Thursday, October 9, 2025

Introduction To This Blog System

                                                                                                                                                                   

Image used by permission

Postings may be later combined into a compound posting on this blog. Many of the postings concern my observations in various branches of science, but there are also many on technology, religion, economics and, general world issues.

I would really like to thank everyone who reads any of these blogs for your interest.
 
SCIENCE WRITING
 
Most of the postings on this blog are visits to various places around the world, and articles about such topics as history and religion. But much of the writing is about science. I do not write about what is already known but only if I can write something new, or at least a new way of looking at things.
 
If you would like a quick background in the science and mathematics that everyone should really know in the 21st Century, the posting "Scientific Literacy" provides this in about a hundred paragraphs. Similarly, "The Way Things Work" provides a quick background in everyday technology.
 
I am a Christian and I want to show that belief in God is not unscientific at all. I was interested in science long before I was interested in religion, and have never had any trouble believing that God created everything.
 
There are five major scientific theories, each arranged in the form of a textbook. The first four of the following five are on this blog.
 
"The Theory Of Stationary Space" is my cosmological theory of how so much revolves around time being explained by us being in four-dimensional space, with the dimension that we cannot access being perceived as time. This is my version of string theory, with matter actually being strings in four dimensions rather than particles in three dimensions. Everything is ultimately based on negative and positive electric charges, with energy being able to overcome the laws of attraction and repulsion of electric charges. No one has ever explained exactly what time is, and a myriad of explanations of other things fall right into place around it.
 
"The Flow Of Information Through The Universe" is about how so much can be explained by seeing how there is a limited amount of information, and it must be the same information that constructs the highest levels as the lowest levels. A ready example is how the orbits of planets around the sun is based on the orbitals of electrons around the nucleus, in the atoms of which the sun and planets are composed. This concept is extremely useful because, understanding this, we can study things that we cannot directly see by analyzing things that we can see because all must be built on the same information.
 
"The Theory Of Complexity" is about what information actually is, how energy and information is really the same thing, and how we see the universe as we do because of our perspective of being at a higher level of information than our inanimate surroundings.
 
"The Lowest Information Point" is about how, since information and energy is really the same thing and the universe always seeks the lowest energy state, it also always seeks the "Lowest Information Point". So much is explained by how the universe prefers equalities to inequalities and related ratios where the numerator of one ratio is also the denominator of the other. This explains so much from why dust particles are as big as they to why the planets and stars are the scale that they are.
 
"The Story Of Planet Earth", on the geology blog, is about how virtually every major feature of the earth's surface, both on land and seafloor, can be explained by lines of magma emergence from below that were affected by the landing of three Continental Asteroids. Many people believe that land originated from a past "super-continent", but there is no explanation of where it came from.
 
There are a few of what we could call "minor" theories, where there is not as much written as with the major theories. On this blog, there is "How Biology And Human Life Fits Into Cosmology". On the meteorology and biology blog, there is my theory of the nature of water, "Water Made Really Simple".
 
There are compound postings about science which are groupings of writing about a certain topic.
 
Scientific compound postings include, "Computer Science", "Atomic Science", "Measurement", "A Celebration Of The Inverse Square Law", "Our Solar System", "Mind-Bending Cosmology", "The Configuration Of The Solar System Made Really Simple", "In Appreciation Of Electrons", "The Science Of Human Society " and "Orbital And Escape Velocities And Impacts from Space".
 
Compound postings about history and the world include "The House Of Holy Wisdom, Where The Modern World Began", "Niagara Stories", "Economics", "How History Repeats Itself", "The Meaning Of Freedom", "The Western Hemisphere", "Our Language" and, "America And The Modern World Explained By Way Of Paris".
 
There are two compound postings about prophecies and the Bible. There is "The Aztec Prophecy" than, for prophecies that are directly made in the Bible there is "New Insight Into Bible Prophecy".
 
"Investigations" is the compound posting that is a collection of any posting about an investigation.
 
The rest of the postings are individual postings. For more detailed information about this blog, see the posting "Thanks To Readers". For general topics of conversation, see "Thoughts And Observations", on the world and economics blog.  

Other Blogs And Books

                                                                                                              

Lights at night 

Here is a quick look at my other blogs before you start this one.

