J.S.Bach appreciation in Duvall, WA

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J.S.Bach appreciation in Duvall, WA
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From Bach to Einstein and Beyond Port Townsend,
March 3, 2013
Vladimir Chaloupka Professor of Physics Adjunct
Professor, Henry M. Jackson School of
International Studies Adjunct Professor, School
of Music (NOT for performance!) (and, BY FAR, the
most modest professor at the UW) Advertissment
PHYS 216 / SIS 216 Science and Society Spring
2013 www.phys.washington.edu/users/vladi
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From Bach to Einstein and Beyond Art of Fugue
Variations on Science, Music and Human Affairs
Making a Coherent Whole out of Science, Music
and Human Affairs Science, Music and Human
Affairs, with Exuberance and Humility Two
cheers for science and technology Dr. Chaloupka
Sunday Service
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Or Physics is Different Its range covers the
unimaginably small particles such as quarks and
neutrinos, subject to the strange laws of Quantum
mechanics, all the way to the unimaginably
large structures such as clusters of galaxies,
governed by the strange laws of General
Relativity. And in the middle of that enormously
wide range, there is the most complex object
known to the human brain Human brain producing
Bach fugues (and Shakespeare, Rembrandt and )
as well as the mess we call Human Affairs,
governed by laws of such complexity that Quantum
Mechanics as well as General Relativity seem like
a picnic in comparison. This will be our subject
today.
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Outline of Talk Introduction The amazing
consequences of E mc2 The nature of Nothing So
Physics is Different, but Why Two Cheers? The
scales of Nature INTERMISSION Brief but Grand
Tour of the Universe The Triple Art of
J.S.Bach What about God? Conclusions and
Sendoff
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I. Physics is Different

• Consider a system of two particles
  
• - for example the system (Earth Moon)
• A question for you
• m(EarthMoon) ?
• m(EarthMoon) m(Earth)m(Moon)?
• But consider Emc2 every bit of mass m has an
  energy of Emc2 and conversely, an energy E
  corresponds to a mass mE/c2 (and c 300,000
  km/s is the speed of light).
• And there is energy gravity between Earth and
  Moon (that keeps the Moon orbiting around Earth)

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So reconsider the question m(EarthMoon)
m(Earth)m(Moon)? m(EarthMoon) lt
m(Earth)m(Moon)? m(EarthMoon) gt
m(Earth)m(Moon)?
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What is the mass of bound system M -gt m1 m2
? To separate m1 and m2 you must hit m2 (say, the
Moon) with a (large) bat, and conservation of
energy says Energy(at beginning)
Energy(at end) Mc2 E(binding)
m1c2 m2c2 Therefore Mc2
m1c2 m2c2 - E(binding) M
m1 m2
E(binding)/c2 and
M lt m1m2 !!! gt For sufficiently
strong binding M -gt 0 !!! But consider more than
two particles

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gt even for same binding but more particles the
effect gets more and more significant gt could it
be that M(Universe) 0 ???????
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Recent Physics Colloquium (i.e. a Secular Mass
each Monday afternoon) (usually something boring
? like Measurement of antiproton-proton
annihilations) But one Monday it was one of our
own faculty, talking about Why is there
Something rather than Nothing? Conclusion
Maybe there is Nothing, cleverly disguised as
Something. But wait what is the nature of that
Nothing?
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• A general Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle
• (uncertainty of something)(uncertainty of the
  rate of change of that something) cannot be
  smaller than 10-34 (the Planck constant)
• Two far-reaching consequences
  
• Not only we cannot measure these two quantities
  at the same time, but it seems they dont even
  EXIST at the same time.
  
• What is vacuum?
• A state of minimum energy, ground state, state of
  zero fields
• What is the uncertainty on that? zero
• Therefore, what is the uncertainty on the rate of
  change? infinity
• gt Quantum fluctuations of the vacuum (virtual
  particle-antiparticle pairs popping in and out,
  all the time)

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So modern Physics not only tells us that
Everything may be Nothing, but also that the
Nothing the Vacuum, is in fact very much
Something, alive with virtual particles and
antiparticles. So perhaps we may replace
Macbeths tale of sound and fury signifying
nothing (Shakespeare) by The
vacuum is a boiling sea of nothingness, full of
sound and fury, signifying a great deal. An
anonymous physicist recall the co-founder of
Quantum Physics, Niels Bohr There are two
kinds of Truth The opposite of an ordinary truth
is a falsehood. The opposite of a great truth is
another great truth.
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Conclusions from Physics
Physics is Different Recent decades have taught
us that physics is a magic window. It shows us
the illusion that lies behind reality - and the
reality that lies behind illusion. Its scope is
immensely greater than we once realized. We are
no longer satisfied with insights only into
particles, or fields of force, or geometry, or
even space and time. Today we demand of physics
some understanding of existence itself.
J.A.Wheeler Cf. Einstein The most
incomprehensible thing about the Universe is that
it is it appears to be comprehensible and
that comprehensibility is something we neither
understand nor deserve.
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But Why Two Cheers? Einstein as Scientist,
Musician and Prophet

• Einstein as scientist In 2005 we celebrated the
  Centenary of Einsteins Annus Mirabilis
• Einstein as musician from a review Einstein
  plays excellently. However, his world-wide fame
  is undeserved. There are many violinists who are
  just as good.
• Einstein as prophet Nuclear weapons changed
  everything except our way of thinking.

