Tag Archives: Whole Optics

Yes Indeed, Life is Complicated. The complexity of Life involves the Four Fundamental Forces operating in Nature. Fundamental interactions are irreducible forces that act between the elementary particles composing all matter. Physicists have distinguished four fundamental interactions: gravitational, electromagnetic, weak nuclear, and strong nuclear. Physics fails to account for the Fundamental Interaction between Living Matter and Electromagnetic Energy.

The Four Fundamental Interactions described by Physics do not account for the existence of Life on planet Earth. The Rudolf-Rudi doctrine of Spiritualism describes Photoreception by Plants as a Fundamental Spiritual Interaction.

What it is to be a Substance? and What it is to Exist? We need to establish knowledge about the man and the world on a firm basis and the information it provides must be tested for its accuracy and consistency with an external reality. We have to make the fundamental distinction between the living and the non-living matter. The scientific advances of the 19th and 20th centuries reinforced the materialistic position concerning the basic similarity of organic living and inorganic physical matter. The man is viewed as a product of natural evolution and is thought to be subject to the same laws of Physics and Chemistry or mechanistic principles.

We need a methodology to study philosophy and to understand philosophical statements. Logical Positivism, also known as Scientific Empiricism aims to clarify concepts in both everyday and scientific language. It describes analysis of language as the function of philosophy. This analysis of language and of concepts is important to understand questions of belief and ideology which affect what we think we ought to do individually and socially. I would use this method of ‘Applied Philosophy’ to analyze the concept of Spiritual Optics, the Spiritual Connection between Energy and Life. The Laws of Thermodynamics are important unifying principles of Biology. The First Law of Thermodynamics, also known as the Law of Conservation of Energy, states that Energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Spiritual Optics accounts for the capacity of photoreception and the term Spiritual Light refers to the creation of Light by God to begin the designing of Matter.

WHOLE DUDE – WHOLE DESIGNER – PHOTORECEPTION:

Photoreception is the biological response of an organism to stimulation by light. It is not the same as the Photoelectric Effect which non-living matter such as metals can exhibit. Among living things, the presence of consciousness is displayed by their biological responses to environmental stimuli. In plants the primary photoreceptive response is described as photosynthesis, a photobiological process which leads to the conversion of carbon dioxide and water to the essential nutritive elements of all life using the energy of the Sun. Photoreception is the mechanism by which animals receive sensory information transmitted by light of different qualities and wavelengths. Just like photosynthesis, the function called vision is a vital photobiological process that is required to support existence. At a fundamental level, the visual function is concerned with supporting existence. Visual clues assist in finding food, to avoid threats to existence, and help to achieve reproductive success. Almost all organisms derive their food directly, or indirectly from the organic compounds formed within plants during photosynthesis. The stored chemical energy in those organic compounds is essential for growth, repair, reproduction, movement, and other vital functions. In animals, the ability of photoreception is dependent upon the chemical energy provided by organic molecules called Adenosine triphosphate or ATP that is produced by intracellular organelles called mitochondria which use the chemical reaction called oxidation-reduction to oxidize the organic molecules created by plants using photosynthetic energy. Thus photoreception is the fundamental photobiological process that maintains life on planet Earth. If God is viewed as the Creator of Light, Photoreception could be stated as the most important feature of a Whole Design to establish life on planet Earth. For the man has the capacity called vision, he should be able to visualize the Whole Design used by the Whole Designer, or Whole Architect, or a Whole Artist. The man gained insights about photoreception and the photosynthetic process over several centuries of careful observations and scientific experimentation.

PHOTORECEPTION AND PLANT GROWTH:

It will be interesting to note that Aristotle, 384-322 B.C. Greek philosopher held the view that the plants grow by obtaining all the components from the soil.

Johannas (Jan) Baptista van Helmont (1580-1644), Belgian chemist, physiologist, and physician conducted experiments to show that water provided the growth material to plants. He studied gases, and identified carbon dioxide.

Stephen Hales studied plant growth, plant transpiration, and found that air is necessary to the food-making process in plants. He was the first to note the relationship between the process of plant growth and Sunlight.

