At the Forefront of Technology

It is with great astonishment that I read the chapter applying quantum mechanics to the world around us. In addition to being surprised by how frequent quantum mechanics makes appearances in daily life, I was also surprised that it mentioned quantum computing, which I had discussed in my previous post. However, the book claims that there are many technical issues that must be resolved before quantum computing can become a reality. According to the website that I found, a venture capitalist company has already resolved the issues and is going to present the computer Tuesday in both California and Canada.
I had absolutely no idea that quantum mechanics, nevertheless, is used in normal computers. While I knew that computers did not use the vacuums described in the book that were in the first few computers, I did not realize that transistors used quantum mechanics in order to function. I find it actually pretty cool that quantum mechanics is used in something I find to be so close to me, my computer.
What is even more fascinating is how widely spread its use is. One-third of our economy is definitely a huge number. I believe that we have an economy that is primarily based on technology. Thus, this statement could lead one to conclude that a majority, or at least a great portion, of the technology that influences the economy is based on quantum mechanics or uses quantum mechanics to a certain degree.
I can remember in an earlier post I argued that quantum mechanics has little influence on the daily lives of normal Americans. I believed that because quantum mechanics can only be seen right now at the atomic level, it did not impact our lives in any significant matter. All those who use physics in their careers, with the exception of physicists, still use Newtonian physics as a means of accomplishing what is needed. This chapter changed that belief as I now recognize the great presence of quantum mechanics in our daily lives.
All of the recent lessons pertaining to quantum theory have appeared to be extremely complicated to me. I remember many things from my chemistry class in tenth grade, but I do not remember the details, nor did we go deep into them. My chemistry teacher’s philosophy with many areas was, as it said on a poster he had hung up, “Accept it and move on!” At my current level of understanding, I simply have to do this, accept what I am currently being taught and move on from there. I cannot question every part of quantum theory that I am learning because I do not know enough about it. This principle of accepting it and moving on appears to be present in many aspects of quantum physics, even for physicists. For example, with regards to the quantum enigma, most scientists simply accept it and move on. They are afraid to look further and examine the “skeleton in the closet” as Rosenblum and Kuttner repeatedly state. Looking into that closet would simply open up a whole new can of worms. Instead, scientists are primarily concerned with the practical parts of quantum theory. They question how quantum theory can be applied to future technological advancements. Hopefully, this questioning will continue and we will continue to gain new technologies as a result of quantum mechanics.
Something that I find to be quite surprising is that most people in the general public do not know much about quantum mechanics. Many people have probably never even heard of it. One would think that a worldview as revolutionary as this would be studied and known by almost all people. I believe, despite the great uses of it, that quantum mechanics is simply too hard for many people to grasp as a concept. They hear of concepts such as photons appearing in two places at once and cannot understand how that is possible. In order to have an understanding and comprehension of the universe, they maintain their pre-quantum mechanics worldviews, ignoring all that has come out. It is not hard to understand the difficulty of comprehending quantum physics. Richard Feynman even stated, “Nobody understands quantum mechanics”. If we are one day able to more clearly express what quantum mechanics implies, the theory will become extremely influential throughout the world, maybe rivaling the impact of Darwinism.

