Sunday, January 27, 2008

Science for Dummies by Dummies

In an attempt to put the latest "scientific info" in a more "understandable" format, I realized that I too am a scientific dummy. LOL! It seems that Ange and I ran into the same problem.....the more we searched, the more confusing the information was. We agreed that there is no way the producers of LOST are going to expect their viewers to understand quantum physics. Therefore, this post will attempt to basically explain how some of the theories of the ARG might relate to the island.

I repeat, this is an attempt to relate the theories of the ARG to the island. If the game reveals it is related to something else, we will update the info as it becomes available.

Also, if anyone reading this finds mistakes in theory, please shed some "light" on the subject. THANKS!

James Clerk Maxwell

1) Electromagnetism

Find 815 has repeatedly given us clues involving Maxwell. His main focus was on Electromagnetism. Basically, an electromagnet is a magnet formed by a field of electric current.

Based on the electromagnetic properties of the LOST island, there may be a rotating electromagnetic field around the island.

There is a possibility that the island is "hidden" due to electromagnetism. The study of cloaking can be found at the website for National Geographic.
Basically, they are using electromagnetism to bend light around objects to hide them from your vision.

2) Theory of Molecular Vortices

Maxwell actually abandoned the theory in 1864. So I am not sure why it could be a clue. This theory was an attempt to describe how a magnetic field works using the example of a sea of molecular vortices. The image below is a diagram of this theory.


I am not quite sure I understand how it works, but I will give it a go.
The large spaces represent vortices of matter. The little spaces in between those are particles trapped in between the vortices of matter. If an electrical current is flowing one direction in the top half of these, and flowing in the opposite direction on the bottom half, then the particles will move in the opposite direction of the vortices and cause an induced electrical charge. This would cause the vortices to spin in the opposite direction until they got so fast that the induced charge would disappear.

I am not sure how this relates to the game or the show. I can possibly tie it to the aurora, but I am not sure. I will do that in the aurora section.

Kristian Birkeland

Birkeland's focus was on the polar aurora. He made a terrella machine that could reproduce an aurora. This was done by spinning a mini magnetic Earth, to recreate the earth's electromagnetic field, in a vacuum chamber and shooting a cathode ray at it...

...which led him to surmise that charged particles interacting with the Earth's magnetic field, were the cause of the aurora.

So we definitely have a link to electromagnetic fields and auroras.

I also read, regarding polar auroras, that electrons travel along the electromagnetic field of the Earth they become charged, and that is what causes the aurora.

This is where I may have a connection to the Theory of Molecular Vortices from Maxwell. If you recall, when the electric current starts flowing through the particles, there becomes an induced charge that eventually disappears.
I think it is possible that

1) the Swan Hatch could be sending the electrical currents periodically.

2) the explosion of the Swan Hatch is sending periodic electrical currents.

Could that be enough to cause light for a few seconds? I am not sure, and it may be reaching. But Tracey said in the Aurora email that auroras usually last longer than what Sam saw. That is why I am thinking the aurora is not atmospheric.

Nikola Tesla

We are adding him to our list of scientists because some of his work may explain why the boats, trying to leave, are always drawn back to the island. *Let me also note, I believe not having a properly working compass plays into this theory as well.

Tesla did a lot of work on rotating magnetic fields.

Some of his experiments involved diamagnetic material. Diamagnetic, basically, means that it is a material that repels magnets. Copper is diamagnetic. The following video shows how Tesla's rotating magnetic field will make a copper egg spin and stand on end. This is because the copper has a repulsion to the electromagnetic field.



What I find interesting is that WATER is also diamagnetic. There is a good illustration of that
HERE.
Apparently, if you put a strong magnet under a dish of water, the water surface will have an indentation where the magnet is pushing the water away from itself.

How does that relate to the island? I think it may be why boats always end up back on the island. Given an electromagnetic field around the island, I think one of two things may be possible.

1) The surface of the water is being repelled by the electromagnetic field. Therefore, it is pushing the boats back to the island.

2) (My fav.) The electromagnetic field around the island is causing the surface of the water to "spin", like the copper egg, creating a current that flows back to the island. Aslo, it is known that tides and currents cause problems with navigation.

Ange found another good SITE that demonstrates that water is diamagnetic.

