Dear hessiess,

Is a B.A. in Physics close enough to a Scientist?

Picture a length of string in space. It is in a vacuum, but it is still free to vibrate back and forth. That allows it to have wavelike motion without the need for a medium to propogate in (just one example).

Light acts in a similar way. When passed through a pair of small slits, light divides into a difraction pattern (just another name for a rainbow), like ocean waves breaking around a rock. So light seems wave like.

In other experiments they behave as particles, just as a length of string, because it is of limited length. Example: when light hits atoms it can cause electrons to shift level, but only as a discrete event. The electron won't continue to shift out as more light comes in (in fact only a photon of exactly the right frequency can cause the shift).

And in string theory it gets weirder from there.

One last thing about light, it's velocity is not always constant. "c" the constant for the speed of light is defined as "The speed of light in a vacuum". Light slows down a wee bit in denser environments. In fact, I have heard of claims from researchers that they could virtually bring it to a stop. I'll believe it when I see it (or not see it since stationary light can't hit your eye ).

[Now here's a real brain teaser for you]

Einstien's Theory of Relativity states:

1. All motion is relative to the observer. She is always stationary from her own point of view.

2. There is no absolute frame of reference. Only messurements made from one observers perspective.

3. Even Physics professors will bedazzle students with tales of Twins, one who flies off to distant stars a high speeds for a few years while her sister remains behind. She returns only to find that her sister is long dead and world has completely changed after the passage of centuries.

Question: What is wrong with this picture?