On this blog, you can see a list of all postings by clicking on the year or month to the right. But on the topical blogs, that is not the case. If you click on a year or month on those blogs, it will display the postings themselves, but the list on the right will still only show those postings that were added most recently.

To access a list of all postings on those blogs, it is necessary to click on the arrow in front of the year or month in question.

http://www.markmeekeconomics.blogspot.com/ is about economics, history and, general human issues.

http://www.markmeekprogress.blogspot.com/ concerns progress in technology and ideas.

http://www.markmeekearth.blogspot.com/ is my geology and global natural history blog for topics other than glaciers. My natural history blogs concerning the impact of glaciers is http://www.markmeekworld.blogspot.com/ .

http://www.markmeekniagara.blogspot.com/ is about new discoveries concerning natural history in the general area of Niagara Falls.

http://www.markmeeklife.blogspot.com/ is my observations concerning meteorology and biology.

http://www.markmeekphysics.blogspot.com/ is my blog about physics and astronomy.

http://www.markmeekcosmology.blogspot.com/ is my version of string theory that solves many unsolved mysteries about the underlying structure and beginning of the universe.

http://www.markmeekpatterns.blogspot.com/ details my work with the fundamental patterns and complexity that underlies everything in existence.

 http://www.markmeekreligion.blogspot.com/ is my religion blog.

 http://www.markmeekcreation.blogspot.com/ is proof that there must be a god.

http://www.markmeekphotos.blogspot.com/ is my travel photos of Europe.

On my photo blogs, Blogspot will not hold all of the photos in each blog in a straight line. To see all of the photos, you must click on the bottom posting listed on the right at the top of the blog after seeing all that there are in the initial showing. The last posting in the North America blog should be "Tijuana, Mexico" and the last posting in the Europe blog should be "Notre Dame Cathedral Door And Arc De Triomphe, Paris". Each photo in the photo blogs can be clicked on to enlarge it to full screen.

My autobiography is http://www.mark-meek.blogspot.com/

My books can be seen at http://www.bn.com/ http://www.amazon.com/ or, http://www.iuniverse.com/ just do an author search for "Mark Meek".   

Changsha

Like so many Chinese cities Changsha, in south central China, is very ancient. Although the city may not be centered just as it was in ancient times. This city, in Hunan Province, is near where Chairman Mao, the founder of modern China, was born and began his political career.

I can remember, from childhood, the news of U.S. president Richard Nixon's visit to China and meeting Chairman Mao. This was the beginning of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and China.

Chairman Mao chose his successor, and it wasn't Deng Xiaoping, but that was who ended up completing the development of modern China.

This is the image, from Google Street View, of Chairman Mao in Changsha.


Remember that, as we saw in the posting on this blog, "Understanding The World In Terms Of The South And West And The North And East", April 2016, China is part of the "North And East". This is where the nations tend to have remained the same since ancient times. Permanent new nations do not come into being with changes of ideas, as is the case in "The South And West".

Not only has China been a nation since far back into ancient times, but it's cities are mostly the same ones also. The Middle East, in contrast as part of the "South And West", is also very ancient but the original cities are today mostly ruins that were replaced with new cities built by Moslems.

Another difference involving China is that early civilizations grew up around river valleys. To the west, there were great civilizations in the Nile, the Tigris-Euphrates and the Indus River valleys. In the far east, there were the early civilizations in the Pearl, Yangtze and Yellow River valleys. But the difference is that the three in the far east ended up as part of the same country, and that country is China.

The following scenes are of modern Changsha. The first five images are from Google Street View.






There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow, ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >, After clicking the up arrow, you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish.

https://www.google.com/maps/@28.1980267,112.8997726,3a,75y,163.5h,96.94t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipPXI0n14YX1-AhEgrRTFJZfETpn0mNPUlQV-2GN!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipPXI0n14YX1-AhEgrRTFJZfETpn0mNPUlQV-2GN%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-6.941883-ya151.5-ro-0-fo100!7i10240!8i5120

Here is more of the newer part of the city.

https://www.google.com/maps/@28.2277258,112.9369552,3a,75y,1.5h,100.95t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNmjyHoWvmsOkv3KuDCuModdGQviVvUfZo-Xw6f!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNmjyHoWvmsOkv3KuDCuModdGQviVvUfZo-Xw6f%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-10.949902-ya1.5-ro-0-fo100!7i8704!8i4352

The western part of Changsha has many apartment buildings. The first image is from Google Street View.












