This is a chapter from my fourth book called When hunger yearns
I had just written my first chapter and published it to my blog and shared it on my social media. Feeling bubbly that I was once again writing another book, I then began thinking about my next chapter. I headed to youtube and did the simplest of searches for "why". A few videos down I came across this video "why is glass transparent?". I do not know this. I did physics in secondary school but that was not something I remember covering. My interest was piqued. The presenter notes at the beginning of the video that if you Google for an answer you might come across some wrong answers. But how do I know that the presenter is giving the correct answer? How do I know that any answer I come across is the correct answer? My friend tells me that I should cross reference by checking multiple sources and looking for consistency. I should analyze the presenter's background and content quality. I should look for red flags such as sensational claims and contradictions. I can read what others are saying in the comments.
What I gathered from the video was that light does not pass through some materials because the energy from the photons of light is capable of moving the electrons from the ground state to the excited state and is used up in doing so. For a transparent material the energy gap between ground state and excited state is too much to get absorbed and the light simply passes through the material. My questions now are how does the electron return to the ground state? Would the most powerful light in the world excite all the electrons such that no more excitement takes place and the light passes through a normally opaque material? Gemini somewhat helped me with my understanding and questions but I can tell that I have only touched the surface of this question and that I needed to do some more research. I am going to email the physics department at the UWI and see if they can point me in the right direction. I am also going to watch more youtube videos on this question.
This question reminds me of the Trinidadian saying, "Your father is a glass maker or what?" said to someone who is blocking our view. Now I am wondering, what is the origin of this phrase? Is it really a Trinidadian phrase as I am thinking? In trying to figure this out without success I came across phrases for the same use like "Have you been drinking muddy water?" and "You make a better door than a window." I read online where in Spain they say, "La carne de burro no es transparente." When translated, that is, "A donkey's flesh is not transparent." Also in Cantonese they say when translated, "Did you grow up eating glass?" This makes me think, "How far have we reached with invisibility technology?" I mean sometimes we can feel as if the world does not care about us and we do not matter - as if we are indeed invisible. I went to Google with my question, ''Why am I invisible?" and came across a host of useful articles on the topic. But maybe we want to be invisible and not be seen. Life can be hard sometimes thinking about the expectations we have to live up to. Not being seen means not being judged. Not being criticized. Not being a burden. But then how meaningful would life be? Who knew my physics question would take a psychophilosophical turn? Is that even the correct use of that term?
I should be grateful. We always hear of "Is the glass half full or half empty?" but have you heard of the empty glass philosophy? Me neither but I came across it while researching this topic. According to my friend, Gemini, the empty glass philosophy emphasizes continuous learning and staying receptive to new knowledge. It is about remaining humble while learning, never being satisfied with the knowledge we have and emptying the glass to make room for new ideas and knowledge. This would be my approach as I write this book. The empty pages of the remaining of this book are ready to be filled with so much learning just like an empty belly makes us hungry and ready for that tasty roti meal.
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