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The Basic Problem

• For the first time in human history, the
  capability of causing extreme harm is, or will
  soon be, in the hands of individuals or small
  groups. This is the 'Basic Problem'.  The actual
  manifestation of the problem will come as an
  intentional or accidental misuse of our new
  powers.
• Illustration knowledge of nuclear physics is not
  sufficient to actually build a nuclear weapon
  (expense, detectability).
• Contrast with molecular biology
• (which I
  love !!!)

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• the Basic Problem is a reflection of the Big Gap
  the ever-increasing gap between the cumulative,
  exponential progress in science and technology on
  the one hand, and on the other hand, the lack of
  comparable progress in our ability to use our new
  technological tools thoughtfully and responsibly.
  
• So What Is To Be Done?
• Temper our Exuberance by Humility.
• (see the
  website)

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Scales of Nature, as a preparation for the Grand
Tour 1) Atomic scale Imagine you are looking at
an atom with magnification of 10,000,000,000.
Then practically all the mass of the atom is in a
speck of a small grain of sand, and the (nearly
massless) electron(s) orbit at the distance of
about 10 meters! The nearest atom is at about 20
meters. This is the structure of you as well as
the chair you are sitting on, lead brick, Earth,

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2) astronomical scale Imagine now that the Earth
is as a speck of a small grain of sand. Then the
Sun is a little ball of about an inch in
diameter, and Earth orbits at the distance of 2
meters, Jupiter is a large grain pof sand
orbiting at 11 meters, and the Solar system ends
at 100 meters. The nearest star is at 1,000
km. 3) Galactic scale wait for the Grand Tour
after intermission.
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So everything in the Universe really just
versions of the almost vacuum - and
incredibly, the best vacuum would be obtained by
taking all the matter in the Universe, grinding
it up to individual particles (such as protons or
neutrons) and distributing these
uniformly Densities (? 10N kg/m3) N
medium 17 neutron star 13 Universe at end of
electroweak (10-32 10-11 s after BigBang) 4
Pb 3 water 0 Earth atmosphere -18 best
laboratory vacuum -27 the average Universe as a
whole
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INTERMISSION
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Slide to keep in mind during the Tour
It is a great adventure to contemplate the
universe beyond man, to think of what it means
without man - as it was for the great part of
its long history, and as it is in the great
majority of places. When this objective view is
finally attained, and the mystery and majesty of
matter are appreciated, to then turn the
objective eye back on man viewed as matter, to
see life as part of the universal mystery of
greatest depth, is to sense an experience which
is rarely described. Richard
Feynman
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Antiproton-proton annihilation As seen in a
Hydrogen Bubble Chamber
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The Andromeda Galaxy 2 million light years away.
The most distant object visible by naked eye (you
have to know where to look, and find a really
dark place, but the experience is very much worth
it!)
Note for details on when and how to see
Andromeda, see http//www.physics.ucla.edu/
huffman/m31.html
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Each white dot represent a galaxy (with about 100
billions stars each) as determined by the
measurement results of the 2df galaxy survey.
Note the distance scale.
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Since most large-scale research is funded by
taxpayers, all results must be made publicly
available. And so YOU have achance to notice
something in the Universe that NO ONE noticed
before !!!!! Example brief fly through the
galaxies as observed by the Sloan Digital Sky
Survey, and rendered by the World Wide Telescope
from Microsoft Research
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Stars orbiting a black hole (with a mass of 3.6
million Suns) in center of Milky Way. (You have
to view this in the slide show mode to see the
animation.)
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Black hole (2.6 billion Suns) at center of M87,
with globular clusters (the faint yellow cloud is
the galaxy itself globular clusters (see next
slide) are the visible dots)
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Globular cluster Omega Centauri
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Hubble telescope photograph of a center of a
globular star cluster.
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Hubble Ultra Deep Field
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Only one thing comes to mind

• Psalm 19.1
• For the choir director a psalm by David.
• The heavens declare the glory of God,
• and the sky displays what his hands have made.
• (and this comes to mind of believer and
  unbeliever alike)

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In some respects, science has far surpassed
religion in delivering awe. How is it that hardly
any major religion has looked at science and
concluded, "This is better than we thought! The
Universe is much bigger than our prophets said,
grander, more subtle, more elegant. God must be
even greater than we dreamed"? A religion,
old or new, that stressed the magnificence of the
Universe as revealed by modern science might be
able to draw forth reserves of reverence and awe
hardly tapped by the conventional faiths. Sooner
or later, such a religion will emerge.

