Zybraxia
04-11-2009, 04:08 PM
Quantum mechanics is a now well established theory of physics which describes what goes on at a sub-atomic scale. It explains for one thing how atoms themselves hold together, (which classical Newtons mechanics cannot), and certainly has practical application since it is the underlying principal of semiconductors, (transistors and silicon chips)
The trouble is it doesn't make sense on the much bigger scale of things in which we live. To us everything seems to be cause and effect, but on a quantum level cause and effect do not exist, only probabilities exist. Events are like a huge cosmic casino and we don't know the outcome of anything until we actually 'see' it. (although the probabilties of various outcomes can be assessed.)
The classic 'thought experiment' which describes this is 'schrodinger's cat '. In this senario, a cat is placed in a closed box for an hour. Also in the box is an atom of a radioactive substance with a half-life one hour. It stands a 50/50,chance that it will spontaneously decay within the hour. If it does so the cat dies, if it does not the cat lives. The question is: what state is the cat in before we open the box and check it's condition. Acording to Quantum Mechanics the cat is both alive and dead until we actually open the box, and that point it will spontaniously be either alive or dead but not both.
What do you make of this?, after all a huge amount of modern physics and engineering is based on Quantum Mechanics being real.
BTW, In case you didn't know, Isaac Newton whose classical mechanics was replaced by QM, was the inventor of the cat-flap. Maybe he would have somethig to say about this ....... 'Z'
The trouble is it doesn't make sense on the much bigger scale of things in which we live. To us everything seems to be cause and effect, but on a quantum level cause and effect do not exist, only probabilities exist. Events are like a huge cosmic casino and we don't know the outcome of anything until we actually 'see' it. (although the probabilties of various outcomes can be assessed.)
The classic 'thought experiment' which describes this is 'schrodinger's cat '. In this senario, a cat is placed in a closed box for an hour. Also in the box is an atom of a radioactive substance with a half-life one hour. It stands a 50/50,chance that it will spontaneously decay within the hour. If it does so the cat dies, if it does not the cat lives. The question is: what state is the cat in before we open the box and check it's condition. Acording to Quantum Mechanics the cat is both alive and dead until we actually open the box, and that point it will spontaniously be either alive or dead but not both.
What do you make of this?, after all a huge amount of modern physics and engineering is based on Quantum Mechanics being real.
BTW, In case you didn't know, Isaac Newton whose classical mechanics was replaced by QM, was the inventor of the cat-flap. Maybe he would have somethig to say about this ....... 'Z'