The Ducati and I made it over the bridges and onto the westbound Ocean Parkway in time to watch the sun go down. Seeing the big orange-red ball in the sky prompted thoughts of the similarity of the wavelength of that light -- which had left the sun about eight minutes earlier (SEE NOTE 1) and had had some of its other wavelengths reflected or refracted on the trip to earth, mostly via the atmosphere -- to that of lightning bugs (fireflies), the luminescence from which is in the 510-670 nanometer length. The orangey-red hue meant that I was detecting light in the approximately 600 nanometer wavelength range.
I pondered that coincidence, then quickly realized that the light from fireflies is exactly the light from the sun. Nearly all energy in our daily world comes from the photosynthetic process (SEE NOTE 2), powered by the sun. The light from fireflies is not similar to that from the sun. It IS light from the sun.
Not long after the sun set, I turned around and headed back toward Suffolk County. The light from my headlight was now becoming visible and I realized that this light, too, is from the sun, albeit via a very circuitous route that involved photosynthesis by plants of a species that probably no longer exists, through the gut of an herbivore whose species probably no longer exists, possibly through the claws, teeth, and stomach of species of a carnivore that no longer exists, probably through the alimentary canal of some insects of species that no longer exist, may have been processed by species of bacteria that no longer exist, then sat in the earth under pressure and heat, turning to the type of carbon compound that now spews out into the Gulf of Mexico. This material was eventually found by humans, pumped from the depths of the earth's crust, transported, refined, transported again (and perhaps again and again) into the tanks under the ground at the Mobil station on Sunrise Highway near Southern Parkway, then up into the tank of my Ducati and through internal combustion, rotation and electromagnetic mechanisms into the electrical charging system and into the light bulb, where it was turned back into visible light for the first time in perhaps hundreds of millions of years. That's quite a journey.
Riding east on Ocean Parkway, I subsequently pondered the fact that the light I had seen from the setting sun looked slightly different to people riding the other way looking into their rearview mirrors, thanks to the Doppler effect (or redshift, if you prefer), even though their eyes were not sensitive enough to notice this different light. Why would it have looked different? Because of relativistic effects. Had they measured the speed of the light reaching their mirrors (attached to their cars, heading east at approximately 60 miles per hour relative to the sun's position), it would have shown the exact same speed as if I had measured it at my faceshield, heading toward the sun at perhaps a little more than 60 miles per hour. The speed of light is constant (the C in E=MCsquared). The different speeds between me and those cars going the other way, however, would have affected the wavelength of the light. This is the very essence of special relativity, and so many people don't get that, despite the fact that Einstein explained it to the world a century ago. The effects that we call general relativity were present also, of course, as acceleration and gravity are impossible to determine just by measuring them (i.e., they express themselves in exactly the same manner, so that you cannot tell which is which -- this is why acceleration is maeasured in G's: units of gravity). Upon having this thought, I grabbed a chunk of the Ducati's plentiful midrange power, lunging forward with the processing of solar energy expressed as a throaty growl and increasing relative speed and with the knowledge that I was warping spacetime with my processed photosynthetic power.
By the time I got back to the twin bridges over the Great South Bay, it was almost fully dark. I decided to take Montauk Highway back and experience the towns along the way (West Islip, Brightwaters, Bay Shore, Islip, and East Islip), before returning to Islip Terrace.
Cruising east along Montauk Highway, near the old Gardiner homestead at Sagtikos Manor and the park that my beagle Shiloh and cat Wobbles enjoy, I thought about how many people choose not to experience the beauty and wonder of the universe through the simple processes I had been pondering, preferring to think in terms of fairies and pixie dust and all manner of fictional creatures and processes. How boring, limiting, and ultimately depressing, that way of being is. I could not help but feel some compassion for their loss. If there is a gift that humans have from the universe that other life forms on earth have not (yet?) received, it is the ability to see beyond the medium scales of experience that we have been given, into the very, very small and very, very big scales that are made possible by science and technology. Truth is not revealed by ignorance and superstition, yet that is the path chosen by, or imposed upon, so much of humanity. As the ability to experience the world through one's innate human capacities is an innate right (the right to think), those systems and people which suppress that right are perhaps the worst kind of violators of human rights.
As I rolled up toward the intersection of Montauk Highway and Fifth Avenue in Bay Shore, an ambulance came to the intersection from the left, lights and sirens cutting through the dark, humid night. This turned my thoughts to how lucky we are at any given point in spacetime to be experiencing the universe in the way I was. Life is short, indeed, and I have come close to making an early exit several times. I also though about my friend Rob, who is in the ICU at Stony Brook Hospital right now and was not experiencing this wonderful evening.
As I continued through Bay Shore, my thoughts returned to the crime against humanity that is the restriction of freedom of thought. At that time, I became aware of the fact that I had my officially-licensed US Army riding jacket on, replete with US Army logos and a US flag on my right shoulder. I also was cognizant of my NY state license plate, which, as a military veteran's plate, has a US flag on it. I live in, and have served in many ways served, a nation in which there are strong socio-political groups (SEE NOTE 3) that strive to prevent the kind of thoughts I had experienced on my ride down Ocean Parkway. This made me somewhat angry, as you might expect, and a bit embarrassed that my once-great nation had become known for its high value of ignorance and low value of education and truth. I let the anger go, though, having been down this path enough times and not wanting it to ruin my evening.
After I filled the Ducati's tank with more photosynthetic energy at the Mobil station, I made the short ride home. Coming down my street, I saw many fireflies blinking in the night, giving freedom to the sunlight of so many years ago. The thoughts of my ride, like the ride itself, had come full circle. All in the space of my helmet and a few roads.
XXX
Disclaimer: I wrote this as a reflection of my thinking during a little ride, not as a scientific dissertation. Feel free to nitpick my discussions of physics, chemistry, biology, geology, etc., but please realize my impetus here was not pedantic (Ha! I used "impetus" and "pedantic" in one sentence! How ostentatious is that?!).
NOTE 1: The earth's distance from the sun is not consistent, as we ride our planet in a roughly elliptical orbit around our star, so the time it takes the light from that star to reach us depends primarily on our orbital position at the time.
NOTE 2: I began to think about chemosynthetic life, but brought myself back on track to the moment I was experiencing
NOTE 3: Although I don't like the limiting effect of labels, we usually call these people "religious fundamentalists" or "the right" or "social conservatives;" stuff like that, but I am referring to any one who would abhors that most basic of human rights: freedom of thought.
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