Member

	My 2017 FQXi Essay Contest Entry Jul 13, 2020 by Harry Hamlin Ricker Mindless mathematical laws can not give rise to aims and intention? By Harry H. Ricker III, MS EE Is modern science superior to Greek Philosophy?1 Only if the scientific method is actually the way to truth in the deep philosophical sense. Here I intend to explain why mindless mathematical laws are not capable of saying anything that is true about reality, nor are they capable of actually supplanting philosophy or improving upon that method of searching for truth.2 The justification of this c... more

	FQXi Essay Contest 2017, Review May 20, 2020 by Harry Hamlin Ricker Review Of FQXi Essays Wandering Towards a Goal By Harry H. Ricker III Introduction The purpose of this essay is to discuss my impressions and comments resulting from reading the submissions to the 2017 FQXi Essay Contest. The title of this contest is Wandering Towards a Goal: How Can Mindless mathematical laws give rise to aims and intentions. In my essay I took issue with the thesis and asserted that mindless mathematical laws can not give rise to aims and intentions. The essay topic was... more

	Ivor Catt And Displacement Current May 10, 2020 by Harry Hamlin Ricker Introduction In an article published in Wireless World, December 1978, Ivor Catt published a criticism of the Maxwell displacement current that provoked considerable controversy. This article had a significant impact on my thinking as I had always had reservations regarding the displacement current concept in electromagnetic theory. In fact, the idea of displacement current that the modern textbooks present is completely different from Maxwell's conception of it. Maxwell's displacement current ... more

	The Wakefield Experiments Background and Motivation May 1, 2020 by Harry Hamlin Ricker Introduction This essay discusses the background for the Wakefield Experiments. This refers to two sets of experiments performed by Tony Wakefield an Australian amateur radio operator, or ham, who performed these experiments for Ivor Catt. The objective of these experiments was to verify the predictions made by Ivor Catt based upon his Theory C. This theory asserts several things. First, that a capacitor is a transmission line, and second, that there is no static charge in a capacitor, but that... more

	The Catt Anomaly Confusion Apr 13, 2020 by Harry Hamlin Ricker   Introduction In two different papers written as responses to the Catt Question, two Italian physicists have interpreted the Catt Question as an anomaly or paradox. The response of Ivor Catt to this assertion is simply that the Catt Question is "just a question". This may seem an unimportant point, but in their paper the Italians attempt to suggest that the Catt Question is merely an apparent paradox, and not an anomaly. This method of answering the Catt Question is a type of obfuscation... more

	On An Apparent Resolution of the Catt Question Apr 1, 2020 by Harry Hamlin Ricker Here I publish a link to a paper submitted by Stephen Crothers to IOP Physics Education Journal On an Apparent Resolution of the Catt Question. The editor replied with the following: "We regret to inform you that the Board Member has recommended that your article should not be published in the journal, for the reasons given in the enclosed report. Your manuscript has therefore been withdrawn...I really don't see the value to educators of Physics Education publishing this letter. The initial pape... more

	The Catt Question Background Mar 21, 2020 by Harry Hamlin Ricker Introduction Many people have difficulty in understanding the Catt Question. This is understandable given the inconsistency and confusion that is produced by the current definition of electricity. (Here is the original formulation of the question.) It will probably come as a surprise to the reader that there is no clear and precise definition of electricity. Consequently, despite the fact that one of the first requirements of any science is to have a clear and precise definition of the concepts... more

	Catt Question Letter Mar 1, 2020 by Harry Hamlin Ricker The following letter was prepared by Harry Ricker as a courtesy to Ivor Catt who wished to send a letter to the editor of the IOP Journal Physics Education in order to refute the claims made in a paper published in that journal. The letter was cosigned by five other scientists. This letter was rejected and so it is presented here. Background for The Catt Question is presented by Ivor Catt at his website.   Editor, Physics Education, IOP Journal Dear Sir, [caption id="attachment_... more

	Foreground Milky Way Dust Filaments In Galaxy Photographs Feb 7, 2020 by Harry Hamlin Ricker Introduction This report documents a study of Milky Way dust filaments that appear in photographs of external galaxies. The technique used in this investigation is the use of software photograph processing tools called effects filters. The software used here is the On One Photo Perfect Effects 9. This allows the adjustment of digital photos to enhance aspects of the photo to permit  the investigation of foreground dust in galaxy photographs. The thesis of this study is that the classification ... more

	Cobwebs Of Space: Discovery and Interpretation Of Interstellar Dust Filaments Jan 12, 2020 by Harry Hamlin Ricker Introduction The search for the elusive dark matter is famous. Here I will discuss the discovery of a different kind of dark matter in interstellar space, which I call cobwebs of space. This dark matter is just as elusive as the more famous, but probably fictitious, dark matter. The appearance of this dark matter, which forms dark filaments in space is referred to herein as interstellar dust filaments. This is because they are like the dark clouds that populate interstellar space, but they are ... more