Why Do Science Teachers Have a License to Lie?

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You don't need to know exactly what something is to know its there. This is why people go into further education..to learn more.

As I recall, our science teachers would simply tell us to look it up ourselves, or point out that at that level we didn't need to know that detail, and could easily learn more if we STAYED in school and extended our education. The more complicated you have to get to explain something, the more time it takes and the more lesson-time you don't have to teach the kids other elementary stuff. Besides which, any truly intelligent person should understand the need for independent research.

[quote="Wombat"

What EXACTLY passes between the two magnets? We don't know.

.[/quote]

According to quantum field theory the field is produced by the exchange of virtual photons. Photons are bosons that carry the electromagnetic force.

A magnetic field is produced (relative to some from of reference) by the motion of charged particles. Move an electron along and it generates a magnetic field. Vary a magnetic field in time and it produces an electric field. The motion of electrons in a wire (for example) turns the wire into an electromagnet.

The macroscale behavior of the electromagnetic field is described perfectly by Maxwell's Equations.

ruveyn

[rant]Only a mental m***et could fail to reconcile faith with science!

If you choose to believe in a divine creator, why can you not believe that the creator chose to use evolution as the mechanism for the creation of humanity?

Just because we cannot see the mechanics of electromagnetism in action at the subatomic level does not mean that our mathematical models to descibe those mechanics are not accurate. Your mind can understand that 2 + 2 = 4 without having four objects in front of you to manipulate. Why then does F = G x (m1 m2) / r^2 cause such a problem?
[/rant]

If this was about the freedom of people to worship as they see fit, I would be more tolerant of the argument. But this is about political control. This is about suppression of our best understanding of truth on the altar of orthodoxy. There is a place for religion and religious teaching in our society, but it much peacefully coexist with scientific teaching.

http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Magnets

Yes we DO know. That is the whole science of atomic spectra. Neils Bohr used this to determine electron orbits 100 years ago.

http://www.faqs.org/docs/qp/chap04.html

In a crystal, such as glass, every atom is lined up in neat rows, and light passes through very easily. In something like paper or mud, its a jumble, and light only passes through a short distance. That is why thin paper lets some light through, but thicker stuff blocks it completely. As well, the size of the particles(atoms in glass) are small, compared to larger ones in mud. Objects with lots of atoms are larger and more reactive. Mud is more reactive than glass. Paper burns easily. Its reactive. Glass takes several thousand degrees.

Its like looking at a person standing in a forest. If they get far enough away, the trees block your view of them completely. However, in a nursery, the trees are in nice rows and from some directions you can see straight through... even for miles. If they trees are large and leafy, the distance to obscurity is lower. If they are saplings, its shorter.

Why dont you even use google before making these claims? This is hundren year old science, and 1000s year old common sense.

A glib "explanation" is not an answer.

Is light a particle or a "wave"? If it is a solid particle then why can it go through a foot of glass?

If it is a "wave" then what the hell is a wave?

Let's go back to the "magnetic lines of force"

If you had a super duper microscope that could see the smallest sub-atomic particle then what would you see?

You probably wouldn't see anything. That tells me that we have a very poor understanding about how the universe really works.

So who can tell me what gravity really is or why time runs at a different rate on the surface of the earth or in orbit?

Be patient. In a couple of years when you reach the age of eight things will be much clearer and if you really care, you can find out.

Maybe you should leave the science class and take something less strenuous like..wood-shop, or finger-painting? . Something crafty that doesn't involve too much hard thinking or paying attention to perfectly clear answers. Learning isn't always about asking questions. Sometimes its just about shutting up and listening.

I am an electrical engineer and I can't tell you what a "magnetic line of force" is and neither can physicists.

I can tell you what it does and how to use it but I can't tell you what it is.

Except that people have already told you what it is. You can google it too. Being deliberately obtuse doesn't help your point.

Its quite simple. There is a level at which any teaching stops, and the higher the degree of education, the more you can be taught about a given subject. Kindergarten children aren't taught degree-level physics. If you have an enquiring mind, do some research and don't expect to get spoon-fed by teachers.

If you would go back and read ruveyn's posts, you would know what it is. He already explained it.

I got some intelligent design for you:

http://www.ted.com/talks/craig_venter_u ... _life.html

Lines of Force are mathematical constructs which help to visualize the field. Lines of Force are fiction. The field is as real as rain.

ruveyn

But what is rain? I am an electrical engineer and I can't tell you what "a rain" is and neither can Meteorologists....

If you don't know what rain is, your E.E. license should be revoked, forthwith.

Why not cut out the b*llsh*t?

ruveyn

But what is BS? Modern science can talk it, but do they know what it is? Does anyone?