So much to think about and too much time to do it in!I'm stupefied by most of what happened in this episode, as I suspect we all are, and I have to cogitate more on those points. Wow. So, I'll skip right to the easy part -- particle physics, heheh. I've always avoided reading anything about exotic matter, because it's a bit farther out there even without the math. So I'll skip right to the spot on Wiki that I think will apply to us and the show:
"Exotic Matter And General Relativity"
"In general relativity, exotic matter is generalized to refer to any region of space in which for some observers the mass density is measured to be negative. This can occur due to negative mass, or could be a region of space in which the stress component of the Einstein stress energy sensor is larger in magnitude than the mass density. All of these are violations of one or another variant of the positive energy condition of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity; however, the positive energy condition is not a required condition for the mathematical consistency of the theory...quantum mechanics of the Casimir Effect can be used to produce a locally mass-negative region of space-time...subsequent work by others...showed that negative matter could be used to stabilize a wormhole...such wormholes might have been created in the early universe, stabilized by negative-mass loops of cosmic string. Stephen Hawking has proved that negative energy is a necessary condition for the creation of a closed timelike curve by manipulation of gravitational fields within a finite region of space..."
There you go. But concerning this scene I have a few questions to start:
1) How is it that this area inside the island is frozen? Is it natural or artificial?
2) Same Q for the energy core there, natural or enhanced artificially?
3) Who made this contraption, the 4-Toes or the DI? It looks rather primitive, but sometimes when all you need is a fulcrum, a lever, and some gears, the KISS principle is the best way to go.
4) What IS the "reactor" there? Do we have a direct tunnel to the earth's molten magnetic core? And how can there be a frozen area around this high-energy core? Maybe if you keep the core open, the frozen room melts?
5) What actually is the mechanism that Ben is engaging here? Is it like exposing the materials in an atomic bomb to reach critical mass? If you've ever seen the movie "Fat Man and Little Boy", think of the lab experiment that went awry where they were releasing and measuring the energy of the atomic core sample, by gently opening the containment sphere.
6) How does this critical mass of sorts propel Ben away from the island, and also, not burn him with radiation or other energy burns?
Well, however we come to discuss this great episode over the summer and fall, I want to personally thank all TPTB for this great show and season, and finale! I hope that everyone on that team gets the hiatus vacation of their dreams because they all deserve it. Sigh.
14 comments:
Yo Capcom!
I'm supposed to be in a "slow" season here at work, but it's been busier then our busy season lately so i haven't been able to post much but, I think there is a very close relation to the way Mike froze the battery to contain the freighter explosion, and the way the donkey wheel room was frozen. I'm also wondering if the wheel worked the same way the bomb worked, what I mean is, the bomb needed a chemical reaction from the battery to complete the "circuit," but michael froze the battery, so now i'm wondering if the secret "orchid hole in the floor frozen donkey wheel room" was in fact frozen by someone to keep the island from moving on its own! =O
And I swear, my face hurt like hell when Kate slapped Jack, even my girl was like "gd Kate!"
I agree with you on the scene where Ben started turning the wheel. I felt horrible for him! I've been waiting for Des and Penny to get together for so long, that was such a satisfying moment for me! And oh yeah, there was plenty of time to save Jin, he changed his ways, I don't agree with his death but hey it's all good. Nice to see Sun sticking it to her dad, but i don't get why she wants to screw over the people on the island. Ok that wasn't as quick as I had planned, ARRRRGH! I need to quit my job so I can blog about LOST! 1 last thing, I know Wayne hates those word verifications, I had a great one the last time I posted, it was FUKNPNK. Lol, foul mouthed word verifier!
Hey, wow, great point Alien about Mike's LN2 and the FDW! Some kind of "containment" feature like that -- of slowing down molecular (or quantum/particle) activity -- could make a lot of sense. Were TPTB giving us a hint there?
Yeah, the nerve of Kate slapping Jack when she has had SO many emotional problems! Not that he didn't need it though, I half expected Ben to B-slap him in the funeral parlor. :-D
I hope that somehow Jin, and lots of other peeps, were thrown from the boat in the explosion and survived. But then they'd need a ship to randomly find them before the sharks do, so what are the odds even if they did survive the blast? :-(
Yes, Sun working in tandem with Wid is a problem. I wonder when/if she will realize his evil intentions and be sorry? On the other hand, if she's cagey, she may just use him enough to get the info/headway she needs, and then ditch him and find the island on her own. The new Sun bows to no man's power, heheh.
Heehee, funny wv. I've found that once you log in with one wv on a blog, that blogger doesn't ask you for one anymore if you post more (if you don't log off). Does it work that way for everyone? I kind of pingpong back and forth between blogs on Friday after the show, and I only get wv'd once.
