A rebuttal to Jarrah's latest masterpiece

[cjameshuff]

Something else that needs correcting is JW's claim that the average area density of a human body is 80 g/cm².  That is one hell of a fat dude! 

The right number is 1.062 g/cm^3, if I remember right. But I'm confused by your unit (g/cm^2). A typing error? Or is it me, who's totally wrong? 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_density

[Dr.Acula]

Something else that needs correcting is JW's claim that the average area density of a human body is 80 g/cm².  That is one hell of a fat dude! 

The right number is 1.062 g/cm^3, if I remember right. But I'm confused by your unit (g/cm^2). A typing error? Or is it me, who's totally wrong? 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_density

Yeah, I stand corrected. I mixed body density with area density. Thank you for correcting me, cjames.

Dear HBs, you can clearly see, that admitting to be wrong doesn't hurt. 

[Bob B.]

Something else that needs correcting is JW's claim that the average area density of a human body is 80 g/cm².  That is one hell of a fat dude! 

The right number is 1.062 g/cm^3, if I remember right. But I'm confused by your unit (g/cm^2). A typing error? Or is it me, who's totally wrong? 

We're talking about "area density", not "density".  Area density is the mass of a material per unit surface area.  It is used frequently when talking about shielding.  For example, if we have a shield consisting of a 2 cm thick sheet of of aluminum, the area density is 5.4 g/cm², i.e. 2 cm x 2.7 g/cm³ = 5.4 g/cm².

(ETA)  Too late.

[Dr.Acula]

We're talking about "area density", not "density".  Area density is the mass of a material per unit surface area.  It is used frequently when talking about shielding.  For example, if we have a shield existing of a 2 cm thick sheet of of aluminum, the area density is 5.4 g/cm², i.e. 2 cm x 2.7 g/cm³ = 5.4 g/cm².

(ETA)  Too late.

Thank you for this demonstrative example. I appreciate this.

[Bob B.]

Regarding his use of the 10-100 MeV data on that NASA-related web page, has anyone tried to contact NASA about this? I don't feel qualified. I'll bet they would fix it within two days.

Good point.  There's a email address on that site, so I'll send them an email tomorrow.

I just sent them an email.  I recommended that the energies ranges be changed to 0.1-5 MeV and 0.1-10 MeV, that "volts" be changed to "electron-volts", and the words "on average" be deleted.  I also pointed out that Apollo didn't traverse "the most intense regions of" the radiation belts.  We'll see if they agree with me and make the changes.

I also looked for an email on the MAARBLE Project site but couldn't find one.

[JayUtah]

I just noticed something else about that web page that Jarrah insists is so infallible.

Heck, I've even found errors in the original Apollo press kits.  No source is infallible.  Errors in it mean someone made an error, not that there's some vast conspiracy afoot.

[Tedward]

You mean a human was involved..... then by logical deduction (don't know what that means but it sounds authoritative), he is a machine?

[Zakalwe]

I just noticed something else about that web page that Jarrah insists is so infallible.

Heck, I've even found errors in the original Apollo press kits.  No source is infallible.  Errors in it mean someone made an error, not that there's some vast conspiracy afoot.

To a hoaxie any tiny mistake is either evidence left by a "whistle-blower" or enough to overthrow a tonne of factual evidence *except" where the mistake is made by a hoaxie. Then it's just ignored or hand-waved away. 

[Noldi400]

By 'university', is that like when he called his TAFE art teacher a photography and perspective expert?  A claim that I questioned here and then she herself had to correct, as quoted here...  What a putrid little liar he is.

I'm guessing by 'university', he might be *again* referring to TAFE.  TAFE (Technical and Further Education) 'colleges' are Oz's highly underfunded adult education system which offers a range of courses ranging from completely un-certified 'special interest' classes up to low-end diplomas.  Not University Degrees, and in fact it is quite rare for TAFE 'qualifications' to even count at all towards university coursework...  TAFE has been neglected over the years and is definitely not in the same league as a university.  Hey, I should know - I used to work for them, teaching quite a range of different topics from computing to astronomy and photography..  so my knowledge is 'in-house', if somewhat self-damning...   But note that I left TAFE to work for Flinders University, managing a real marine research facility run by a real University...

