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iN AN AREA that stretches from the Florida coast to Bermuda to Puerto Rico, the infamous Bermuda Triangle - also known as the Deadly Triangle or Devil's Triangle - has been blamed for hundreds of shipwrecks, plane crashes, mysterious disappearances, craft instrument malfunctions and other unexplained phenomena. Author Vincent Gaddis is credited for coining the term "Bermuda Triangle" back in 1964 in an article he wrote for Argosy magazine, in which he catalogued many of the anomalous events in the area, and several other authors, including Charles Berlitz and Ivan Sanderson, have added to their number.
Whether or not phenomena of a paranormal nature are taking place there has been a matter of debate. Those who are convinced something odd is happening, as well as researchers who take a scientific view, have offered a number of explanations for the mystery.
MAGNETIC VORTICES
Fortean researcher Ivan Sanderson suspected that the strange sea and sky phenomena, mechanical and instrument malfunctions, and mysterious disappearances were the result of what he called "vile vortices" where, he said, "tremendous hot and cold currents crossing the most active zones might create the electromagnetic gymnastics affecting instruments and vehicles." And the Bermuda Triangle wasn't the only place on earth where this occurred. Sanderson drew out elaborate charts on which he identified 10 such locations precisely distributed around the globe, five above, and five below at equal distances from the equator.
MAGNETIC VARIATION
This theory, proposed by the Coast Guard over 30 years ago, states: "The majority of disappearances can be attributed to the area's unique environmental features. First, the "Devil's Triangle" is one of the two places on earth that a magnetic compass does point towards true north. Normally it points toward magnetic north. The difference between the two is known as compass variation. The amount of variation changes by as much as 20 degrees as one circumnavigates the earth. If this compass variation or error is not compensated for, a navigator could find himself far off course and in deep trouble." More information.
SPACE-TIME WARP
It's been suggested that from time to time a rift in space-time opens up in the Bermuda Triangle, and that planes and ships that are unlucky enough to be traveling the area at this time are lost in it. That is why, it is said, that often utterly no trace of the craft - not even wreckage - are ever found. But where do they disappear to? Another time and place? Another dimension? The physics for how this would actually take place are fuzzy at best. However, consider the following related idea for "electronic fog."
ELECTRONIC FOG
Is an "electronic fog" responsible for many of the unexplained incidents and disappearances in the infamous Bermuda Triangle? That is the assertion made by Rob MacGregor and Bruce Gernon in their book The Fog. Gernon himself is a first-hand witness and survivor of this strange phenomenon. On December 4, 1970, he and his dad were flying their Bonanza A36 over the Bahamas. On route to Bimini they encountered strange cloud phenomena - a tunnel-shaped vortex - the sides of which the plane's wings scraped as they flew. All of the plane's electronic and magnetic navigational instruments malfunctioned and the magnetic compass spun inexplicably. As they neared the end of the tunnel, they expected to see clear blue sky. Instead, they saw only a dull grayish white for miles - no ocean, sky or horizon. After flying for 34 minutes, a time corroborated by every clock on board, they found themselves over Miami Beach - a flight that normally would have taken 75 minutes. MacGregor and Gernon believe that this electronic fog that Gernon experienced may have also been responsible for the famous disappearance of Flight 19, and other vanishing aircraft and ships.
Whether or not phenomena of a paranormal nature are taking place there has been a matter of debate. Those who are convinced something odd is happening, as well as researchers who take a scientific view, have offered a number of explanations for the mystery.
MAGNETIC VORTICES
Fortean researcher Ivan Sanderson suspected that the strange sea and sky phenomena, mechanical and instrument malfunctions, and mysterious disappearances were the result of what he called "vile vortices" where, he said, "tremendous hot and cold currents crossing the most active zones might create the electromagnetic gymnastics affecting instruments and vehicles." And the Bermuda Triangle wasn't the only place on earth where this occurred. Sanderson drew out elaborate charts on which he identified 10 such locations precisely distributed around the globe, five above, and five below at equal distances from the equator.
MAGNETIC VARIATION
This theory, proposed by the Coast Guard over 30 years ago, states: "The majority of disappearances can be attributed to the area's unique environmental features. First, the "Devil's Triangle" is one of the two places on earth that a magnetic compass does point towards true north. Normally it points toward magnetic north. The difference between the two is known as compass variation. The amount of variation changes by as much as 20 degrees as one circumnavigates the earth. If this compass variation or error is not compensated for, a navigator could find himself far off course and in deep trouble." More information.
SPACE-TIME WARP
It's been suggested that from time to time a rift in space-time opens up in the Bermuda Triangle, and that planes and ships that are unlucky enough to be traveling the area at this time are lost in it. That is why, it is said, that often utterly no trace of the craft - not even wreckage - are ever found. But where do they disappear to? Another time and place? Another dimension? The physics for how this would actually take place are fuzzy at best. However, consider the following related idea for "electronic fog."