Nope, Capcom. Still getting wv. Case in point: ituqt. My thoughts. No sharks, maybe from the effects of the Wheel. I guessed that there would be a parallel between the nitrogen & bomb at the Wheel, just as the whole idea of donkey wheel (compared to ANY number of other activation devices) is that everything turns back in on itself. The beginning and ending of the episode were basically the same day as last season's finale. Sure, the thing buried beneath The Orchid looked cool, I think it is cool, but the metaphor is there. Would the wheel have been mentioned in the video if it didn't stop on Locke? I think not, as all the people at the various stations seemed to be puppets for observation. Could one of the observations have been to see if anyone would investigate the place, look for the wheel? Which, I think, is harnessing energy from the volcano. As I posted over on EYE M SICK, from Others to Freighters, each aseason has its core. Next season will be the mythology, because I can't see them saving that for the final season. And I think Sun is talking to Widmore like that because she blames Ben for Jin's "death." There's more that happened between flashforwards. Also, thought of it just now, it explains Hurley's comment about if anyone elsde showed up to go to Jin's gravesite. He meant Locke's guise as Bentham
I agree, there is a lot of circularity (did I just make up a new word?) on this show. Or, maybe just running in circles, like Jack with his satphone. :-)
Don't know if the wheel would have been addressed. Dr.Candlewickwax would probably have just made a statement like in the Swan video, "...under no circumstances, blah, blah.." To which Locke would have said, "No one tells me what to do!" And then he blows up the Orchid. :o) I wonder how the Others are going to react when they find out that Locke blew up half the stations on their island?
Hmm, I'll have to think about what Hurley said, maybe watch that again, interesting.
LOL Locke will probably get blamed for blowing up the Vault in the Orchid, even tho it was Ben who stuffed it full of non-organic metal objects!
All this exotic matter relativity stuff goes completely over my head--and I still love it!
Nice post, Cap.
Lol, an awesome deleted scene would've been, Richard Addressing The Others from the same spot that Locke did when he first approached them during this episode -
Alpert - Ok everyone, he's finishing up with Ben right now and will be here soon.
The Others - ::A variety of positive sounds from the crowd::
Alpert - Now I know everyone is excited, but please don't forget, he's got this thing about explosions, so somebody please put all the dynamite in the back and check the safetys on your weapons, he looks a little grabby.
LOL Amused and Alien! Yeah, I could be wrong but I really don't feel that Locke is going to do a very good job because he's too emotional, and he doesn't have very good intuition or "situational awareness" skills at all. I kind of think that Ben leaving him in charge is like, "OK, if you guys want Locke instead of me, be careful what you wish for, and good luck with that. And I'll see you when you come asking for me to come back."
Like Alien says, the Others better be verrrrry careful about Locke. :-o
One of my favorite lines when they were in The Orchid was when Locke asked Ben if this was the magic box and the look on Ben's face as he then shakes his head and blinks, saying No, no it's not, Johhhnn.
Re: my earlier comment, Hurley shows up at Sun's place, looks past her and asks if anyone else came (to see Jin's grave with them, I'm assuming). When she tells him no, he looks relieved and says "Good." Did Hurley see Locke/Bentham as the other Oceanic 5 did? I can't recall.
Wayne, that was so awesome, I love when Locke reverts to that "I don't know anything about anything" mentality. C'mon Locke!
Remember in the old Tom & Jerry cartoon when something would bounce off of something rubber? Thats the exact sound I heard in my head when Locke said that, and as usual, I nearly shot green tea out of my nose!
I'm on vacation next week, so i'll be posting my next blog then for anyone interested! I've been so busy at work lately that I haven't been able to do it here, and i've been babysitting my grandson at night for a while now, whenever he sees the laptop in my hands he thinks its time to watch cartoons and gets a little nut nuts about it!
LOL, you guys, me too, that was a great moment when Ben said that...and I was leaning towards the TV in anticipation for how he would reply to Locke about it! We didn't get a concrete answer of what it is, but that answer was delivered so perfectly by M.E., it's good for now.
And yes, when Locke has his dumb-@ss moments, it really irks me to no end. Duhyup. Like when Ben told Locke to duck down, and Locke asked why he would want to do that when he knows that there are mercs with machine guns on the island. Arg!
Have a good vacation Alien!!
Capcom: This question fascinates me too! What about antimatter? That would make sense of Dr. Halliwax's reference to negative charge. Also, the wiki for "exotic matter" notes that, while most physicists believe that antimatter has positive mass, there are those who predict the opposite, which would make the stuff "exotic" in the sense the Orchid video means. Was the frozen donkey wheel a big antimatter warp drive engine?
Another possibility might be cold dark matter. Some scientists believe such dark matter might contain dark energy, which is basically Casimir force, antigravity, etc. I'm thinking the Fourtoes' alien technology extracted this dark energy from the black rock to warp spacetime and move the Island.
Oh...cold dark matter???? Gotta go look that up! I haven't read anything about that yet, thanks for the lead.
Good points! I sure hope that we find out something about those dang Fourtoes next season, gosh.
Here's a great article from the NY Times to get you started.
Interesting, thanks!
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