Joseph Priestly, during 1774 studied gases and found that plants  produced a gas that he called “dephlogisticated” air. He stated that the most important equations for living things are mutually inverse. In terms of gases exchanged, the respiration of humans represented the reverse of what plants do. He had concluded that some of the mass of plants comes from the air.

Antoine Laurent Lavoisier had correctly identified oxygen and discovered the chemical composition of water. He had described the role of oxygen in respiration.

Jan Ingenhousz discovered that light plays a major role in the process by which green plants in Sunlight absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen. In 1779 he published his study on the chemical effects of plant physiology: “Experiments Upon Vegetables, Discovering Their Great Power of Purifying the Common Air in Sun-shine and of Injuring It in the Shade and at Night. He found that light is necessary for the restoration of air quality, only the green parts of the plant actually perform photosynthesis while all living parts of the plant damage the air by respiration.

Jean Senebier had published several papers on plant physiology: 1782 – Physico-Chemical Memoirs on the influence of Light; 1783 – Research on the Influence of Sunlight; 1788 – Experiments on the Action of Sunlight on Vegetation; and 1800 – Plant Physiology. He had established that Light is the agent responsible for the fixation of carbon dioxide and that oxygen is liberated only in the presence of carbon dioxide.

Nicolas Theodore de Saussure was a student of Jean Senebier. His published articles include; 1797 – Articles on carbonic acid and its formation in plant tissues; 1804 – Chemical Research on Vegetation; and 1808 – Biochemical Reactions in Plant Cells. He proved Stephen Hale’s theory that plants absorb water and carbon dioxide in Sunlight and increase in weight. He had also demonstrated that plants are dependent upon the absorption of nitrogen from soil.

Julius von Sachs during 1865 proved that Chlorophyll was not generally diffused in all the tissues of a plant but instead was confined to special bodies within the cell which were later named Chloroplasts. His research during 1862-64 proved that the starch present in the chloroplasts is a product that results from the absorption of carbon dioxide, and starch is the first visible product of Photosynthesis.

Richard Martin Willstatter studied the structure of Chlorophyll and other plant pigments. He found that the blood pigment Heme bears a structural resemblance to the Porphyrin compound found in Chlorophyll. He had also discovered the structure of many of the pigments of flowers and fruits.

Robert Hill made significant contribution to the understanding of the photosynthetic process. During 1937, he had established the concept of light-activated electron-transporting photosynthetic chain to release oxygen from water.

In this story on Photoreception, I must mention the name of Otto Heinrich Warburg who investigated Photosynthesis and demonstrated that the process consists of several distinct steps and found that a variety of molecules are involved in the photoreaction.

Melvin Elvis Calvin worked with Andrew Benson, and James Bassham to trace the path of carbon molecule during the entire process of Photosynthesis.

PHOTORECEPTION – VISION:

The photochemical events in vision involve the protein Opsin and the isomers of Retinal. Nerve impulses are generated by changes in the shape of proteins. The activation of visual pigment called Rhodopsin causes the nerve impulse. The photoreceptor cells of eye absorb light through a layer of pigment and convert it  into a stimulus directed toward the nervous system where it is recognized. The pigment responsible for nerve excitation consists of the chemical compound Chromophore which absorbs light, and a protein complex known as Opsin. The Chromophore contained in all visual pigments is nearly identical. Variations in the range of wavelength reception by different pigments are the result of differences in the structure of animal proteins. To describe very briefly, the process of photo or light reception involves the conversion of the light stimulus into a nerve response which is caused by changes in the electrochemical equilibrium of cell membranes.

Photoreception is an intelligent function that leads to immanent actions in which the living thing senses, grows, and develops performing those actions. Photoreception in living things is unlike the mechanical action performed by a camera made by man. Photoreception is created to synchronize the existence of the two major systems of life; plants and animals perform their living functions to complement the functions and actions of each other. Hence Photoreception could be described as the spiritual basis for all kinds of existence on planet Earth.

Who is the Artist? Who is the Designer?

