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Igirisujin
SILVER Member since Jul 2005

Carpal \'Tunnel
Location: Preston, United Kingdom

Total posts: 2666

Posted:27th Sep 2005I had a thought a few weeks ago after watching a pretty bog standard and boring programme on the guy who suppoisdly jumped out of his basth water and shouted ureka. Im thinking, this is pretty dumbed down even for television there really stretching this out over an hour.

Anyway, I wanted to ask this. Ok you know how you get into a bath half full of water, and your body pushes the water up, its called...dispersion or something I cant remember the name for it at the moment.

If I move to the other end of a room and stop still, will I make abrit_joe shape hole around that bit in the universe?

Does the same thing happen out of the bath (at that particular point I decide to stand still in) as in the bath with the bath water?

Im I making sense?

Chief adviser to the Pharaoh, in one very snazzy mutli-coloured coat

'Time goes by so slowly for those who wait...' - Whatever Happend To Baby Madonna?

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Imbalance
GOLD Member since Sep 2005

not different, just not the same
Location: Charlotte, NC, USA

Total posts: 263

Posted:27th Sep 2005hmm, interesting point, however i'd say your analagy is a bit flawed. Your example of the man in the bath water states that the man goes INTO the bath water. Meaning he was previously OUTSIDE the bath water. Thus the water rises to accomidate this new mass in the middle of it.

However, a person is never outside the universe, therefore there is no addition of mass to MAKE a displacement effect. Thus, when you move to the side of the room and stop still, the universe doesn't move nor have a displacement since it was already accomidating you. Think of a fish swimming in the ocean. It it moves from one reef to the other, there is no displacement, because the water level had already accomidated for the fish's mass.

Antoher small error in the analogy is the bathtub itself. The displacement effect fo the water is only noticable because it is contained inside the bathtub. when the water level rises due to the man getting in the water, there is a previously existing level to measure it against because the water previously existed inside the bathtub. There is no "container" that we know about for the universe/space/time. Thus no previously existing level to measure displacement against.

now one could take this arguement further and start to debate such things as what the meaning of the universe is, and therefore what objects are considered to be part of the universe (ie are fish part of the water because they move through it? if not then technically there is a hole whereever the fish is because the water has to flow around the fish..etc etc) and one could argue that being that the universe is considered by most to be boundless that displacement is impossible blah blah blah, but I don't feel like getting all that existential at this point.

;-)

I once learned every move that there was,
Every style, Every technique.
Then I woke up, and forgot it all,
So now I struggle to dream.

Forums > Social Discussion > A question about space, and getting into bath water

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