Tag: quantum mechanics

Arguably the most likely way we will first discover alien life on another planet will be using the power of atomic spectroscopy.

Aliens will most likely leave a tell tale trace of their life in the atmosphere’s of their planet. But how do we know what chemicals the atmosphere of a distant planet contains? The answer is atomic spectroscopy. If we see a planet passing in front of it’s star, some of that starlight is absorbed in a very specific pattern called an atomic absorption spectrum. Each element has a specific pattern like a barcode, so through careful analysis of the light it can tell us which gasses are in the atmosphere and their proportions. We already use this technique for other space objects like stars and nebulae, measuring properties like temperature, density, ionization and relative velocity. This is a gift that nature and quantum physics has given us and the majority of what we know about the universe is based on this technique.

Quantum consciousness. Is quantum mechanics responsible for consciousness and free will? There is a reductionist claim that the universe is a sophisticated kind of clock ruled by the laws of physics. Are we sophisticated automatons?

But doesn’t this unpredictability of natural laws via quantum mechanics give us free will?

Sir Roger Penrose tried to tackle this. Is there a quantum physics connection to consciousness that ensures that we have free will?

Reductionism is the idea that any complex system is the sum of its simpler fundamental individual parts. Matter, energy, and the laws of physics that determine how they interact is all there is.

Counter argument is that consciousness is somehow different. If a human being was nothing more than matter and energy, then what would be the difference between a person who is alive, and the same person immediately after his death. All the matter and energy of the person would not have changed. There seems to be one main difference – consciousness.

Continue reading “Quantum Mind: Is quantum physics responsible for consciousness & free will?”

In this video, I explain why some scientists believe that our universe is a hologram and we really live in the 2-dimensional projection of a higher dimensional space. First, I explain just what physicists mean by the “holographic principle.” The holographic principle says that the degrees of freedom inside a volume of space can be described by information on the surface of that volume at the same resolution. Then I explain that this relation goes back to ideas about the black hole entropy and string theory in space with a negative cosmological constant, the so-called Anti-de Sitter space. I briefly mention what the problems are with these arguments. I then discuss a recent idea of Verlinde & Zurek about how one could test holography experimentally. Finally, I tell you my own opinion about this. As so often, I am highly skeptical that wild speculation will lead to progress.

This is the Map of Quantum Physics and quantum mechanics covering everything you need to know about this field in one image.

I made this map of quantum physics to lay out the ideas within the subject, to set some bounds on it so you know its not endless and to introduce you to lots of concepts that if you are interested in them you can dig deeper. When you are approaching a subject like this that’s so complicated it can be quite challenging because you don’t know where to start and you don’t know how all the concepts relate to each other so hopefully this will put everything in context.

We take a look at one of the most fundemtnal forces of nature on a microscopic level .

Quantum theory explains the microworld. General relativity, discovered by Einstein, explains gravity and the structure of the universe. The problem is that the two are not friends; they do not get along, they are not compatible. But they must. That’s the task of quantum gravity.

This video gives a crash course on the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics. It is my entry into the Breakthrough Junior Challenge. The scripting of this video, in addition to all 1400 hand-drawn frames of original animation, was completed in 15 hours.