Dear Editor:
Since the Reporter prints Otto Hottendorf’s false statements without either corroborating his assertions with technical advisors nor an editor’s note disclaiming their dubiousness, it becomes necessary to continue pointing out his lies.
In his February 3 letter, he first questions why, if energy has no mass, can E = mc2 be true, since according to him, “massless E cannot equal any mass.” The reason the equation is true, Otto, is not because energy contains mass, but because, according to the equation, it is convertible into mass. Mass and energy are different forms of the same thing. Any high school freshmen physics student knows this.
He states, “if a large quantity of energy is released, matter is created.” Not necessarily. It can, but it doesn’t always. This happens in particle accelerators when energy is converted in subatomic particles. It doesn’t happen when dynamite explodes or when a nuclear bomb goes off.
He states (once again) that there is a particle of antimatter for every particle of normal matter. There isn’t. There is less antimatter than normal matter.
He states (again) that when Einstein discovered relativity, he also discovered that relativity proved that the universe was expanding. Wrong. The expansion of the universe is proved by the Doppler Effect, not relativity. The Doppler Effect was discovered by Edwin Hubble, not Einstein. Einstein didn’t believe the universe was expanding. He believed it was static. I suppose I should be grateful he’s now using the word “discovered” instead of “solved” as he last did when referring to Einstein and relativity. He appears to listen when I point out his false diction, if not his false science history.
And, of course, our beloved Baron Munchausen of science can’t resist confusing theology with science, so he asserts that Einstein proved the universe had a creator. He then says scientists are trying to prove there is no God. The existence of a supernatural creator cannot be proven or disproven by science, and no reputable, competent scientist has ever stated that they can do so. Otto’s assertion of this point is simply the typical exaggeration employed by anti-science creationists and the Religious Right (or the Religious Reich, as it were). If Mr. Hottendorf wants to assert otherwise, then I challenge him to quote one prominent mainstream scientist who has stated this.
Luigi Novi