ELECTRONIC FOG
Is an "electronic fog" responsible for many of the unexplained incidents and disappearances in the infamous Bermuda Triangle? That is the assertion made by Rob MacGregor and Bruce Gernon in their book The Fog. Gernon himself is a first-hand witness and survivor of this strange phenomenon. On December 4, 1970, he and his dad were flying their Bonanza A36 over the Bahamas. On route to Bimini they encountered strange cloud phenomena - a tunnel-shaped vortex - the sides of which the plane's wings scraped as they flew. All of the plane's electronic and magnetic navigational instruments malfunctioned and the magnetic compass spun inexplicably. As they neared the end of the tunnel, they expected to see clear blue sky. Instead, they saw only a dull grayish white for miles - no ocean, sky or horizon. After flying for 34 minutes, a time corroborated by every clock on board, they found themselves over Miami Beach - a flight that normally would have taken 75 minutes. MacGregor and Gernon believe that this electronic fog that Gernon experienced may have also been responsible for the famous disappearance of Flight 19, and other vanishing aircraft and ships.
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Dark energy is one of the most mysterious subjects of modern-day physics. It was first observed in 1998, and even though more than a decade has passed since then, physicists throughout the world are still clueless about what dark energy is and how it affects everyone. The discovery of the existence of dark energy has fueled speculation that it could be linked to paranormal phenomena. Many theories explaining this relationship have been proposed.
The leading theory of dark energy is that it is an inherent property of space. Wherever there is space, there is a uniformly distributed dark energy in it. This theory comes from Einstein's general theory of relativity, which uses a “cosmological constant” to explain how the universe is held together. This cosmological constant is now believed by many scientists to be dark energy.
Another theory that tries to explain dark energy is that it is a dynamic energy fluid, which fills the whole universe. This theory is referred to as quintessence. Its name comes from the Greek concept of a pure “fifth element,” or the aether that fills up the universe. Proponents of this theory believe that dark energy is not uniform and that it can change in time and space.
There is hardly any doubt now that dark energy is holding the universe together and it is present everywhere. This energy could explain how spirits can move objects and make them float in the air. It can also explain why the conventional laws of physics do not apply to spirits. Dark energy could also act as the channel through which some people are able to communicate with spirits or through which telepathic communication can take place between two people.
Another theory that relates paranormal phenomenon to dark energy is that this energy carries psychic information and facilitates ghostly activity and psychic abilities. It is also believed that dark energy can pass through objects made of matter as if they did not exist, but this interaction could have a huge paranormal significance and could even be the source of some of our seemingly spontaneous thoughts.
Yet another theory is that the spirit is composed of dark energy that exists in symbiosis with matter of the human body when a person is alive. After a person's death, this energy is decoupled from the body and either exists in the vicinity of where the person died or merges into the aether.
As more is learned about dark energy through new observations, more could also be learned about how paranormal phenomena works. Dark energy could in fact be the key that unlocks the relationship between science and paranormal phenomena, and the next few years could be very exciting for both these fields.
How Was Dark Energy Discovered?
For many years, physicists believed that the universe was expanding, but that it will eventually slow down because of the force of gravity between distant stars and galaxies. However, in 1998, observations made by the Hubble Space Telescope showed that the universe is in fact expanding at an accelerating pace. Not only was this completely unexpected, but scientists were unable to explain the reason behind it. Eventually, physicists came up with the explanation that a “dark energy” permeates the universe and that almost 70 percent of the universe consists of nothing but this energy. Twenty-five percent of the universe is dark matter, which is the invisible matter that does not give off light, x-rays, or any other radiation, but does give off a gravitational force, and only the remaining 5 percent is the observable part of the universe, including the earth, sun, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter.Nature of Dark Energy
Very few facts are known about dark energy. It is believed that it is homogenous, i.e., it has a uniform structure and remains essentially the same throughout the universe. It has an extremely low density, which makes it very hard to make any observations about it through conventional experiments.The leading theory of dark energy is that it is an inherent property of space. Wherever there is space, there is a uniformly distributed dark energy in it. This theory comes from Einstein's general theory of relativity, which uses a “cosmological constant” to explain how the universe is held together. This cosmological constant is now believed by many scientists to be dark energy.
Another theory that tries to explain dark energy is that it is a dynamic energy fluid, which fills the whole universe. This theory is referred to as quintessence. Its name comes from the Greek concept of a pure “fifth element,” or the aether that fills up the universe. Proponents of this theory believe that dark energy is not uniform and that it can change in time and space.
Is Dark Energy Related to Paranormal Phenomena?
