Physicists.  Accordingly, implications of the two-fold character of Light have never been considered.

Quantification, Practice, Speed of Light

When Bergson proposes that Experience is fundamentally Practical, he does not seem to consider the implication for his previous analysis of Quantifaction. For, the latter now becomes a tool in the modification of the environment.  Thus, the real value of Modern Physics is that its propositions are formulae for control and repetition, even if they pass through contemplative phases. Accordingly, as the Pragmatists insist, verifiability is a criterion of their Value.  Thus, for example, while that the Speed of Light is a constant is verifiable, and, indeed, has been verified, a verification procedure to test whether or not it is also the maximum Velocity seems lacking.  Hence, that proposition is meaningless, according to Pragmatism.

Duration, Time, Space

Bergson sharply distinguishes Duration from the Time of Physics--while the former is a heterogeneous yet indivisible flux, the latter is inert and divisible, i. e. is actually Space.  The distinction thus reveals a limitation of the presumed scope of Physics.  For, insofar as all Corporeality is conceived as Mechanistic, which is the case in the Newtonian tradition, Biology is an instance of Physics. But, according to Bergson, Vitality has the character of Duration, from which it follows that Physics is inadequate to it, i. e. can no more than approximate it via Integral Calculus.  Thus, Biology, the subject matter of which is Vitality, i. e. Life, transcends Physics, even as the latter continues the Newtonian ambition of an all-embracing Unified Field Theory.  Duration also exposes the Physicist concept of 'Space-Time Continuum' as a two-fold misnomer--'Time' is actually Space, the 'Continuum' between being no flux, only ad hoc construct of four quantities.

Space-Time and 4-Dimensionality

The concept of Space-Time has been that of 4-Dimensionality, i.e. in which Time is affixed to the familiar three dimensions of Space. The problem with this procedure is that a definition of Dimension is lacking--the three of Space can be defined in terms of Perpendicularity, but a mere metaphorical extension of that is inadequate in a rigorous Science.  Ditto for recent further developments, such as in String Theory.  Lacking a definition, any concept of Dimensionality beyond 3 remains a useful mathematical construction, not a description of reality.