Monday, December 28, 2020

Why does this red wine look green?

The answer is a simple application of physics.  It's approaching at a rate fast enough so that the Doppler shift has turned the red wine to Green. Either that or some other color, and it's receding fast enough to become another red. Because we are observing the wine with the rather antique but still impressive 200-inch lens at Mount Palomar, we can take a few ancillary measurements and see what they can tell us.


For instance, we can compare the size and color of the wine as it was on April 7, 1972 to see if it's approaching or receding. Other records may reveal if it is accelerating or under the influence of other celestial bodies.


 I read once it was considered  inadvisable to pour the contents of a red wine bottle in the presence of a black hole. As the molecules in the liquid compress, it goes through an unwanted phase change, ruining its distinctive nose. Since then the wine is reduced to a fluid of electrons, it's not much use in making a sauce or providing refreshment. It's probably best to keep the wine moving at a relatively congruent velocity for purposes of consumption.

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