From: lipscomb@lonestar.utsa.edu (David S. Lipscomb)
Subject: Re: Odo is NOT hollow! (Was: Re: Odo: conservation of mass)
Organization: University of Texas at San Antonio
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 16:32:39 GMT

In article <1993Jan23.042520.16171@netcom.com> linley@netcom.com (Bruce James Robrert Linley) writes:
>In a previous article rbeck@mordor.dseg.ti.com spake...
>>How do we know for sure that Odo is not hollow?  His comment that he
>>has to regenerate every 18 hours and that he was "in a bucket at the
>>time" leads me to believe that his *actual* resting surface area is a
>>great deal less than his humanoid form.
>>
>>As for changing into a mouse... well, when all other explanations fail
>>I fall to the only plausable one...
>
>Plausible? No. Odo's violates the conservation of mass...
>
>(1) Statement: Odo's normal form has mass roughly equivalent to humanoids.
>    Evidence: Fights that Odo's had (being thrown, or throwing others around).
>              A less massive Odo  would get kicked around like a hackey sack,
>              hollow or not. A high density Odo would be immobile by others,
>              or at least highly difficult to knock around. (Unlike he was in
>              the fight with the Bajoran murderer [forgot his name])
>
>(2) Statement: Odo cannot store 'excess mass' as energy.
>    Evidence: Mass and energy ARE equivalent and related by the famous E=mc^2
>              formula. If Odo tried to 'store' even a small amount of mass as
>              energy, this much energy would destroy the station and probably
>              wipeout Bajor too. C^2 is a big number.
>
>(3) Statement: Odo gained mass from NO SOURCE WHATSOEVER.
>    Evidence: Mouse turning into regular ol' Odo. No nearby mass or energy was
>              consumed to make up the gained mass.
>
>(4) Statement: Bag cannot have had the same mass as Odo.
>    Evidence: It is safe to say that ANYONE would think it strange to pick
>              up a 'bag' (Odo in disguise) and find that it weighed ~170 lbs.
>
>(5) Statement: Mouse/Bag cannot have 'simply been made of denser material'.
>    Evidence: Compressing ANYTHING will heat it up. Tires/balls get warm when
>              you inflate them. Hydrogen in the center of the Sun is heated
>              up enpough to undergo fusion (10^6 K) by compression (i.e.
>              increased density) by gravity. Compressing Odo down to the size
>              of a mouse would push his density up to roughly 170-180 g/cc.
>              The resulting heat would set objects in the room, the room,
>              and people in it, on fire.
>
>Conclusion: The writers know nothing about physics/science and don't care that
>            they're insulting viewers' intelligence.
>--
>Bruce James Robert Linley | "Any relationships established by marriage are not
>Comp Sci & Engr, UCLA     |  treated as ended by divorce or death."
><linley@netcom.com>       |
><linley@seas.ucla.edu>    |  from page 18 of the 1992, 1040A tax booklet.

All of this is based on the belief that he is from our universe and dimension.
What if he isn't and the place he is from has different laws.  Remember that
he doesn't know where he is from or what he is.

my $0.02

And back to our program.
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