September 2011
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“ “Scientists are explorers. Philosophers are tourists.” ”
– Richard Feynman, American physicist (1918-1988), in 1985, cited in G. Laurence Nickard, Phenomenal surfaces and noumenal depths: Philosophy and quantum theory, ProQuest, 2006, p. 5. (via amiquote)
July 2011
1 post
June 2011
7 posts
“From the quantum mechanical perspective, to measure the position of an electron...”
– Louisa Gilder, The Age of Entanglement
Casimir Effect →
thoughtfulcynic:
To understand the Casimir Effect, one first has to understand something about a vacuum in space as it is viewed in quantum field theory. Far from being empty, modern physics assumes that a vacuum is full of fluctuating electromagnetic waves that can never be completely eliminated, like an ocean with waves that are always present and can never be stopped. These waves come in all...
Moving mirrors make light from nothing →
pragmatica:
At the heart of the experiment is one of the weirdest, and most important, tenets of quantum mechanics: the principle that empty space is anything but. Quantum theory predicts that a vacuum is actually a writhing foam of particles flitting in and out of existence.
May 2011
1 post
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“Unlike Newton’s mechanics, or Maxwell’s electrodynamics, or Einstein’s...”
– David Griffiths, 1995 Preface to Introduction to Quantum Mechanics (via dozennebulae)
February 2011
1 post
Scrap board: Quantum Entanglement Could Stretch... →
hayashiyus:
In the weird world of quantum physics, two linked particles can share a single fate, even when they’re miles apart.
Now, two physicists have mathematically described how this spooky effect, called entanglement, could also bind particles across time.
If their proposal can be tested, it…
January 2011
9 posts
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“Physics is very muddled again at the moment; it is much too hard for me anyway,...”
– Wolfgang Pauli
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“ “And a new philosophy emerged called quantum physics, which suggest that the...”
– Timothy Leary, Michael Horowitz, Chaos & Cyber Culture, Ronin Pub, 1994, p. 37. (via amiquote)
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Science: The Breakthroughs of 2010 and Insights of... →
kateoplis:
Until this year, all human-made objects have moved according to the laws of classical mechanics. Back in March, however, a group of researchers designed a gadget that moves in ways that can only be described by quantum mechanics—the set of rules that governs the behavior of tiny things like molecules, atoms, and subatomic particles. In recognition of the conceptual ground this...
December 2010
6 posts
2 tags
“… A quantum field is a sort of framework within which particles play out their...”
– Adam Frank, Honeybees are found to interact with Quantum fields
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Some things to ponder . . . courtesy Dov Henis.
First, check out this awesome article regarding an experiment that closes an entanglment loophole:
A long-distance experiment rejects a challenge to quantum physics.
An old USSR joke:
Question: Is it true that the USSR-made car “Volga” makes a 90-degree turn at 100 km/hr?
Answer: Yes…. but only once.
To think about:
- Is entanglement a “yes, but only...
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Essence Of Quantum Mechanics
Life and the universe are not conglomerations of mechanisms. Their mechanisms are routes of evolution. They do not set/determine the classical physics end-target/states. They are routes of evolution between classical physics states. Quantum mechanics are mechanisms, probable, possible and actual mechanisms of getting from one to other classical physics states between the initial cosmic singularity...
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November 2010
7 posts
3 tags
“All electrons dance
in the atomic swirl of light;
the very best waltz.”
– kaseykillface, haiku-writer extraordinaire. Thanks kasey!
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First Quantum Effects Seen in Visible Object →
babydalii:
Does Schrödinger’s cat really exist? You bet. The first ever quantum superposition in an object visible to the naked eye has been observed.
Aaron O’Connell and colleagues at the University of California, Santa Barbara, did not actually produce a cat that was dead and alive at the same time, as Erwin Schrödinger proposed in a notorious thought experiment 75 years ago. But they did...
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Testing the Hypothesis of a Holographic Universe... →
fuckyeahphysics:
The holographic principle of the universe has been a popular theory among crazies and string theorists for years.
In a larger and more speculative sense, the theory suggests that the entire universe can be seen as a two-dimensional information structure “painted” on the cosmological horizon, such that the three dimensions we observe are only an effective description at...
October 2010
4 posts
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“Richard Feynman: ‘Step one - write down the problem. Step two - think really...”
– Atemporality for the Creative Artist, Wired, Feb 25, 2010 (tnx wildcat2030)
September 2010
11 posts
1 tag
orions-nebula-deactivated201105 asked: Hey not a question,
But in physics club today, we were playing Physics Jeopardy and we were on the last two rounds. Our team got to choose the category, so we chose "Nobel Recipients" for 400. The question was "What nobel recipient is famous for his work and quantum mechanics and had a hobby of playing the bongo drums?". Now I'm pretty sure there is only...
But in physics club today, we were playing Physics Jeopardy and we were on the last two rounds. Our team got to choose the category, so we chose "Nobel Recipients" for 400. The question was "What nobel recipient is famous for his work and quantum mechanics and had a hobby of playing the bongo drums?". Now I'm pretty sure there is only...
deadman325-deactivated20111020 asked: With your last post, hadn't the QM guys done exactly the same things decades ago? EPR Paradox, Bell's Theorem, Schrodinger's Cat; John Archibald Wheeler did the same photon experiment...they're all the observer-participance experiments...how could Hawking not know about the fundamental paradoxes of QM?
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Ordered Chaos.: Does the Past Exist Yet? Evidence... →
Does the Past Exist Yet? Evidence Suggests Your Past Isn’t Set in Stone
Recent discoveries require us to rethink our understanding of history. “The histories of the universe,” said renowned physicist Stephen Hawking “depend on what is being measured, contrary to the usual idea that the universe has an objective observer-independent history.”
Is it possible we live and die in a world of...
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“Physicists love this, because it’s pushing the boundaries of physics into...”
– Roger Bowley on the ability to research matter near absolute zero using laser cooling, where the strange effects of quantum mechanics take hold (via phdr)
I bet I can guess the first.
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August 2010
12 posts
2 tags
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