Willow trees are always popular in China.


Chinese cities at night are filled with light. The whole downtown is like Times Square.











Apocalyptic Developments

This is about the scenario described in the parallel postings, "The End Of The World As We Know It" and "Inducing The Apocalypse", both June 2025.

The Second Book of Timothy foretells that, in the Last Days of the world, there would be people suffering from"uncontrollable fits of rage". There was no word for gun in biblical times, the invention of of gunpowder was in the distant future. But this describes perfectly the frequent senseless gun massacres. There were two more such massacres recently in the U.S., both by military veterans.

Jesus foretold that there would be "wars and rumors of wars" in the Last Days. Just in case the world doesn't have enough conflict, the U.S. military has been attacking Venezuelan boats that were deemed to be carrying illegal drugs. Russia has condemned the attacks. Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin get along, it's usually Sergei Lavrov or Dmitry Medvedev who make hostile statements.

Do you see the underlying psychology of the U.S. conflict with Venezuela? In 2000, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez visited Saddam Hussein in Baghdad. Both countries were members of OPEC. Now, the successor of Hugo Chavez resembles Saddam Hussein and, instead of Iraq's fabled "weapons of mass destruction", the contention is over boats bringing illegal drugs to the U.S.

RUSSIA AND THE APOCALYPSE 

Let's review what I am sure Russia is trying to do. Russia is by far the geographically largest country in the world. It has nearly twice as much land as the second-largest country, which is Canada. Russia is also almost certainly the richest country in energy and natural resources. So what could Russia possibly be trying to accomplish in Ukraine? If Russia got all that it apparently wants in Ukraine, it will increase it's land and resources by about 1%. This war effort, and making itself such a pariah in the world, is not remotely worth the effort.

But there is another factor. Russia, then Communist, is perceived as having "lost" the Cold War, in economic terms. But economics doesn't matter anymore. The "godless Communism" of the Cold War is long gone. Now Russia has got it right. It's "Holy Russia" against the West that has fallen into decadence and apostasy. The Apocalypse has to happen anyway, and Russia will emerge on top this time. As we would expect, the Antichrist must emerge from decadent western Europe and the Russian Government is trying to incite his emergence to get this underway.

The History Behind Modern British Politics

To understand Britain's political situation it is vital to understand the Stuart Dynasty, of 1603-1714. The Stuarts are somewhat overshadowed by the Tudors who preceded them. But history tends to repeat itself and so much of the political scene today is a reenactment of events during the Stuart Era.

The beginning of the Stuart Dynasty was when Elizabeth I died childless in 1603. England and Scotland were separate countries but a king of Scotland had married Margaret Tudor, who was a daughter of Henry Tudor who began the Tudor Dynasty by reigning as Henry VII (7th). This resulted in the King of Scotland, James I, also inheriting the throne of England.

The rule of two countries by the same king is known as a "personal union", but it does not mean that the two countries are completely united. From 1603 to 1707, England and Scotland were joined in the "Union of the Crowns", as a personal union with the same king. Scotland then joined Britain in 1707.

When Scotland held a referendum on separation, in 2014, it was announced that an independent Scotland would still recognize the monarchy and use the pound as currency. They were seeking not a total separation but a return to the Union of the Crowns, of the Stuart Era.

While the central event of the Tudor Era had been the Reformation, the central event of the Stuart Era was the Civil War. The leaving of the European Union, known as "Brexit", is a reenactment of England leaving the Catholic Church in the Reformation. Notice that Scotland was generally opposed to Brexit. That was rooted in the fact that Scotland was not yet with England, in the Union of the Crowns, when England separated from the Catholic Church, although Scotland joined the Reformation separately.

The central event of the Stuart Era, the Civil War, was a religious war between Puritans and Anglicans. The Anglican Church had been founded by Elizabeth I, the final monarch of the Tudor Era, as a compromise between Puritans and the remaining Catholics. Puritans generally wanted to live by just the Bible, with a minimal church structure. 

The Civil War was not between Protestants and Catholics, as were the wars around the same time on continental Europe, but between two denominations of Protestants. Religion had become entwined with politics and the Royalists supported the Anglicans while the Parliament supported the Puritans. This is the only major conflict that I can think of between denominations of Protestants.