No single function can explain the coloration of living things. We need a comprehensive theory that predicts the lines and patterns of coloration of plants and animals. An artist’s palette containing only three properly chosen colors is entirely adequate under most circumstances to produce the various visual effects of color that is observed. The optical mechanisms involved in the production of color are complex. Coloration is a dynamic and complex characteristic and the term must be clearly distinguished from the term ‘color’ which only refers to the spectral qualities of emitted or reflected light. It is apparent that plants, and animals have no cognitive abilities to produce the coloration by which they are recognized. However, the coloration displayed gives us a clue about the nature of the “Whole Artist” who could be using imagination, has feelings for the forms created and seeks satisfaction from the visual effects that he produced.

If a man has the ability called visual perception, he must use the ability to visualize the “Whole Artist” who is at work. I ask my readers to give attention to the three dimensions of Color Perception. These are, 1. The Designer or the Artist, 2. The Object of Perception, and 3. The visual capacity of the Viewer.

Simon Cyrene

Yes Indeed, Life is complicated. The complexity of Life involves the complex nature of the living experience. It is rather easy to explain as to Why is the Sky Blue and yet the explanation is not sufficient to account for the existence of the entity who has the capacity to record the sensory experience described as the Blue Sky.

Rayleigh Scattering- The Coming Together of the Man, Earth, Sky, and Light

What it is to be a Substance? and What it is to Exist? We need to establish knowledge about the man and the world on a firm basis and the information it provides must be tested for its accuracy and consistency with an external reality. We have to make the fundamental distinction between the living and the non-living matter. The scientific advances of the 19th and 20th centuries reinforced the materialistic position concerning the basic similarity of organic living and inorganic physical matter. The man is viewed as a product of natural evolution and is thought to be subject to the same laws of Physics and Chemistry or mechanistic principles.

We need a methodology to study philosophy and to understand philosophical statements. Logical Positivism, also known as Scientific Empiricism aims to clarify concepts in both everyday and scientific language. It describes analysis of language as the function of philosophy. This analysis of language and of concepts is important to understand questions of belief and ideology which affect what we think we ought to do individually and socially. I would use this method of ‘Applied Philosophy’ to analyze the concept of Spiritual Optics, the Spiritual dimension of biological coloration.

WHAT IS COLOR AND WHAT IS COLORATION?

The term ‘color’ refers to the spectral qualities of emitted or reflected light. The term ‘coloration’ is a dynamic and complex characteristic that has captured human interest and attention for a long time. The human interest to coloration ranges from purely aesthetic to the rigidly pragmatic.

The comprehensive understanding of biological coloration demands a study of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology, Biology, Psychology and other subjects. It is equally important to pay tribute to people who have contributed to a better understanding of the principles involved in color production. I am happy to introduce Lord John William Strutt Rayleigh, 3rd Baron, 1842-1919, British physicist, professor and Superintendent at the Royal Institution, London (1887-1905) to my readers.

WHOLE DUDE – WHOLE DESIGNER – RAYLEIGH:

John Tyndall stated that Sky’s Blue color results from the scattering of the Sun’s rays by molecules in the atmosphere. Lord Rayleigh provided the theoretical explanation for Sky’s Blue color. Lord Rayleigh conducted research in Sound (Acoustics), and Light (Optics). He stated the Theory of Wave Propagation of Light. He received the 1904 Nobel prize in Physics for the discovery of Argon, inert atmospheric gas. During 1871, Lord Rayleigh published paper about dispersion of electromagnetic radiation by particles that have a radius less than approximately 1/10th wavelength of radiation.

THE COLOR OF THE SKY:

The atmosphere consists of air molecules, dust particles, and water droplets, most of which are small in size by comparison with the wavelength of visible light. The submicroscopic particles of the atmosphere scatter part of the Sun light.

Rayleigh Scattering occurs when light interacts with particles smaller than 1/10^th of the light’s wavelength (visible light has a wavelength between ~400nm for blue light and ~700nm for red light). Any sufficiently small particles will do, but the most common will be molecules of nitrogen and oxygen (which make up about 78% and 21% of the atmosphere, respectively).