Quantum Computing

Today I was browsing the Internet and came across an article I believed had much relevance to what we are currently studying in class. Most likely we will be going into this topic further, especially since the next chapter deals with quantum technology, but I have found an article that deals with the use of quantum computing. Specifically, it discusses that the world’s first quantum computer has been created and that a demo will take place on Tuesday. Whether or not this is simply a bunch of hype is to be debated; however, if it were true, it would have drastic consequences for the world in which we now live. The website is here: http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/dwave-quantum-computer-to-span-multiple-universes-next-tuesday-235300.php . Using the power of quantum mechanics, this computer will be able to process much faster than today’s computers can. Every bit will be able to be both a one and zero at the same time, allowing for 64,000 processes to occur at once. This will completely change the abilities of current computers.
There is much talk of the change that will occur in encryption. If so many processes can occur at once, the current methods of encryption are obsolete. It would be easy for a computer of this ability to figure out the encryption. If anyone could have a quantum computer, the security of anything that has any connections to computers would be at risk. I am sure that, despite this, with the creation of quantum computing, new forms of encryption will also emerge to protect against the use of quantum computers to decode information.
Earlier this week, when I first began to grasp the concept of quantum mechanics, I was slightly skeptical of what I had been told. I could not completely grasp the quantum nature of the universe and thus doubted it. Nevertheless, if the applications of quantum physics are real, such as its use in technology, then I have no choice but to accept it. If it were not the true nature of the universe then it would not have practical applications. I questioned, originally, whether quantum mechanics was real or just the result of problems with our measurements in terms of use being unable at this moment to see a certain force that exists. Perhaps in a different dimension there would be a force that would explain all quantum mechanics. If quantum mechanics does work when applied to technology one can follow with the belief that quantum mechanics is most likely the correct way of looking at the universe.
An interesting concept came up in my philosophy of science class. The name of the subject is underdetermination, and it changed the way that I view science. Undertermination states that the explanations held to be true are no more valid and may in fact be less valid than other theories. What makes it more valid in our view is its practicality or use. We adopt the theories that work best for our purposes. The other theories, however, could be just as valid or more valid; they just simply do not have practical applications. It is impossible to deny this argument because it covers every form of denial. One could counter this by saying other theories don’t work, but one who believes in underdetermination would say that it’s use and ability to function don’t mean that it is the correct theory, it only means that it is more useful. It is views such as this, as well as quantum mechanics, that are continuing to shatter the way that I look at the universe. Science has become a much more pliable term to me this term than it had previously been. I no longer look at it simply in terms of everything being able to be reduced, but I’ve attached more philosophical beliefs to the meaning of science. I am sure that if I went back to high school and told my biology teacher, who thought of me as his star biology student, these new meanings I’ve found in science as a result of this class and my philosophy class, he would be shocked and probably disappointed. The realm of biology looks at science through a completely different lens.

A Day Away

Yesterday, a few classmates and I had the wonderful opportunity to go on a field trip with Professor Maleki. It was an excellent day off campus and all had a good time. We began the day at around 11:30 by meeting in the parking lot. As usual with our class, many people arrived slightly late, despite the fact that we were supposed to be there on time. This was not a horrible event, as we were soon on our way. We then drove to an Indian restaurant and had an excellent lunch. Just thinking about the food that we ate is making me feel hungry for some more. Following this excellent lunch, we proceeded on to the museum at Skidmore College. While I must say that Skidmore is not, in my opinion, a very pretty looking school, being that all the building appear to have been built in probably the 70’s, using red brick, which is not a style that I personally find appealing, the museum was a very nice experience. The architecture of the building was very nice and it was well designed. It provided a nice atmosphere for the pieces of art that we viewed.
I very much enjoyed many of the pieces of art that we saw at the museum. Several of them related to the themes we are currently studying in class. One of my favorites, the video of a room that was rotating in circles in order to give the illusion of a person standing on the ceiling, especially related to the themes in class. We see much of what Einstein discussed when he talked of relativity. What is the true position of the ground? For the person viewing the film, the ground is always facing towards the bottom of the screen. However, for the actors in the film, the ground is wherever gravity is puling them. Is their perception of reality more accurate than our perception? I would have to say that both perceptions are true to the individual. To me, the ground was always facing the bottom of the screen and for the actor is was whichever way he was falling, regardless of how it looked on screen; for both the viewer and the actor the realities are equal. They have the same validity regardless of where gravity actually is.
Another issue we discussed in class was also present in the art piece that used sound to create ripples in the tub of water. The sound waves created vibrations that were shown in the water. We have spent much time talking about waves in class, so this piece related. Based on the frequency and volume of the sound heard, different waves were created in different parts of the tub. When a wave passed through a different wave, they interfered with each other creating larger waves as they crossed over each other. When the waves separated, they returned to their original heights and continued on in the same path.
Yet another piece of artwork that we viewed, or rather experienced, that was probably my favorite had to be the elevator. I thought this one was particularly well done because it not only timed itself with the actual elevator, which was functional, but also because it was highly mechanized. The robots appeared to talk with each other. When I read the description it discussed the issue of robots and computers becoming self-aware. This is an issue that must be considered carefully. At what point could a machine actually become a person? If the machine recognizes its own existence and has emotions and feelings, would it be right to harm the machine or destroy it with the justification that it is merely a machine? It seems to me that a line between what a person is and what a machine is will be made blurry at the occurrence of self-awareness. Some may question whether turning off or disconnecting a self-aware computer is equal to some form of murder. Debates over how to treat a situation such as computers that become self-aware will continue for many years to come. This piece of art has merely helped to inspire some people to continue the debate.
The last part of our field trip, but certainly not the least, was visiting Miss London’s Pastry Shop. I purchased the nebula cake and absolutely loved it. The steep price of $6.50 was definitely worth it. Of course, to connect this to quantum physics I must question the nature of the pastry. Was it really good or did it only appear to be good? Was the cake even real?