The Puritans, led by Oliver Cromwell, emerged victorious and there was a resulting interruption in the monarchy from 1649-1660. The monarchy was abolished, King Charles I was executed and, the Crown Jewels destroyed. The son of Charles I escaped by hiding in an oak tree and then going into exile. But the Puritans fell out of favor after the death of Oliver Cromwell. The son of the executed king returned and was crowned as Charles II. Some of the Puritans left to build their own society in Massachusetts, and that is where America's Pilgrims and Puritans came from.


With that background, what do you notice about modern British politics? Margaret Thatcher, as a staunch Conservative, was a secular reenactment of Oliver Cromwell. Just as the Interregnum, the Puritans' interruption of the monarchy, lasted for eleven years, from 1649 to 1660, so Margaret Thatcher's term in office lasted for eleven years, from 1979 to 1990. Just as Cromwell's movement fell out of favor and the monarchy was restored, so Margaret Thatcher fell out of favor and was removed by her own party.

Now the Civil War battle between the Puritans and the Anglicans is being reenacted again, in modern secular form between the Conservatives and Labour. The Conservative Nigel Farage is the latest possible incarnation of Oliver Cromwell. Just as the Anglican Church, created by Elizabeth I, was intended to be a compromise between the Puritans and the remaining Catholics, so the present Labour Party has it's two sides. 

The Anglican Church refers to it as the "high church", more Catholic, side and the "low church", more Puritan, side. The present prime minister is of the "low church", more rightward, side of the Labour Party and his possible replacement is the Mayor of Manchester who is of the "high church", more leftward side of the Labour Party.

There is some more recent history behind this, other than the Civil War. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels are considered as the founders of Communism. Both lived in England, Marx in London and Engels in Manchester. Marx visited Engels and the two had a discussion in Chetham's Library. The result was the world-changing book, "The Communist Manifesto". 

Their economic theory was intended for the industrial workers around Manchester and I am sure that they never imagined that Russia would be the first nation to adopt their theory.

This image of Chetham's Library, in Manchester, is from Google Street View.

For the full story of England's Civil War, and it's far-reaching effect on world history, here is a link to the posting "Charles I And II". 

www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2023/05/charles-i-and-ii.html?m=0

New Japanese Prime Minister

"The country's first woman prime minister is an ultraconservative". If that sounds familiar, the new Japanese Prime Minister has stated that she is an admirer of Margaret Thatcher. 

But let's remember that politics doesn't require an "Iron Lady" with an iron will. I think the best career to precede politics is being a pilot. The pilot continuously makes fine adjustments to keep the aircraft in balance. Thatcher, like Ronald Reagan later in America, started off on the right course. Their very conservative policies were necessary to get the rampant inflation of the late 1970s under control. Their fault was in continuing those policies after the problem had been resolved.

Here is a link to "Margaret Thatcher In Perspective", the posting that I wrote following her death in 2013:

www.markmeekeconomics.blogspot.com/2013/08/margaret-thatcher-in-perspective.html?m=0 


Gravity And Electromagnetism And The Unification Of Forces

Part of this was posted last week. That's because I wanted readers to understand the first part of it before adding the rest.

My cosmology theory claims that gravity is actually a form of electromagnetism.

There are supposedly four basic forces in the universe. It is gravity that governs the universe on a large scale because it is cumulative. The universe is composed of two electric charges, negative and positive, and electromagnetism is the force associated with it. The Strong Nuclear Force binds atomic nuclei together against their mutual like-charge repulsion. The Weak Nuclear Force is associated with the radioactive decay in the heavy elements that were formed by a supernova.

My cosmology theory has empty space as a checkerboard of alternating negative and positive electric charges in multiple dimensions. The two rules of the electric charges are that opposite charges attract while like charges repel. These rules can be overcome, to some extent, by energy. If the energy overcomes the repulsive force between like charges then we get strings of charges that we perceive as particles, such as electrons, because we can see only in three of the four spatial dimensions, the other we experience as time. 

The energy holding the like charges together is what gives matter it's mass and we refer to it as the Mass-Energy Equivalence. If the energy overcomes the attractive force between opposite charges, it creates electromagnetic waves in space. These waves are so-called because they disturb the underlying balance of the electric charges in space. We can see that matter consists of one-dimensional strings because it has mass, while electromagnetic radiation is two-dimensional waves but has no mass. The mass of matter has been exchanged for the additional dimension.