Michael Faraday

Faraday also did a lot of work with electromagnetism. There are two things he discovered that we think may be relevant.

1) The Faraday Effect.

Faraday was able to prove a relationship between light and electromagnetism. This is what Maxwell's Theory of Molecular Vortices is based on. We were not able to connect it in any other way.

2) Faraday Cages

A Faraday Cage is used in electronics to keep radiated frequencies in or out of an electronic device. These frequencies are found in anything electronic from cell phones to kids toys. The basic premise of a Faraday Cage is that by creating a "cage" certain frequencies can be contained or blocked from interrupting electrical function. Theoretically using a Faraday Cage blocks frequencies based on their size. The smaller the frequency the smaller the hole you would need to block. When a frequency hits a cage it dissipates. Again, theoretically by manipulating these holes you can manipulate the frequencies you can block. Cages can be made of solid pieces of metal, mesh, wire, etc. Entire suits of clothing have even been made that act as Faraday Cages.

So how does this apply to the island? Well, we are being led by the nose to look at Maxwell's equations, and Faraday Cages are based on these ideas. I'm not saying that the sonic fence is a wall of metal or even mesh, and I am not saying that the island is surrounded by a metal box. However, if we go on the idea that Lost will be based on pseudo-science or science that is being developed now, we can theorize that Dharma, the others, or someone who knows what's going on has found a way to make a Faraday Cage on or around the island. It could be blocking transmissions, making the island undetectable, or keeping Smokey at bay via the sonic fence.

7 comments:

maven said...

What a job! Love the title, although it is not accurate at all! You guys are not dummies!

Thank you for putting everything in one place and so succinctly. Putting in the links help those of us who want to get deeper into these complex theories.

I think we can relate some of the theories of Maxwell with electromagnetism and the aurora created by the hatch implosion (which is what I think they're trying to show us in the game). I still don't get the molecular vortex stuff (probably never will), but if the happenings on the island are based on real and pseudo-science, we can make the connection that the EM can cloak the island. When the hatch imploded, Ben had to block any connection to the outside world through the Looking Glass station. The release of the EMP enabled the island to become visible (for Penny's crew).

I also like your speculation that the tides are being controlled by the EM of the island which "repels" or "sucks" in boats near it. It would explain Rousseau, Desmond, the Black Rock and maybe even the Nigerian plane.

Thanks for all your hard work. Hope you're feeling gratified for a job well done and are sleeping!

memphish said...

Thanks for doing this Jess and Ange! I'm looking forward to digging into this later this morning.

Capcom said...

Fantastic job!

I agree that Sam's aurora is probably not natural, and is or was Swan/magnetic-anomaly induced.

Yeah for bringing Tesla into it!!!

I love the diamagnetic water thoughts. The only question that I have about the diamagnetic levitation link, is to wonder if he/she did those experiments with regular tap mineral-filled water or distilled/deionized water (but I assume not D/DI, because of the icicle experiment which would involve ion/mineral-saturated water from nature). But I guess that's irrelavent to applying it to the island, because the sea is of course going to have plenty of minerals in it to be affected by the magnetism.

I really like the idea of a diamagnetic ocean "well" surrounding the island, that could indeed be utillized to explain a lot of the conditions and anomalies in the show like you say!

As for the Faraday cage, perhaps it can be induced without physical web of metal materials, byt creating a web of electromagnetic waves????? So maybe the sonic fence could still be one of those?

Great work!!!! Standing-ovation for you!

memphish said...

Great work ladies. I think you've given us the basics from which to combine and re-combine a number of these effects when it comes to the Island and what is making it hard to find and hard to leave. I'm sure the "real", i.e. the writers' answers, are some combo. of these things that probably can't really exist in real life. But given what a "special" place the Island is, I say let's throw in everything and the kitchen sink.

Ellen said...

Ange & Jess! This is an extraordinary effort! Thank you so much. I can't say that I disagree with anything in particular, I have pretty much the same level of understanding. It certainly does explain a lot of the phenomena in LOST. Good work!!!
xxoo

TakesaVillage said...

Ange & Jess,

If this was a Term Paper,
you two would get an A+.
Thanks.

tallone said...

e=mc2......the light has scattered....implies change with time movement