What is Reality?

This past week was definitely one of the most enlightening weeks I’ve ever had with regards to quantum physics. For the first time, I feel that I actually understand what quantum physics is truly all about. I now know what it is that is meant by quantum theory and what it truly does imply. Previously I had been told that quantum theory means different things, and most of what I had been told does relate to the theory itself, but I had never been actually told what the theory really was or what it actually does mean. After knowing quantum theory, I can say that it is truly an amazing way to look at nature. It changes the way we look at everything. We must reevaluate our beliefs and views of the world. We cannot accept a view of the world that was previously presented to us. Rather, we must continue to question reality and apply quantum theory to everything. After the application of quantum theory, everything is different. Occurrences that were thought to be explained by Newtonian physics can no longer simply be accepted as such; we must look further.
One part of quantum theory that I cannot help to think about is can we use it to innovate the world around us. In the experiment described in class, it seems as though scientists are able to control the nature of reality. Despite this amazing fact, it can currently be applied only to the very small parts of nature dealing with particles of matter such as photons. We are not yet able to see quantum’s applications to larger objects. This begs the question of whether or not quantum theory can be applied to larger parts of the universe. For example, could we ever see something happen in reality as happens in the book Quantum Enigma when the scientist goes to the imaginary town and is able to witness quantum physics as applied to a man and woman in a hut. Can something like that actually happen in reality? What would be the equivalent to the applications of quantum physics as applied to photons? If the equivalent really is being able to determine something such as people appearing either together or separately in a hut, as shown in the book, why can’t we witness a similar event in reality today? Is there some way to see quantum physics that we are simply missing?
Supposing that quantum physics could be applied to larger objects as discussed in the paragraph above, civilization would completely change. Everything would have to be restructured. Of course, this brings about the question of how do I know true reality? I do not know whether anything is actually real or if it is simply a construct of my mind. If I am able to determine where people are positioned, I don’t know if those people actually exist or if they are simply imagined in my mind.
It is at this point in the discussion that I make many connections to a different class I am currently taking, the Philosophy of Science. We began the class by learning about early Greek science. There were several natural philosophers who questioned the nature of reality. Some, such as Parmenides, believed that change did not occur and that the world is one of illusion. There was an argument that persisted for a long time, and still persists today, of rationality versus empiricism. Can empiricism actually be trusted? According to many philosophers, it cannot. When a natural event is recorded and measured, it is only recorded and measured for that one event. When we apply those certain measurements to other events of the same kind, we are supposing that the same results will occur. We cannot actually know whether the same results will actually occur. Therefore, many philosophers believe that the only thing that can actually be trusted is rationalism. Despite this, in order to gain new knowledge, empiricism is necessary. Some philosophers have stated that the conclusion is already found in the premises, thus requiring faith in empiricism in order to create new knowledge.
Quantum theory really does bring out Descartes’ cogito belief. The only thing that I truly can know exists is the self. The form of the self can be debated; however, if I can recognize that I exist, then I must exist in some form. If I could determine the nature of reality, then I am unable to put all my faith behind the fact that the rest of the universe actually exists. The only fact I can know for certain is that I exist.

