The Physics and Metaphysics of Unidentified Flying Objects

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The Physics and Metaphysics of Unidentified Flying Objects

Reported UFO's cannot be under extraterrestrial control if the laws of physics are valid.

William Markowitz

The possibility that life exists on other planets within the solar system and other stellar systems is a question of profound interest. Conceivably, intelligent life may exist on some of these planets, and in some cases the inhabitants may be more advanced technically than we are. We assume, for purposes of discussion, that such technically advanced beings exist.

In recent years a large number of flying objects of uncertain origin have been reported. Some persons believe that these unidentified flying objects (UFO's) are controlled by extraterrestrial beings who are passengers in the spacecraft, or who may be controlling them by radio from the moon or from another planet. Others doubt this.

In a recent letter to Science, J. Allen Hynek urges the scientific investigation of a residue of puzzling UFO cases by physical and social scientists (1). He says there are a number of misconceptions concerning UFO reports; two of the misconceptions that he cites (with his comments) are as follows:

UFO's are never reported by scientifically trained people. This is unequivocally false. Some of the very best, most coherent reports have come from scientifically trained people. It is true that scientists are reluctant to make a public report. They also usually request anonymity which is always granted.

. UFO's are never seen at close range and are always reported vaguely. When we speak of the body of puzzling reports, we exclude all those which fit the above description. I have in my files several hundred reports which are fine brain teasers and could easily be made the subject of profitable discussion among physical and social scientists alike.

This letter is surprising because Hynek, who has been a consultant to the U.S. Air Force for nearly 20 years,

tannica that there were no reports of UFO's by trained observers (2). He wrote:

U.S. air force investigators long recognized that most originators of UFO reports are sincere, interested in the welfare and security of their country and honestly puzzled by the sightings they report. Their frequent readiness to ascribe a UFO to extraterrestrial sources, their emotional attachment to this explanation and their reluctance to take into account the failure of continuous and extensive surveillance by trained observers to produce such sightings is surprising. It appears unreasonable that spacecraft should announce themselves to casual observers while craftily avoiding detection by trained observers.

I have been interested in the flight of spacecraft from the standpoint of celestial mechanics and physics for a number of years and have published a method of interstellar navigation (3). With the publication of the appeal by Hynek I decided to make a new study of the dynamics of flight and compare this with published reports and with the reports which Hynek had.

Aristotle wrote on natural phenomena under the heading "Physics" and continued with another section called "Metaphysics" or "beyond physics." I use a similar approach here. First, I consider the physics of UFO's when the laws of physics are obeyed. After that I consider the case when the laws of physics are not obeyed. The specific question to be studied is whether UFO's are under extraterrestrial control.

Laws of Physics

The laws of physics to which I refer are those taught in any accredited college. They are the laws on which our automotive, space, and nuclear en-

basis. They include the laws of celestial mechanics and the exciting special relativity. Some of these laws are as follows:

2) Every particle in the universe attracts every other particle with a force proportional to the product of the masses and inversely as the square of the distance.

1) Every action must have an equal and opposite reaction.

3) Energy, mass, and momentum are conserved.

4) No material body can have a speed as great as c, the speed of light (4).

5) The maximum energy which can be obtained from a body at rest is $ E=mc^{2}. $ If anyone wishes to reject these laws I have no quarrel. Let us see, however what the consequences are in these laws are accepted.

Possible and Impose

Some people admit it is impossible. This is not so. The mathematics and physics, if we do provide limitation, are done. However, one must be able to state the assumptions under which he says that something is possible, not possible.

If we accept the properties of real number, Euclidean geometry, the laws of physics, then the following statements hold:

11. it is impossible

tegers $a$ and $b$ such that $a^2 + b^2 = c^2$

2) It is impossible to construct a regular polygon of seven sides using only a straight edge. This was proved to be impossible by an 18-year-old schoolboy named Carl. Incidentally, he shows that it is possible to construct a regular polygon of 17 sides, which no one had previously imagined possible.

3) It is impossible to construct a 2000-kilogram at a mile which can be driven from a mountain top of a mountain 1000 miles mile) high through the mountain combustion of 0.5 kilogram of gas (6).

4) It is impossible for it to lift himself by the coasts and main in the air.

5) It is impossible to continue a perpetual motion machine. This is The author is professor of physics in Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233.