Christmas Dinner (cheap)

[heidi tandy]

No: HPFGUIDX 7221

--- In HPforGrownups at egroups.com, "Ebony " <ebonyink at h...> wrote:
> 
> We've had the discussion in the past, and I think the consensus 
> was in this particular milieu, there is no such thing as 
> spontaneous generation of matter.  In other words, you can't 
> create something out of nothing.  If you could, we wouldn't be 
> having a discussion about the Weasley's poverty... they could 
> just magic up a houseful of Galleons.
> 
I think this has to be correct. otherwise, why would anyone care if 
the philosopher's stone could turn any metal into gold? (note: the PS 
doesn't create it out of nothing, in the traditional mythology of the 
stone - it turns "base metals" like bronze or even silver into gold 
(question: could the PS turn platinum into gold, and since platinum 
is more valuable, why would anyone want to?))

But the whole question of spontaneous generation of matter is a 
little iffy too - science tells us that nature abhors a vacuum, and 
in the world, vacuums don't automatically exist - they must be 
created. I'm no scientist, but my understanding is that every bit of 
space - even the stuff that looks empty - is full of matter - and 
where there isn't matter, there is energy (and of course, they can be 
converted into each other (see, for example, fire)) - maybe high-
functioning super-powers (like Harry has in Lori's PoU series) allow 
a wizard or witch to manipulate matter in such a way that it appears 
that something is being created out of nothing - whereas in the 
everyday wizarding world, changing things, like they do in 
transfiguration, uses a wand & spells to focus energy so matter is 
manipulated and changed from one thing to another. 
And this could go off on a whole tangent involving how Animagi think 
when they are in animal form, which I know a lot of people have 
tackled in varying ways in fanfic - and if someone wants to take this 
there, I'd love to run in that direction...