Knowledge of physical laws can, in some cases, give you the confidence to confront surly people. A few years ago I was having a hot-cocoa nightcap at a dessert shop in Pasadena, California. Ordered it with whipped cream, of course. When it arrived at the table, I saw no trace of the stuff. After I told the waiter that my cocoa had no whipped cream, he asserted I couldn’t see it because it sank to the bottom. But whipped cream has low density, and floats on all liquids that humans consume. So I offered the waiter two possible explanations: either somebody forgot to add the whipped cream to my hot cocoa or the universal laws of physics were different in his restaurant. Unconvinced, he defiantly brought over a dollop of whipped cream to demonstrate his claim. After bobbing once or twice the whipped cream rose to the top, safely afloat.
What better proof do you need of the universality of physical law?
Reklam
The power and beauty of physical laws is that they apply everywhere, whether or not you choose to believe in them.
For ordinary household gravity, Newton’s law works just fine. It got us to the Moon and returned us safely to Earth in 1969
Some of the most bone-headed, science-based proclamations in the past have underestimated the ingenuity of inventors and engineers: “We will never fly.” “Flying will never be commercially feasible.” “We will never split the atom.” “We will never break the sound barrier.” “We will never go to the Moon.” What they have in common is that no established law of physics stood in the their way.
And the man, as he waved his arms and hands, looked with longing at the creature that was warm and secure in the covering provided by nature.
