Friction, Cop Cars, and Invisible Waterfalls
Something I recall from a physics class was the scientist James Prescott Joule noticing the difference in temperature between water at the top of a waterfall and at the bottom. This led to the formulation of the theory of conversion of gravitational potential energy into internal energy. The water, in falling, gained heat from turbulence and internal friction within the water itself after impact in the lower basin.
Why would someone care? What was it about Joule’s mind that gave rise to the observation? The same waterfall could inspire different thoughts. Another might see it as a source of power, say, to turn a turbine and produce electricity. Someone else might simply look at the waterfall as a source of aesthetic pleasure. This could lead to a painting such as Bierstadt’s Yosemite Valley— Bridalveil Fall. Someone else might just dive into the basin for a swim.
When I went to high school, there was a math genius who’d graduated the year before. He scored perfectly on the SAT’s. His name was in the entrance of the school, just above the Great Seal which no one was supposed to walk on under threat of penalty. Once I crossed him walking down the street. I thought he was odd, in comparison with other kids my age. However, I was happy to speak with him, since he was a star in my teenage universe.
As we stood on the street, I noticed a squirrel trapped on the grassy dividing strip between the two sides of the road. Cars were going on both sides of the strip. Suddenly, a series of police cars came by with their sirens blazing. The squirrel panicked, first running back and forth on the strip and then, fatally, it ran directly under the wheels of the passing police cars. It was smashed into jelly. I looked up at the math genius in shock, and he said, “Cop cars. Ten of them.” I was given a glimpse into the capacity to focus exclusively on one aspect of a situation.
What about the opposite process, where, instead of seeing an object and intuitively drawing conclusions as Joule did, one saw only the conclusions but there was no physical object connecting them? Imagine if by a reversal of the normal order of things we saw a pool of water on top of a cliff at one temperature and a pool of water at the bottom of the same cliff with a slightly higher temperature and we had to imagine, based upon probability, that in between there must be an invisible waterfall connecting them.
Forty years ago, I was living in a rowhouse on W. 27th St. in Baltimore. It was the beginning of winter. I was living with my brother and an old friend, and we had some guests over. I’d turned on the heater earlier but noticed that the house wasn’t warming up. I went into the basement tp see if the heater was working; the furnace wasn’t lit. The pilot light was out. I asked the guy with me if he had a match, and he gave me a lighter.
It was a huge old-fashioned, cast-iron furnace, most likely a converted coal burner. I bent over and looked through the heavy door, also cast iron. My head was level with it. I took the lighter and held it in front of the door. I lit it and an explosion followed. The door of the furnace had blown wide open. I had a strange feeling and thought, “Why wasn’t I killed?”
Perhaps the most amazing thing about Joule’s discovery was his ability to imagine a process for which there was no existing theoretical framework. He weighed the evidence and from that, deduced the only possible conclusion. After 40 years of weighing the evidence, I’m certain the events surrounding the exploding furnace door were an act of Divine Intervention. I’d like to provide some causal scientific sequence, but the only solid proof is that I am still walking around.