A lot of people now believe that the existence of dark energy is intricately linked to paranormal phenomena and several theories explaining this relationship have been proposed in the last few years.There is hardly any doubt now that dark energy is holding the universe together and it is present everywhere. This energy could explain how spirits can move objects and make them float in the air. It can also explain why the conventional laws of physics do not apply to spirits. Dark energy could also act as the channel through which some people are able to communicate with spirits or through which telepathic communication can take place between two people.
Modern science now has the capabilities to measure phenomena that only 100 years ago would not have been possible. The technology available, including computers and space-based experiments, have opened the door to other realms of possibilities that unseen forces are interacting in the universe.
Dark energy can also help explain the concept of a universal consciousness (also known as distributed or nonlocal consciousness), which has been proved by several experiments. It could be the same phenomena that has been referred to in various cultures as chi, orgone, prana, aether, or the Holy Spirit.Another theory that relates paranormal phenomenon to dark energy is that this energy carries psychic information and facilitates ghostly activity and psychic abilities. It is also believed that dark energy can pass through objects made of matter as if they did not exist, but this interaction could have a huge paranormal significance and could even be the source of some of our seemingly spontaneous thoughts.
Yet another theory is that the spirit is composed of dark energy that exists in symbiosis with matter of the human body when a person is alive. After a person's death, this energy is decoupled from the body and either exists in the vicinity of where the person died or merges into the aether.
As more is learned about dark energy through new observations, more could also be learned about how paranormal phenomena works. Dark energy could in fact be the key that unlocks the relationship between science and paranormal phenomena, and the next few years could be very exciting for both these fields.
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Every measurement has a degree of uncertainty associated with it. The uncertainty derives from the measuring device and from the skill of the person doing the measuring.
Let's use volume measurement as an example. Say you are in a chemistry lab and need 7 mL of water. You could take an unmarked coffee cup and add water until you think you have about 7 milliliters. In this case, the majority of the measurement error is associated with the skill of the person doing the measuring. You could use a beaker, marked in 5 mL increments. With the beaker, you could easily obtain a volume between 5 and 10 mL, probably close to 7 mL, give or take 1 mL. If you used a pipette marked to with 0.1 mL, you could get a volume between 6.99 and 7.01 mL pretty reliably. It would be untrue to report that you measured 7.000 mL using any of these devices, because you didn't measure the volume to the nearest microliter. You would report your measurement using significant figures. These include all of the digits you know for certain plus the last digit, which contains some uncertainty.
Significant Figure Rules
Measured quantities are often used in calculations. The precision of the calculation is limited by the precision of the measurements on which it is based.
Addition and Subtraction
When measured quantities are used in addition or subtraction, the uncertainty is determined by the absolute uncertainty in the least precise measurement (not by the number of significant figures). Sometimes this is considered to be the number of digits after the decimal point. Example
32.01 m
5.325 m
12 m
Let's use volume measurement as an example. Say you are in a chemistry lab and need 7 mL of water. You could take an unmarked coffee cup and add water until you think you have about 7 milliliters. In this case, the majority of the measurement error is associated with the skill of the person doing the measuring. You could use a beaker, marked in 5 mL increments. With the beaker, you could easily obtain a volume between 5 and 10 mL, probably close to 7 mL, give or take 1 mL. If you used a pipette marked to with 0.1 mL, you could get a volume between 6.99 and 7.01 mL pretty reliably. It would be untrue to report that you measured 7.000 mL using any of these devices, because you didn't measure the volume to the nearest microliter. You would report your measurement using significant figures. These include all of the digits you know for certain plus the last digit, which contains some uncertainty.
Significant Figure Rules
- Non-zero digits are always significant.
- All zeros between other significant digits are significant.
- The number of significant figures is determined starting with the leftmost non-zero digit. The leftmost non-zero digit is sometimes called the most significant digit or the most significant figure. For example, in the number 0.004205 the '4' is the most significant figure. The lefthand '0's are not significant. The zero between the '2' and the '5' is significant.
- The rightmost digit of a decimal number is the least significant digit or least significant figure. Another way to look at the least significant figure is to consider it to be the rightmost digit when the number is written in scientific notation. Least significant figures are still significant! In the number 0.004205 (which may be written as 4.205 x 10-3), the '5' is the least significant figure. In the number 43.120 (which may be written as 4.3210 x 101), the '0' is the least significant figure.
- If no decimal point is present, the rightmost non-zero digit is the least significant figure. In the number 5800, the least significant figure is '8'.
Measured quantities are often used in calculations. The precision of the calculation is limited by the precision of the measurements on which it is based.
Addition and Subtraction
When measured quantities are used in addition or subtraction, the uncertainty is determined by the absolute uncertainty in the least precise measurement (not by the number of significant figures). Sometimes this is considered to be the number of digits after the decimal point. Example
32.01 m
5.325 m
12 m
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