The probability of scattering is inversely proportional to the 4^th power of the wavelength. Since red light has a wavelength about 1.75 times longer than blue light, blue light is about 9.4 times more likely to scatter than red light.

The scattering is elastic, which means that the photon of light does not gain or lose any energy – it only changes direction.

Light reaching us from the sun travels in a straight line. If there was no Rayleigh Scattering, then the sky would appear black (as it does on the moon – which has no atmosphere). Because of Rayleigh Scattering, the sky is filled with scattered light – most of which is blue because it scatters the most.

Violet light whose wavelength is 400nm is scattered more effectively than Red light whose wavelength is 700nm. The color of the Sky is caused by this selective scattering; the scattered light reaching the observer being predominantly Blue.

The sky appears reddish around sunrise and sunset because the light has to travel a greater distance through the atmosphere. This results in much of the shorter wavelengths of light (blue and green) scattering long before they reach us, leaving only the longer red wavelengths reaching our eyes. At Sunrise, and Sunset, the light from the Sun loses its short wavelength components by selective scattering before reaching the observer; and the Sky is therefore Yellow, Orange, or even Red at Sunrise, and Sunset. f you observe the sky very carefully during sunrise or sunset, when the top part of the sky is blue and the bottom part is red, you may observe a thin yellow and green band between them. All the colors are a result of Rayleigh Scattering.

About 99% of the Earth’s atmosphere is contained between sea level and an altitude of about 18 miles. Above 18 miles, there is very little Rayleigh Scattering and the sky above appears very dark. Rayleigh Scattering still occurs in the atmosphere below and it appears blue.

The appearance of Sky’s color when viewed by an observer on planet Earth is Blue, and yet this appearance is not common in the vast universe that man has explored. It may be suggested that planet Earth is unique, original, distinct, and one of its own kind of celestial object and it meets the criteria that are required to name an object as a designed object. 

The fact of Planet Earth’s creation as a designed object could be revealed by the appearance of the color of the Sky when it is viewed from Earth’s surface. The chance of discovering a similar Earth-like Planet appears to be very remote as man has already discovered thousands of planets that exist beyond our Solar System.

Artist’s rendition of the relationship between the composition of the atmosphere and transmitted colors of light.
Top: If the sky has a clear, upward-extended, hydrogen-dominated atmosphere, Rayleigh scattering disperses a large portion of the blue light from the atmosphere of the host while it scatters less of the red light. As a result, a transit in blue light becomes deeper than the one in red light.
Middle: If the sky has a less extended, water-rich atmosphere, the effect of the Rayleigh scattering is much weaker than in a hydrogen-dominated atmosphere. In this case, transits in all colors have almost the same transit depths.
Bottom: If the sky has extensive clouds, most of the light cannot be transmitted through the atmosphere, even though hydrogen dominates it. As a result, transits in all colors have almost the same transit depths. (Credit: NAOJ) This explanation does not specify if the reality of the Color Experience called Blue can exist without the Observer of the Color Experience.

The man is conditioned to exist on the surface of Earth under the influence of Earth’s atmosphere. Rayleigh Scattering accounts for the coming together of the man, Earth, Light, and the Sky.

Who is the Artist? Who is the Designer?

No single function can explain the coloration of living things. We need a comprehensive theory that predicts the lines and patterns of coloration of plants and animals and of the World in which they exist. An artist’s palette containing only three properly chosen colors is entirely adequate under most circumstances to produce the various visual effects of color that is observed. The optical mechanisms involved in the production of color are complex. Coloration is a dynamic and complex characteristic and the term must be clearly distinguished from the term ‘color’ which only refers to the spectral qualities of emitted or reflected light. It is apparent that plants, and animals have no cognitive abilities to produce the coloration by which they are recognized. However, the coloration displayed gives us a clue about the nature of the “Whole Artist” who could be using imagination, has feelings for the forms created and seeks satisfaction from the visual effects that he produced. If man has the ability called visual perception, he must use the ability to visualize the “Whole Artist” who is at work. I ask my readers to give attention to the three dimensions of Color Perception. These are, 1. The Designer or the Artist, 2. The Object of Perception, and 3. The visual capacity of the Viewer.

Simon Cyrene