This provides a neat and simple explanation for gravity. If the two electric charges are equal then the two rules of electric charges, that opposite charges attract while like charges repel, must also be equal. If the repulsive force between like charges is overcome by energy to create matter then that leaves a net attractive force that should be associated with matter. There is indeed a net attractive force associated with matter and it is what we refer to as gravity.

This means that gravity is a form of electromagnetism, rather than an entirely separate force. Each of the basic forces is supposedly transmitted by a particle. Electromagnetism by photons, the Strong Nuclear Force by gluons, and the Weak Nuclear Force by W and Z Bosons. It is interesting that gravity, which governs the universe on a large scale, is theorized to be transmitted by "gravitons", but they have never been found.

What I have always found interesting is that gravity and electromagnetism obey the same Inverse Square Law. No other two forces obey the same rules like this. The two do not operate in exactly the same way. Gravity works with all the mass of an object, while electromagnetism only works with it's surface, but other than that they work the same.

The electrons in orbitals in atoms usually operate in pairs, with the two having opposite spin. If we consider electrons as pairs then the maximum numbers of electrons in successive orbital shells operates by exactly the same Inverse Square Law as gravity. The formula for the maximum number of electrons is 2N (squared). This means that the first orbital shell can have 2 electrons, or 1 pair. The second orbital shell can have 8 electrons, or 4 pairs. The third orbital shell can have 18 electrons, or 9 pairs. The fourth orbital shell can have 32 electrons, or 16 pairs. In each, the allowed number of pairs is the square of the number of the orbital shell.

Each electron in an atom is defined by an "address" of four Quantum Numbers. The N, described above, is the Principal Quantum Number. The Spin, either up or down, is another Quantum Number. 

There are also subshells, within the orbital shells, based on energy levels. The Azimuthal Quantum Number, designated as L, defines the maximum number of electrons that can be in any subshell. The subshells are expressed with letters, with S=0, P=1, D=2 and F=3. The formula for the maximum number of electrons in a given subshell of an orbital shell is 2 (2L+1). The L is the 0, 1, 2, or 3.

The 2 before the (2L+1) is because electrons usually exist in pairs. This gives us the maximum number of possible pairs in the four subshells as 1, 3, 5 and, 7.

This is very interesting with regard to gravity. The acceleration due to gravity of a falling object is 32 feet per second, or 9.8 meters per second, squared. If an object is dropped from a height, it starts with a velocity of zero and the velocity steadily increases to 32 feet per second at the end of the first second. This means that it's average velocity in the first second was 16 feet per second, so that it would have fallen 16 feet or 4.9 meters by the end of the first second.

At the beginning of the second second the velocity was 32 feet per second and 64 feet per second at the end of the second. Thus it's average velocity in the second second was 48 feet per second so that it would have fallen 48 feet in that second. This is 3 times the 16 feet that it fell in the first second.

At the beginning of the third second it was falling at a velocity of 64 feet per second and 96 feet per second at the end of the second. This means that it's average velocity during the third second was 80 feet per second so that it would have fallen 80 feet. This is 5 times the 16 feet that it fell in the first second.

At the beginning of the fourth second the object was falling at a velocity of 96 feet per second and at 128 feet per second at the end of the second. It's average velocity during the fourth second was 112 feet per second so that it would have fallen 112 feet. This is 7 times the 16 feet that it fell in the first second.

What do you notice here? The 1, 3, 5 and 7 associated with a falling object are exactly the same numbers that define the maximum number of electron pairs in subshells. It doesn't matter whether or not we measure time in seconds, any brief unit of time and the corresponding distance of fall would do. This is in addition to the fact that gravity and electromagnetic follow the Inverse Square Law in exactly the same way.

We use mathematics to describe the physical universe around us. So if there are four basic forces then we should expect that each would be described by different mathematics. If two of the forces are described by exactly the same mathematics then the two must actually be the same force, even if they appear different to us. There is a difference in that gravity is always an attractive force while electromagnetism can be either attractive or repulsive. But that is only because of our perspective on our surroundings and the two must really be the same force. 

