RIP Wal Thornhill (1942-2023)

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davesmith_au
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Re: RIP Wal Thornhill (1942-2023)

Unread post by davesmith_au » Mon Nov 13, 2023 1:16 pm

Wow. I fully intended to post the eulogy I delivered at Wal's funeral, on behalf of The Thunderbolts Project, soon after the event. But life intervened, and the technical difficulties of moving sites and the forum being down for an extended period, helped none. So without further ado, and with deepest respect to Wal and his family, I share below what I wrote, and read at his service.

Walace William Thornhill 1942 – 2023

The voices I hear? Just Wal having a yarn with Dr. V and Albert E.

The world has lost a beautiful man, a scientific mind few could parrallel, a true natural philosopher.

I have lost a friend and colleague, yet Faye and her family have lost so much more. I extend deepest sympathies and love to the family at this difficult time not only from myself, but also on behalf of The Thunderbolts Project, and the many thousands of people around the globe who are left deeply saddened by the passing of one who meant so much to so many.

Gently spoken yet fiercely determined to seek a better understanding of the natural world and the cosmos, always willing to share his insights, to encourage others to explore new ideas, always with an insistance on sound scientific method, falsifiability, and a forensic approach to evidence, Wal became a giant upon whose shoulders many will aspire to stand, sharing that stage with Kristian Birkeland, Hannes Alven, Halton Arp and others.

I first knew of Wal in the mid 2000s. My late brother Carl was into solar physics and climate and astronomy, and in conversation he said I should suss out Electric Universe theory. I did so, thinking: “Here comes another theory some numb-nut came up with to explain things they didn’t understand.” I could not have been more wrong-erer. The terms “planetary catastrophism” and “camparative mythology” were added to my vocabulary.

My walk into Wal’s World mirrored that of thousands. A topic I had loved as a child had been spolied through my educative years. Dark matter, dark energy, warped space-time, extra dimensions, had me lose interest as ever more absurd, unverifiable bullshennanigans was lauded by people who should have known better. Wal changed all of that.

And he worked not in a vacuum, but rather shared and collaborated with others. The late Amy - and Mel Acheson, Cj Rasom, Michael Armstrong, Ev Cochrane, Ian Tresman, the late Dwardu Cardona, Electrical Engineer Don Scott, and Comparative Mythologist Dave Talbott, are just a few of the many. I am honoured to represent them here today.

As international interest in Electric Universe/Plasma Cosmology grew, Wal’s achievements did too. With David Talbott he co-authored Thunderbolts of the Gods and The Electric Universe and his first “mainstream” peer-reviewed paper on the electrical nature of stars and supernovae, was published in the IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science in 2007.

2010 saw him awarded a gold medal by the European Telesio-Galilei Academy of Science and in 2013 he received the destinguished Sagnac Award from the Natural Philosophy Alliance.

Wal has presented at numerous international conferences and featured in many hours of written and video material made freely available on the Thunderbolts wesite and on his own. He was Chief Science Officer for The Thunderbolts Project and science officer for the SAFIRE project.

His legacy will be, I believe, the eventual deconstruction of gravity-centric astrophysics. At his passing he was working feverishly to have published his work on the electrical nature and cause, of gravity. Someone once said if the science is settled, it ain’t science. I heard Wal say it on more than one occasion.

It was one of the biggest privileges of my life to have known this truly great man, and I thank Faye and the family for the opportunity to share here today.

Final words are from Eric Idle:

“And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space 'Cause there's bugger all, down here on Earth”

Thank you.
"Those who fail to think outside the square will always be confined within it" - Dave Smith 2007
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