Carl Sagan in Pale Blue
Dot
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J.S.Bach as Amadeus

• The Bach genetic phenomenon
• Bach myths BACH 14 JSBACH 41
• even (from a doctoral Thesis sic)
• the Unfinished fugue breaks off at bar 239
  because 239 14 !
• The central Theme of Amadeus (play/movie) applied
  to Bach
• ( Note a quick thinking MENSAn pointed out that
  JSBACH 43. But in the alphabet used at the
  time, IJ9, giving sum of 41)

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Bachs Kunst der Fuge (Art of the Fugue) as a
Triple Art 1) Art of writing a fugue 2) Art of
playing a fugue 3) Art of listening to a
fugue. And the main skill a student of the Art
of Listening to a Fugue must learn is how to
achieve the right balance between the perception
of the melodies and the perception of the harmony
you need to cultivate the ambiguity, in order
to achieve the fusion of the counterpoint into
Music.
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So what about Music (and Culture in general)?
what is the value of Elementary Particle
Physics for National Defense? none,
except it makes the Nation more worthy of
defending ------- what is the
value of Bachs Art of Fugue none, except
it (or something equivalent for you) makes the
Civilization more worthy of preserving -------
-
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Music and Science
Powerful synergy between Music and
Science Pythagoras consonance if f1/f2
m/n Kepler and his Music of the
Spheres Superstring Theory and the Princeton
String Quartet all particles as modes of
vibration of a string Laser Interferometer Space
Antenna Listening to the Gravitational Symphony
of the Universe, ) Music as example of emergent
complexity Music can brighten an otherwise
depressing subject In his Art of Fugue (and in
much of his other works) J.S.Bach went far beyond
Music he reflected and meditated, and makes us
reflect and meditate, on the inner wisdom of the
Heavens and Earth.
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Exuberance and Humility in Music, and Science
The pipe organ at the St. Marks Cathedral in
Seattle, and the 1743(Bach was just composing the
Art of Fugue then!) instrument at the College of
William and Mary in Williamsburg). ---------------
----------- And wisdom and kindness of Victor
Borge .
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And WHAT ABOUT GOD? Spirituality by the Road
Less Taken The worldview that Science inspires
(does not prove or provide, just inspires)
Not faith, but spirituality Not
traditional, revealed religion
too arrogant
Man was created to Gods image
Not secular humanism too
arrogant
Man is the measure of everything Instead
Deep, humble spirituality, valuing Doubt
and loving Search In short in this view,
traditional religions are NOT too spiritual or
too humble but rather they are NOT SPIRITUAL
ENOUGH, and TOO ARROGANT (they know the truth
already.)
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Summary Fermi paradox
Big Bang as Bonfire
Homo Sapiens
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Conclusions

• Science, when properly understood and taught,
  leads to a highly spiritual, idealistic,
  non-materialistic worldview.
• Physics is an excellent glue between different
  Science disciplines, and Music is a glue between
  Sciences and Humanities
• This may make it possible to re-establish the
  original meaning of the concept of a University
  and of Science as Natural Philosophy so that
  we deserve our PhD titles!
• In human affairs, the basic problem we are facing
  is the Basic Problem the gap between our science
  and our ethics, wisdom and foresight.

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The Grand Conclusion 21st Century will witness
an attempt at a birth of the Homo Sapiens
Civilization. Science will be the driving force
of that attempt. Natural selection is a
marvelous but very cruel process. The
possibility of escaping Darwinism and taking our
future into our own hands is unavoidable. How we
use science will determine whether the attempt
will succeed or not. Informed and educated
citizens, with sensitive detectors functioning
inside their heads, will have to take control of
their future.
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• Science and Music, with Bach and Einstein (and
  others, of course) symbolize many aspects and
  dimensions of infinity and eternity, exuberance
  and humility, and wisdom and hope.

E mc2
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What Is To Be Done? A challenge for MENSA.

• Education
• Risk Assessment (instead of relinquishment)
• Defensive and Preventive measures
• (intentional acts / accidents / natural )
• Coping with the aftermath
• Strengthening of the International Law
• See
• We cannot wait until people become more
  responsible and it is hopeless to try to
  accomplish that by preaching. We must take people
  as they are, and figure out an arrangement of
  our affairs compatible with science and
  technology.
• And it is here that I see a challenge for MENSA.
  Instead of (or in addition to) playing poker and
  games and convincing each other how clever
  everyone is, perhaps MENSA could help to figure
  out the Basic Problem.