Einstein's second theory of Relativity, the General Theory of 1915, describes how gravity is actually a warping of space by mass so that an object in orbit is actually moving in a straight line but through curved space. An example that is often given is that of a suspended rubber sheet with a heavy bowling ball placed in the middle of it, so that it warped the rubber sheet. If a marble was rolled across the sheet, past the bowling ball, it would go into "orbit" around the ball.

This also means that gravity should bend light. A massive object, such as the sun, should measurably bend a ray of light. The difficulty in testing this is that the overpowering glare of the sun would drown out any ray of light from beyond the sun that was being tested. The solution was to travel to where there was a solar eclipse so that the light of the sun would be blocked out. This is what was done and gravity did indeed bend light.

But why would gravity bend light if the two were manifestations of two different forces? Light is electromagnetic radiation, from the electromagnetic force. No other two of the basic forces interact like this.

The only conclusion that I can come to is that gravity and electromagnetism is really the same force. We see it as two forces because it affects us in two different ways, as an attractive force on our mass and bringing information to us by means of waves.


With that understanding of the first part, the possibility of unification of the basic forces emerges if there are only three forces. There have long been efforts to unify the basic forces. The forces exchange force for distance which makes it seem as if they might be different manifestations of the same thing, like holding a lever at different points.

What is interesting is that so much in the subatomic realm revolves around threes or thirds. Protons and neutrons are each composed of three quarks. The electric charges of quarks are in thirds. An up quark has a charge of +2/3 and a down quark has a charge of -1/3. So two up quarks and a down quark form a proton, with a charge of+1, and two down quarks and an up quark form a neutron, with a charge of zero.

In Quark Chromodynamics, quarks are joined by messenger particles called gluons. There are three symbolic colors that describe the interactions, and the colors have to balance out to zero.

In the Standard Model of particle physics, there are three generations each of electrons, neutrinos and, quarks. All that really matters to us is the first, and lightest generation, but we can detect the other two.

To understand these threes, we must understand why there are two opposite directions in each of our three spatial dimensions. We might refer to these opposite directions as left and right, up and down, and backward and forward. It is because everything in the universe, space and matter, are composed of two electric charges, which we refer to as negative and positive. 

The basic rules of the charges are that opposite charges attract while like charges repel. Space is an alternating checkerboard of negative and positive charges, in multiple dimensions. Energy can overcome, to some extent, the basic rules of the charges. If it overcomes the repulsion between like charges, it creates the charged particles of matter such as electrons. If it overcomes the attraction between opposite charges, it creates electromagnetic waves.

What I have determined is that we see two opposite directions per dimension because of the two electric charges but the overcoming of the repulsion between like charges that creates matter is actually a higher information state. The imbalance between the two rules of electric charges, caused by one of them being overcome by energy, acts as another point of information and it creates a third direction per dimension, but only actually inside the subatomic particles. The inside of an atom is mostly empty space and there is still only two directions per dimension. Remember that this does not mean more dimensions of space, but another direction per dimension.

The following diagram shows, on the right, how we see two opposite directions per dimension of space because, from any given point in space such as Point A, one direction must begin with a positive charge and the other with a negative charge. On the left we see that, actually inside the subatomic particle, the overcoming of the repulsion between like charges that creates the charged particle creates an imbalance that acts as another point of information so that there are three opposite directions per dimension.

Electromagnetic waves are also created by overcoming one of the basic rules of the electric charges by energy, the attraction between like charges. But this doesn't create another direction per dimension. The reason is that, as described by my cosmology theory, the particles of matter are one-dimensional strings while the waves are two-dimensional. Electromagnetic waves already have another dimension so they don't create an additional direction per dimension. 

The two rules of electric charges must be equal so it cannot be that one creates two dimensions, an electromagnetic wave, when it is overcome by energy while the other only creates one dimension, a charged string of matter that forms the subatomic particles. Matter cannot create another dimension of space so it creates, but only actually inside the particles, another opposite direction per dimension. We get our information from electromagnetic radiation, which only moves in the two opposite directions of space, but this is actually inside the particles where there is only the direct effect of the electric charges.

So we have three opposite directions per dimension, actually inside subatomic particles, but we can only see in two of them. We could designate these three directions as A, B and, C. This brings three possibilities. We can either see in directions  A and B, A and C or, B and C.

