Uncertain Principles: Dorky Poll: With or Without "t"?

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Dorky Poll: With or Without "t"?

Category: Math • Physics
Posted on: May 21, 2008 10:48 AM, by Chad Orzel

It's a simple question:

Who do you prefer, Lorentz or Lorenz?

Chaos butterflies, or time dilation. Choose only one.

Find more posts in: Physical Science

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Comments

# 1 | Tom Jackson | May 21, 2008 11:02 AM

Both are acceptable, if the butterflies are moving fast enough.

# 2 | Jamie Bowden | May 21, 2008 11:05 AM

If a 't' flaps it's wings, does it cause a hurricane of posts on usenet about grammar?

# 3 | bcooper | May 21, 2008 11:20 AM

In either Griffiths E+M book or Jackson - I can't remember which - there was some mention about another late 19th century physicist named Lorenz associated with E+M that always gets confused with Lorentz. Sure enough, Wikipedia steps in for me and reminds me that the "Lorentz gauge" should really be the Lorenz gauge. So maybe there's an ambiguity in the original question regarding Lorenz. Either way I think I'd go with the t.

# 4 | Pam | May 21, 2008 11:37 AM

Lorentz.

# 5 | Barn Owl | May 21, 2008 11:39 AM

Lorenz, since one of his models is crochet-able:

(http://www.enm.bris.ac.uk/staff/hinke/crochet/)

Though as a biologist, I favor Konrad Lorenz, of course.

# 6 | Brian | May 21, 2008 12:21 PM

Lorenz. During my postdoc he sat in on our chaos theory reading group. A very down to earth, kind man.

# 7 | a little night musing | May 21, 2008 12:28 PM

[Oh, man, Barn Owl stole my line! (Not that I'm a biologist, though.) Writing a post for tomorrow I found myself describing someone as a "specialist in nonspecialization" and so Konrad was the first Loren(t)z on my mind when I read your title.]

I've got to go with the "with a t" faction, for sentimental reasons, relativity having brought me into an interest in physics way back when.

# 8 | Odysseus | May 21, 2008 12:43 PM

Lorentz, definitely. Your dog will agree here.
Butterflies are neat, but of course there's an emacs command to do this.

# 9 | CCPhysicist | May 21, 2008 2:00 PM

Isn't it great when Wiki gets something right that is wrong in so many physics textbooks? Personally, I'd write "The Lorentz gauge, discovered by Lorenz, ...." My ancient copy of Jackson makes no mention of Lorenz in the discussion of gauge invariance; ditto for two undergrad books on my shelf.

There is also the Lorentz-Lorenz equation for the dielectric polarizability of a medium at optical frequencies, which is documented in a footnote of my (ancient) edition of Jackson. I think that might also be in Landau + Lifshitz.

I prefer Lorentz simply because he is responsible for merging classical Newtonian dynamics and Maxwell's electromagnetism in practical calculations, which is why he approached relativity the way he did. We don't call Maxwell's force equation the Lorentz force for nothing.

It is just a bonus that he also constructed such a beautifully detailed (and completely wrong) model for the electromagnetic mass of an electron moving in the aether to get an effect that is so simply described with an invariant mass (that we still don't understand, despite or because of renormalization within QED) and a different formula for kinetic energy. His model for the dynamical behavior of the electron is quite amazing.

# 10 | Eric Lund | May 21, 2008 2:21 PM

Lorenz without a T.

Edward had a fundamental insight into nature, the consequences of which are being actively investigated on a number of fronts.

Hendrik had a neat idea which led to the transform bearing his name, but it wasn't a fundamental insight. A year later, Einstein got the same transform with a theory that really did contain a fundamental insight.

# 11 | Gordon Pasha | May 21, 2008 3:59 PM

Ludvig Lorenz, creator of the Lorenz gauge, who also
discovered independently a formula that Lorentz found and is known as the Lorenz-Lorentz formula...

# 12 | IBY | May 21, 2008 6:24 PM

Lorentz, time contraction is way cooler

# 13 | Anonymous | May 21, 2008 8:18 PM

I like my girlfriend Lauren.

# 14 | Janne | May 21, 2008 9:40 PM

Lorenz - Konrad Lorenz, that is. The other two, I don't know about.

# 15 | Rettaw | May 22, 2008 6:15 PM

Lorentz Invariant Phase Space!