The Urantia Book states "In the superuniverse of Orvonton there are one hundred octaves of wave energy" (474).

For those who have puzzled over this statement, Frederick writes: I believe the Urantia Book text should be interpreted as written. If this is done then this text is correct. If not, then this text is demonstrably incorrect.

The Urantia Book says: "The sun's rays constitute four octaves in the superuniverse scale, the visible rays embracing a single octave, number forty-six in this series." (474)

If light is the 46th octave of wave-energy, and the center wavelength of visible light is around 500 nm, then the center wavelength of the first octave is equal to 2 to the 46th power (2⁴⁶) times the wavelength of the 46th octave. This wavelength is 7.03 x 10¹³ times 500 x 10^-9, or 35.18 x 10⁶ m.  The frequency corresponding to this wavelength is 2.9979 x 10⁸ (the velocity of light in m/s) divided by 35.18 x 10⁶ or 8.52 Hz.  Obviously there is wave energy at frequencies below two-thirds of 8.52 = 5.67 Hz, the lower frequency limit of the first octave. Physical measurements have been made of wave energy phenomena at frequencies below 6 cycles per second.

Thus, The Urantia Book text is incorrect if one interprets it as meaning there are ONLY 100 octaves of wave energy.  If it is interpreted as written to mean there ARE 100 octaves of wave energy, with the 46th octave centered on the wavelength of visible light, then this statement is correct so far as the bottom limit is concerned.  The upper frequency limit can be calculated as follows.

The center wavelength of the 100th octave would be equal to a center wavelength of 500 nm times 2⁴⁶ - 100 (2^-54).  Now 2^-54 = 5.55 x 10^-17, and thus the center wavelength of the 100th octave of wave energy would be 2.775 x 10^-23 meters. This corresponds to a frequency of 2.9979 x 10⁸ divided by 2.775 x 10^-23 = 1.08 x 10³¹ Hz.  The upper frequency limit of the 100th octave would be four thirds of the center frequency of that octave or 1.44 x 10³¹ Hz.  The period of this frequency is 6.9 x 10^-32 sec.  This time interval might represent the minimum possible time interval, or a quantum of time, although physicists like to think that they can calculate down to the Planck time of 10^-43 sec.  In any event it seems quite plausible that there are wave energy frequencies at least equal to 1.44 x 10³¹ Hz, and if so, the Urantia Book statement is correct as written.  One can easily show that the wave energy corresponding to this frequency is about 9.54 x 10^-3 joules, a modest energy indeed, about the amount consumed by a 100 W light bulb operating for one ten-thousandth of a second.

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All the above calculations assume the book means an octave to be two frequencies in the ratio of 2:1. My American Heritage Dictionary defines the word as follows (excluding other inapplicable definitions):

• a) The interval between any two frequencies having a ratio of 2 to 1, or
  
  

• b) A group or series of eight.

Note that it does not mean two frequencies having a ratio of 8 to 1.  Thus I believe the first of these definitions is what is meant in The Urantia Book text on this subject.

This brings us to the question of why this information was given at all. As we have shown, this statement imparts no additional physical knowledge above that which is already present on Urantia--at least IMHO (In my humble opinion).

Frederick Beckner, USA.