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Re: When Does a Meteorite become a Meteorite?
>Perhaps your definitions of "meteor" or "meteoroid" are too rigid. If
>you equate "meteor" with the visible light phenomenon (which I don't; I
>equate it with the physical object) (SNIP)
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Rishard,
I can decide not to equate the word "dog" with four a legged barking
mamal kept as a house pet. I can decide to call it a "cat." That does
not, however, make it a "cat" to ANYONE but me. I can call what others
call "blue" "red," what others call "pink," I can call "purple."
Language cosists (among other things) of SHARED CONSENSIS as to the
meaning of various sounds. These are called "symbols" and loose
meaning if there is no consenses as to their meaning.
(The written "language" is not a "language" at all, but simply a system
of symbols of symbols - it is the spoken sounds that constitute a
language - but that is another issue)
So, to say I do not equate the word "meteor" with the light phenomenon
produced when a meteoroid passes through earth's atmosphere simply means
I either do not know the meaning of the word or have decided to call a
"dog" a "cat." I am, of course, entirely free to do so, but it would be
irrational of me to expect others to know what I mean when I talk about
a cat barking at me.
This is NOT semantics, it is linguistics.
Best wishes, Michael
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