Schrödinger's kit: Tools that are in two places at once

June 28, 2010

Quantum theory is our most successful theory of physics. There is not one shred of experimental evidence that doesn't fit with its predictions. So why, if it ain't broke, is a growing number of researchers expressing a desire to fix it?

"Everything depends on whether you believe quantum mechanics is going to go on describing the physical world perfectly to whatever level you push it," says Nobel laureate Anthony Leggett, who studies the quantum world at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Leggett thinks it won't, that there are too many issues with quantum theory to think it anything more than an approximation of reality. "I'm inclined to put my money on the idea that if we push quantum mechanics hard enough it will break down and something else will take over - something we can't envisage at the moment," he says.

Probing the weird quantum world
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A new generation of tiny machines are in a super position to unlock the mysteries of quantum mechanics
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Schrödinger came up with this bizarre scenario to show that there was something wrong with quantum theory. There's no way, he said, that something as non-quantum as a cat can be in a superposition of alive and dead - whether it is being observed or not.

www.newscientist.com...

This is difficult to wrap your head around but so interesting, the more I read the better understanding I have on a small level. What I don't understand is why they need machines, my feeling is that everything occurs naturally.

Quantum mechanics (QM) or Quantum Physics, is a branch of physics that provides a mathematical description of much of the behavior and interactions of energy and matter at the atomic and subatomic scales. The name derives from the observation that some physical quantities—such as the angular momentum or, more generally, the action of, for example, an electron bound into an atom or molecule—can be changed only by discrete amounts, or quanta as multiples of the Planck constant, rather than being capable of varying continuously or by any arbitrary amount. An electron bound in an atomic orbital has quantized values of angular momentum while an unbound electron does not exhibit quantized energy levels but the latter is associated with a quantum mechanical wavelength. In the context of QM, the wave–particle duality of energy and matter at the atomic scale provides a unified view of the behavior of particles such as photons and electrons and other atomic-scale particles

en.wikipedia.org...

It's a very interesting thread on a very fascinating subject.

Quantum mechanics very well could be the final frontier.

The research being done on it is very interesting to follow.

Starred and flagged!

Man I love this topic.

The "civilized world" is bound by time where the "uncivilized (e.g. - indigenous folk) are bound to the earth.

Time is linear in the west. Time is circular in the antediluvian world.

With the example of the cat, in relation to quantum mechanics, an individual indoctrinated into the modern scientific world will be unable to observe the cat in any point other than on its’ fixed linear position. The indigenous individual can see the cat from its original design through the ether to the manifest world along with any point in its cycle of life. Since time is circular the concept of past, present and future are void as compared to the modern science where time is linear and confined to a directional pole.

Who knows really?

Quantum Theory: Albert Einstein, Theoretical Physicist / Philosopher of Science (1879 - 1955)
Albert Einstein's work on the Photoelectric effect relates to Max Planck's discovery that light energy is emitted and absorbed in discrete quanta of energy (contrary to predictions of Maxwell's equations and the continuous electromagnetic theory of light). As Einstein explains;

In the year nineteen hundred, in the course of purely theoretical (mathematical) investigation, Max Planck made a very remarkable discovery: the law of radiation of bodies as a function of temperature could not be derived solely from the Laws of Maxwellian electrodynamics. To arrive at results consistent with the relevant experiments, radiation of a given frequency f had to be treated as though it consisted of energy atoms (photons) of the individual energy hf, where h is Planck's universal constant.
During the years following, it was shown that light was everywhere produced and absorbed in such energy quanta. In particular, Niels Bohr was able to largely understand the structure of the atom, on the assumption that the atoms can only have discrete energy values, and that the discontinuous transitions between them are connected with the emission or absorption of energy quantum. This threw some light on the fact that in their gaseous state elements and their compounds radiate and absorb only light of certain sharply defined frequencies. (Albert Einstein, 1940)

www.spaceandmotion.com...

Einstein was on the father of quantum theory but his contribution was important, if he were alive today it makes me wonder what he would be doing and what he would think of how far we have come.

The Infamous Double Slit Experiment




In quantum mechanics, the double-slit experiment (often referred to as Young's experiment) demonstrates the inseparability of the wave and particle natures of light and other quantum particles. A coherent light source (e.g., a laser) illuminates a thin plate with two parallel slits cut in it, and the light passing through the slits strikes a screen behind them. The wave nature of light causes the light waves passing through both slits to interfere, creating an interference pattern of bright and dark bands on the screen. However, at the screen, the light is always found to be absorbed as though it were made of discrete particles, called photons.[1][2]

en.wikipedia.org...

Not the best format but does explain how the expierment was done.

[edit on 2-7-2010 by Aquarius1]

reply to post by zroth


Thank you for posting, I also love this topic, there was a guest on Coast with Art Bell who talked about this in great detail, for the life of me cannot remember who it was, when it comes to me I will post the information.

reply to post by Aquarius1


Great thread Aquarius1. I believe you've revived a topic in me that I pondered long and hard. I could never really get my head around all the theories or even what some of them mean but I was totally fascinated by this stuff for a while.

The double slit experiment is fascinating. To think that we collapse the function of matter and create our reality is intriguing. I always wondered about the infamous eye of Horus and what it meant. I wondered if it was some eye that was observing our physical realm thereby creating a reality for us all. If the eye blinks, our reality changes.

Wave function collapse

In quantum mechanics, wave function collapse (also called collapse of the state vector or reduction of the wave packet) is a postulated process by which a wave function, initially in a superposition of different eigenstates, appears to reduce to a single one of the states after interaction with an observer. In simplified terms, it is the condensation of physical possibilities into a single occurrence, as seen by an observer.

en.wikipedia.org...

An amazing topic my friend. S+F.

Danish physicists Niels Bohr

Originally posted by ProtoplasmicTraveler
Quantum mechanics very well could be the final frontier.

Thank you for posting, you may be right in that it could be our final frontier, on the other just when we think we know everything something new surprises us, my feeling is that we know very little and there is much to learn.

reply to post by jackflap


Thank you for posting my friend, I know what you mean, I have been following this for years and always think one day a bell will go off and I will understand it all, still waiting for the bell.

Dr. Dean Radin is one of the physicists I was thinking of, he wrote an amazing book a few years back called Entangled Minds which I read.

Radin also touched on the coming of quantum computing, a huge increase in power that would allow computers to go beyond just calculating 0's and 1's, and possibly surpass the human brain. One quantum desktop model could out compute all the current computers on the planet combined.

www.deanradin.com...

Dr. Radin is also involved with the Noetic Society and the Random Number Generator aka: Princeton Eggs

[edit on 2-7-2010 by Aquarius1]

One of my favorite explantions of quantum physics...