Anyway, Jarrah, now that you are reading this, I'd love to know which bit of which university you are misrepresenting now...  Brave enough to name names, JW?  I'd like to talk to your lecturers and ask them what they think of your claims...

I'm told by a friend in Oz that the TAFE funding is being seriously cut back by the current government, so the unnameable one may have to go back to making videos in his spare time.

[AstroBrant]

I just sent them an email.  I recommended that the energies ranges be changed to 0.1-5 MeV and 0.1-10 MeV, that "volts" be changed to "electron-volts", and the words "on average" be deleted.  I also pointed out that Apollo didn't traverse "the most intense regions of" the radiation belts.  We'll see if they agree with me and make the changes.

I also looked for an email on the MAARBLE Project site but couldn't find one.

I posted this and your other comment. (I'm posting as Dobie Debunx since I can't see the thread from Astrobrant2). Comments are disappearing left and right there. I re-posted three of mine this morning. It is difficult to say whether JW is removing them or if it is just that horrible, apparently random, YouTube removal for spam.

[AstroBrant]

Spare a thought for me then. He's "just across the pond"....

Ah, so you're in New Zealand. here's what I know about NZ:
1) where it is
2) English-speaking
3) Christchurch: home of a famous UFO story that was painstakingly debunked by the great Philip Klass.

That should put me in about the 99.9th percentile for how much Americans know about New Zealand. Sorry, but I just have to say this: my spell checker flags "Zealand"!
So, okay, I suppose you're entitled to take a shot at the USA now.

BTW, is Argentina still trying to conquer you guys?

[Bob B.]

Heck, I've even found errors in the original Apollo press kits.  No source is infallible.  Errors in it mean someone made an error, not that there's some vast conspiracy afoot.

The sad part in all this is that JW is not the least bit interested in getting these apparent errors sorted out.  He just wants to find a source that gives a big enough number to make the math work out in his favor.

[Luke Pemberton]

The sad part in all this is that JW is not the least bit interested in getting these apparent errors sorted out.  He just wants to find a source that gives a big enough number to make the math work out in his favor.

He can't do math though. Nor can he apply physical laws correctly. Both of these failings prevent him from adapting models according to the situation. I've seen enough Whitian physics to know he's not competent in the field. The evidence is plentiful.

[Bob B.]

Something else that needs correcting is JW's claim that the average area density of a human body is 80 g/cm².  That is one hell of a fat dude! 

I want to elaborate on the above.  I apologize if it has already been addressed (I quit reading the YouTube thread).

Jarrah mocked my claim that 55 MeV electrons would pass through an astronaut's body.  In response he wrote that a 55 MeV electron could pass through material with an area density of 30 g/cm² (that part I agree with).  He then writes that he computes the area density of the human body to be 80 g/cm²; therefore, he claims, the body will stop 55 MeV electrons.

The Blunder has blundered again - he is off by an order of magnitude on his body area density calculation.  Let's use JW's own numbers from his video.  He says the mass of an astronaut's body is 75 kg and that it has a frontal area of 0.85 m².  Using simple math we get,

(75 kg x 1000 g/kg) / (0.85 m² x 100² cm²/m²) = 8.8 g/cm²

Sorry, Jarrah.  You're wrong once again.

[Luke Pemberton]

Sorry, Jarrah.  You're wrong once again.

Should I be surprised? 

Is he going to spend his entire life on this crusade I wonder? Does he honestly believe that the weight of Jarrah White's evidence is going to force NASA to come clean about their alleged swindle. His current record suggests he hasn't got a clue about math and physics, yet he seems to think he can outwit the smartest minds on the planet.

He's tenacious, I'll give him that much credit. Problem, he's as dumb as a post and doesn't really pack any more wattage than an LED when it comes to dealing with numbers. I would have given up the ghost by now, especially after so many abject failures.