Re: Interesting. ChatGPT fails defending starlight deflection when photons graze Sun's surface

On Sat, 18 Jan 2025 1:34:39 +0000, LaurenceClarkCrossen wrote:
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On Sat, 18 Jan 2025 0:57:06 +0000, ProkaryoticCaspaseHomolog wrote:
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On Fri, 17 Jan 2025 21:46:00 +0000, rhertz wrote:
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For me, c IS CONSTANT, and the phenomena of deflection is due to
REFRACTION.

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In the Earth's ionosphere, radio waves are strongly refracted by free
electrons. This refraction is strongly dependent on frequency:
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n^2 = 1 - ω_p^2 / [ω(ω + iν)]
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where ω_p is the plasma frequency. Propagation of optical frequency
light is virtually unaffected by free electrons in the ionosphere.
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Both radio frequencies and optical frequencies are refracted by BOUND
electrons in atoms and molecules. In the Earth's atmosphere, water
molecules are extremely important in the refraction of radio waves,
but of rather less importance in the refraction of optical frequencies.
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In the solar corona, the situation is quite different. Radio waves
are, of course, refracted by free electrons in the solar corona, so
VLBI measurements of the gravitational deflection of radio waves must
be corrected for refraction. This is done by performing measurements
at multiple wavelengths and using the known relationship between
wavelength and refraction by free electrons to determine the
un-refracted path of the radio waves.
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It is unnecessary to correct for refraction by BOUND electrons because
of their almost complete absence in the solar corona. Above a
transition zone a few thousand kilometers above the surface, the
coronal gases are heated to temperatures greater than 1,000,000°C. At
such temperatures, all of the lighter elements (hydrogen, helium,
carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen) are stripped down to bare nuclei.
Spectral lines visible in the corona comes from heavier trace elements
like iron and calcium which are able to retain a few of their
electrons.
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(Do not be confused by the F corona spectral lines, which are due to
scattering of light by dust particles.)
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Visible light passing by the Sun is not refracted by FREE electrons in
the solar corona, and the complete stripping of electrons from all
elements up through oxygen means that there are virtually no BOUND
electrons in polarizable atomic species capable of refracting visible
light either.
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In other words, not only is the solar atmosphere far too tenuous to
contribute significantly to the measured deflection of visible light,
its composition is entirely wrong.
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Alexander Unzicker differs with you on that in his book, "The Liquid
Sun."

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Naturally, you prefer to believe in absolute, complete crackpot nonsense
by a person who claims a degree in neuroscience but nevertheless has a
considerable YouTube following.
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Why does that not surprise me?
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https://www.reddit.com/r/AskPhysics/comments/10lf8er/alexander_unzicker/
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskPhysics/comments/10lf8er/alexander_unzicker/
https://www.quora.com/Could-the-physicist-Unzicker-be-right-when-he-says-Postwar-physicists-while-deliberately-ignoring-gravity-invented-two-more-interactions-as-if-this-wasn-t-a-sign-of-methodological-degeneration