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Implications for International Studies

• As argued in What Is To Be Done, the
  unrestricted national sovereignty is not
  compatible with modern science and technology
• In particular, the idea of the USA as a
  benevolent hegemon is not applicable
• Restricting national sovereignty is NOT
  equivalent to a World Government in fact, some
  decentralization may be necessary, and even the
  US itself may be have become too big for a
  central government
• If this difficult but well-defined problem is
  addressed (as our Founding Fathers did two
  hundred years ago) then perhaps the even more
  difficult problems of Human Security can be solved

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Was Einstein a naïve scientist?

• When Kansas and Colorado have a quarrel over the
  water in the Arkansas River, they don't call out
  the National Guard in each state and go to war
  over it. They bring a suit in the Supreme Court
  of the United States and abide by the decision.
  There isn't a reason in the world why we cannot
  do that internationally.'
• Harry Truman
• see

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Do we, occasionally, and temporarily,
stumble upon the
Truth? We stand today at a unique and
extraordinary moment. . Now, we can see a new
world coming into view. A world where the
United Nations, freed from cold war stalemate, is
poised to fulfill the historic vision of its
founders. The (former) US President George
H.W.Bush, reacting to the 1st Gulf War The
gravest danger our Nation faces lies at the
crossroads of radicalism and technology. Nationa
l Security Strategy 2002 (and then we invaded
Iraq )
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What Is To Be Done redux

• From the proposal by professors Acharya (Bristol)
  and Chaloupka (UW)
• Many important and urgent issues of Science,
  technology and Society are not being adequately
  studied by the current research in Human
  Security. The proposed Initiative aims at
  strengthening this critical area.
• Our approach broadens the concept of Human
  Security and addresses the needs of Humanity
  Security as well.
• One of the main tasks of the project will be to
  figure out how to deal with the democratization
  of science which gives enormous power to
  individuals. Preventing catastrophic misuse of
  these new powers, without sacrificing the
  benefits which widely-available science and
  technology can bring, may require a re-thinking
  of some very fundamental societal arrangements
  and concepts.

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Rethinking the Enlightement

• Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), US President
  1801-1809 was not comfortable with his
  characterization as a political figure. He saw
  himself first of all as a student of the
  sciences, philosopher, educator and scholar. Of
  Francis Bacon, John Locke and Isaac Newton he
  said I consider them as the three greatest men
  that have ever lived, without any exception.
• Enlightenment led to the American Revolution
  (1775), the French Revolution (1789), the
  scientific revolution (Isaac Newton (1643-1727).
  cf. J.S.Bach 1685-1750 .
• Then came the industrial, agricultural and
  medical revolutions, still in progress,
  profoundly changing the human condition, but also
  creating unsustainable state of affairs.
• Enlightenment replaced superstition and ignorance
  by an exuberant confidence in the rational power
  of human beings.
• This exuberance has to be tempered with a dose of
  humility.

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Some philosophical concepts 1) The value of
doubt and the beauty of search Were I to hold
the truth in my hand, I would let it go for the
pure joy of seeking Ralph Waldo Emerson 2) It
is OK not to know, but this is difficult for many
people. So many people invent answers and
cling to them Feynman on doubt Now, we
scientists are used to this, and we take it for
granted that it is perfectly consistent to be
unsure, that it is possible to live and not
know.  But I don't know whether everyone realizes
this is true.  Our freedom to doubt was born out
of a struggle against authority in the early days
of science.  It was a very deep and strong
struggle permit us to question - to doubt - to
not be sure.  I think that it is important that
we do not forget this struggle and thus perhaps
lose what we have gained. 3) Once again
enlightened reasoning is providing us with a
mirror, and we (or most of us) are not sure we
can cope with what we see.
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Fig. 19 Marvelous Molecular machines
contd. Left spontaneous assembly and
disassembly of a microtubule Above a kinesin
molecule walkssic along a microtubule, carrying
an organelle

See http//multimedia.mcb.harvard.edu/anim_innerli
fe_hi.html And recall spliceosome,
topoisomerase,
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More about Music

• Powerful synergy between Music and Science
• Pythagoras consonance if f1/f2 m/n
• Kepler and his Music of the Spheres
• Superstring Theory and the Princeton String
  Quartet all particles as modes of vibration of a
  string
• Laser Interferometer Space Antenna Listening to
  the Gravitational Symphony of the Universe, )
• Music as example of emergent complexity

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• Aristotle as a case study
• Aristotle Physics F m times
  v
• Oops forgot about friction F m times a
• Aristotle Philosophy
• "of the above mentioned forms, the perversions
  are as follows
• of monarchy, tyranny
• of aristocracy, oligarchy
• of constitutional government, democracy."

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