Spencer Heath Archive

Item 302

Typed page by Heath defining physical units

No date

 

 

 

/PHYSICAL UNITS OF MEASUREMENT/

 

 

An event — action — experience — contains:

 

So many Mass, Force, Units

So many Motion, Space, Units

So many Duration, Time, Units

Motion is a property of Mass.

Mass and Motion together constitute Procession — Process.

Time, Duration, depends on Motion. This has been chosen to be
the motion of the earth. Its units (hours, minutes, seconds) are portions of that motion

The gram is a certain portion of the earth’s mass, weight, attraction (gravity), inertia. So also is the dyne — about the thousandth part of a gram.

The centimeter is a certain portion of the earth’s circumfer­ence as space (in thought); as motion (in experience).

Time is not to be distinguished from motion — from the earth’s motion.

The second is a certain portion of the earth’s motion.

The dyne is a force equivalent to a very small portion of the earth’s mass.

The erg is a dyne of force (or mass) having a motion of one centimeter.

The erg is a standard quantity of energy taken as the unit for measuring energy.

If an erg acts through one second it is an erg-second of “action.“

A quantum of action is a very small portion of an erg-second of action.

Nothing but mass can have motion — occupy space.

Nothing but motion can occupy time — have duration.

Time is the process manifest in the unity of mass and motion.

Just as nothing but mass can occupy space, and thus create motion, so nothing but mass and motion (energy) can occupy time.

Time — the process manifest in mass and motion — finds its being in the recurrence of measured motion, the procession of exist­ence. It is the rhythm of the Universe, the pulsation (action) of God.

Action is the event — the eventuation — out of any unification of mass, motion and the procession of time. Those elements of action — mass, motion and time — may be separately conceived, but only their complete unity in action or event can be any object of experience.