Since it is not possible to gather all of the knowledge available with current human capabilities, we look to patterns and principles in order to infer the knowledge we are not able to gather directly through observation. Look at these images. Do you see similar principles in each of the phenomena displayed? | |
hydrogen atom
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hurricane
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lunar orbit
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Consider the various principles at work, which include a centripetal force, centrifugal force, conservation of angular momentum, and potential for conversion between potential and kinetic energy. I see a pattern to the application of these principles in these very different phenomena. In an atmospheric circulation with low pressure at the center, a parcel of air will experience a decrease in potential energy when it moves toward the center. This will result in an increase in kinetic energy as one type of energy is converted into another. The conservation of angular momentum must also be added into the consideration. This atmospheric circulation is comparable to an object falling in a spiral motion onto a planet. It is also comparable, by logical extension, to an object falling straight downward or downward at an angle toward a planet's surface. |