This explains why so much about subatomic particles involves threes or thirds. It is too much to be a coincidence. The three symbolic colors that are used in the system of Quantum Chromodynamics represent these three opposite directions, in which the quark and gluon can be aligned. The three generations each of particles in the Standard Model are how many of these sets of opposite directions per dimension that we can see in, either one or two or three. 

Finally this brings us to, if there are three basic forces since gravity is a form of electromagnetism, the three are likely different manifestations of the same thing, with electromagnetism being the only real force. We can see that the basic forces exchange force for distance, like holding a lever at different points, making it seem that they are really the same thing.

Here is a link to the abbreviated version of the cosmology theory. These three opposite directions per dimension are described in the final section, 23.

www.markmeeksideas.blogspot.com/2024/01/cosmology-theory-in-diagrams.html?m=0

Thursday, October 2, 2025

Xian And The Silk Road

We are reading a lot today about China's revival of the Silk Road, the "Belt and Road Initiative". This means that it might be a good time to visit the city that was at the eastern end of the Old Silk Road.

Xian, once known as Chang An, is a Chinese city that is far inland, near the center of the country. Xian was the capital of China for a long time, for four of the dynasties during China's history. It became an important city in the 11th Century B.C., for a comparison with the Bible, this is about a century older than Jerusalem.

The city had a great influence and distant Kyoto, which was the capital of Japan for a thousand years, was actually modeled on Xian. Qin Shi Huang, considered as the first emperor of a united China, conquered all of the other states during the time known as the Warring States Period, and began the Qin Dynasty, which ruled China from Xian beginning in 221 B.C.

The Silk Road, although that was not what it was called at the time, operated as a great trade route between east and west, from ancient until medieval times. It was a network of trade routes, rather than one single route. We have already seen, in our visit to "Syria" that Aleppo was a great trading city at the western end of the Silk Road. Xian was at the opposite end, the eastern end.

It was much more than goods which moved along the Silk Road. Alexander's empire stretched so far to the east, bringing Greek influence to China and India, because it grew along the Silk Road. It was by the Silk Road that kingdoms to the east sent envoys to the Roman Empire. But silk clothing from the east became so popular in Rome that efforts were made to ban it, because so much money was being spent on it.

We usually do not think of Buddhism as being an Indian religion, but that is where it actually began. The wheel on the Indian flag of today is actually a Buddhist symbol. How did Buddhism spread across east Asia, where it predominates today? Along the Silk Road.

We saw in "The House Of Holy Wisdom, Where The Modern World Began", January 2016, that the Nestorian Christians sent representatives to China. Alopen met with Emperor Taizong, and some Nestorian Christian communities were established in western China. This is recorded on a famous monument, known as the Nestorian Stele, from the year 781, that is in a museum in Xian. These two images are from the Wikipedia article "Xian Stele".



The end of the Mongol Empire brought the Silk Road into decline and, in the following centuries, Europeans found sea routes to the east, which largely replaced the Silk Road. While silk was always popular in Europe, spices became the primary product being sought from the east.

But now, the Chinese Government is putting a lot of effort into creating a modern version of the Silk Road. This time transportation of goods will focus on high-speed trains and ships, rather than pack animals.

In the center of Xian are two towers, both built around 1380, the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower. Bells in the Bell Tower were rung at sunrise, and drums in the drum tower were sounded at sunset. These three images, from Google Street View, are of the Bell Tower.




These two images, from Google Street View, are of the Drum Tower.



The following scenes begin at the Drum Tower. Being so far westward in China means that Xian has a significant Moslem population, and a major mosque is located adjacent to the Drum Tower.

There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow, ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >. After clicking the up arrow, you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish.

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.2609867,108.942245,3a,75y,86.37h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1s-7rhlW8EvNaM%2FUtN3nrksMgI%2FAAAAAAABWSs%2FDU4ul3rdxCYTmywCfo2kvfL0OPse3N68wCJkC!2e4!3e11!6s%2F%2Flh4.googleusercontent.com%2F-7rhlW8EvNaM%2FUtN3nrksMgI%2FAAAAAAABWSs%2FDU4ul3rdxCYTmywCfo2kvfL0OPse3N68wCJkC%2Fw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya63.1061-ro-0-fo100%2F!7i3584!8i1792

Two other landmarks of Xian are the Large and Small Wild Goose Pagodas. These are far older than the Drum and Bell Towers. The Large Wild Goose Pagoda was built in 652, and the small one about fifty years later. These are both Buddhist temples, remembering that Buddhism came to Xian along the Silk Road.

This image of the Large Wild Goose Pagoda is from Google Street View.


These two images of the Small Wild Goose Pagoda are from Google Street View.



Daming Palace, in Xian, was the home of the Tang Dynasty emperors. This was considered as a "Golden Age" in China, and Xian was believed to have been the most populous city in the world. This image is from the Wikipedia article "Daming Palace".


Tang Paradise is a reconstruction of Tang Dynasty architecture in Xian. It is believed to be on the site of a Tang Dynasty garden. These two images are from Google Street View.



One of the greatest archeological discoveries of modern times was certainly the Terracotta Army of China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang. This is amazing life-size soldiers, and other figures, to guard and accompany the emperor after death. There are around ten thousand in all. The world has never seen anything like this. The Terracotta Army was completed before 200 B.C. I can remember from my early teens the news that this was discovered. These three images of the Terracotta Army are from Google Street View.




This is the Eastern Wall and moat of Xian.

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.259329,108.972131,3a,75y,86h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1s-6NXPSItE53Y%2FV9evVrAdySI%2FAAAAAAAASAs%2FixB_7Iy0oJ0Bm-4D1oAKR5wuW5zP7MoZwCJkC!2e4!3e11!6s%2F%2Flh3.googleusercontent.com%2F-6NXPSItE53Y%2FV9evVrAdySI%2FAAAAAAAASAs%2FixB_7Iy0oJ0Bm-4D1oAKR5wuW5zP7MoZwCJkC%2Fw203-h100-k-no-pi0-ya263.5-ro-0-fo100%2F!7i8704!8i4352

These seven images of the famous walls of Xian are from Google Street View. Not all of the walls are as old as the city itself, some were built much later by the Ming Dynasty. Much of the Great Wall, in northern China, was also built during the Ming Dynasty. The other Chinese city that is famous for it's walls is Nanjing.










These four images of modern Xian are from Google Street View.





This is a modern district of Xian, to the west of the city center.

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.2376383,108.8879625,3a,75y,107.34h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1s-OxkSG91f5n0%2FVRe8dPa564I%2FAAAAAAAAA1c%2FrryK6RCEOZ4mLHLOwradoE2fc4mw-Wa2gCJkC!2e4!3e11!6s%2F%2Flh4.googleusercontent.com%2F-OxkSG91f5n0%2FVRe8dPa564I%2FAAAAAAAAA1c%2FrryK6RCEOZ4mLHLOwradoE2fc4mw-Wa2gCJkC%2Fw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya91.69376-ro-0-fo100%2F!7i10240!8i5120

Here is more of modern Xian, further west of the city center.

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.2348322,108.8595641,3a,75y,1h,88t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1s-8wBKXvlkdqY%2FVp8CsHM6K9I%2FAAAAAAABVDA%2FNwIbHJDEMl0v67UsphQShJQOl6y9Nfe6QCLIB!2e4!3e11!6s%2F%2Flh4.googleusercontent.com%2F-8wBKXvlkdqY%2FVp8CsHM6K9I%2FAAAAAAABVDA%2FNwIbHJDEMl0v67UsphQShJQOl6y9Nfe6QCLIB%2Fw203-h100-k-no-pi-2.9999962-ya117.49999-ro-0-fo100%2F!7i8704!8i4352

This is the area around the Xian High-Tech Industries Development Zone.

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.1967526,108.8840926,3a,75y,169h,88t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1s-8VRgC1-Fb50%2FVcr-SgfJNLI%2FAAAAAAAAeLc%2F71lbe_eFxdgmTJDceP1ddDYR4jNSB5WSgCLIB!2e4!3e11!6s%2F%2Flh3.googleusercontent.com%2F-8VRgC1-Fb50%2FVcr-SgfJNLI%2FAAAAAAAAeLc%2F71lbe_eFxdgmTJDceP1ddDYR4jNSB5WSgCLIB%2Fw203-h100-k-no-pi-2.9999962-ya279.5-ro0-fo100%2F!7i3584!8i1792 

We have seen the patterns in the long history of China in the posting on this blog, "The Story Of China", April 2019.