Making Big Waves

I don’t know about other people in the class, but polarization pretty much fascinates me. For some strange reason I find the fact that waves of light oscillate in certain directions to be quite interesting. Perhaps the more interesting part to me is that the light can be filtered out through lenses that are formed to filter polarized light. What interests me most about this is that when turned at different angles the filter either allows more waves to pass or prevents the passing. When looked at from the perspective of someone who does not know much about polarization, one would expect that regardless of the direction the glass is facing it would filter the same amount of light. However, the truth is that the direction or angle the lens is facing will determine the amount of light that is filtered out if the wave oscillations occur in a polarized manner. What is most interesting about this, though, is that the waves generally remain at the same direction of oscillation as they travel. It seems quite likely to me that as the light travels various atmospheric effects would completely alter the oscillation of the wave so that it would not continue to display polarized effects. The reason this probably is important to me is that it is a clear example of a particle or wave effect visible in everyday life. By looking through filtered lenses we are able to visually see the polarized waves being filtered. Other topics that are often discussed in a physics class cannot be directly seen or observed. Granted there are many other phenomena that can be observed and described through their wave or particle function, but polarization is just something that is exciting to me.
During today’s class another revelation came to me as I realized that if light functions as a particle, the photon, the nature of its movements must be very different from the nature of the wave. As a photon, light is not merely fluctuations in energy or movement in particles but a particle itself. This means that light would have to behave in a similar fashion to all other particles that exist. This begs the question of how light is able to travel through transparent and translucent solids. If it is truly a particle, would not the glass of a window or the plastic of Tupperware stop the transmittance of light? The particle would, theoretically, be stopped as soon as it hit the glass or the plastic and would therefore not be able to be seen, as it currently is. This would have even far more implications. I do not believe that sight would be possible if the photon behaved in a matter similar to this. No light photons would be able to pass through the eye and reach the retina. Thus, no image could be carried along the optic nerves to finally reach the brain, which interprets the signal. Light could therefore not function in this manner. The particle must be different from the way that I have described. It would make more sense for it to be a wave, being that a wave could solve all the issues that I have presented, but I have been taught that light is both a wave and has a particle function.
A different physical property that I have been pondering is that of wave interaction. I have been told that wave do not interfere with each other, except sometimes when they pass over each other, as seen when two waves cancel each other out or add together to create an even larger crest. However, despite this, one important basic function eludes me. How is it possible that after either canceling each other out or adding together the waves separate and continue along their intended paths?
Would it not make sense that they would totally alter the original path of the wave? The waves may have momentum that keeps them going in a constant direction, but why does the momentum continue after the waves have collided? If the waves separate, wouldn’t the momentum be different because the waves have affected each other? If we then examine the momentum of the wave through continuous subdivisions, we soon approach a similar obstacle as faced by Zeno. However, Zeno’s paradoxes were solved through other means, so perhaps this question is answered through other means.
All the questions I have pondered in this blog entry are possibly already answered. Unfortunately, I do not have a great physics background, so the answers could all be out there and I just don’t know them. In my constant search for knowledge I will hopefully someday discover the truth.

Time Dilation

When one begins to examine the physics described by Einstein, the universe truly becomes a complex and intriguing place, far more complex than I believe Newton or any other early physicists could have imagined it to be. Honestly, I don’t know if Newton could have imagined anything as complicated as Einstein’s theory of General Relativity. To think that something as abstract as time dilation could exist is very difficult to comprehend.
Since class on Wednesday, during which time we discussed relativity, I have spent much time thinking about time dilation as well as length contraction and what it all really means. It is clear that time dilation and length contraction have large consequences for human behavior. If it is real it may have severe consequences for mankind in the future if we ever achieve near light speed travel. By traveling near light speed, will we face a situation in which time passes differently for different people? If people are living on different planets, does this mean that time will pass differently for them as they travel to different planets at these high speeds? Of course, by the time we established this speed of near light travel, we may have established alternative methods of travel that resemble those of science fiction novels and movies. In many of these movies and books faster than light travel is accomplished through means such as wormholes or what some have termed “slipspace”. Through these alternative methods, time dilation problems during travel can be avoided; however, these methods are highly theoretical, perhaps only truly existing in science fiction. Therefore, the question must be asked, how can such a problem be avoided?
It is also entirely possible that I am simply misunderstanding Einstein’s theories. Perhaps Einstein’s theory of relativity would not apply in these instances. Despite this, I cannot help but to think that time dilation may merely be an illusion. Perhaps it is merely a result of the fact that light cannot travel fast enough to make the clock appear that it moves at what would be termed “normal” speed at no relative motion. The image of the clock ticking cannot reach the receiver’s eyes fast enough so that it appears that it is moving. The clock is actually ticking; it just doesn’t appear that it is. Nevertheless, if it were true, I suppose it would result in merely an instance of time appearing to slow down proceeded by the resumption of visible time at the speed people are accustomed to. Despite this, if all visible objects were within the capsule moving at this high speed, one would not notice a change. Because everything is speeding up at the same speed, there would be no relative difference of velocity between the person and everything within the capsule. If one were to look outside the capsule, however, the changes would be present. Thus, when the capsule returns to relative rest, time would speed up momentarily to adjust to what it appears it to be for the relative still person. Time dilatation is therefore nothing more than an illusion merely resulting from our senses. However, I do believe that there are probably certain mathematical aspects that I am missing that would probably nullify the made statement.
The same principle would apply to length contraction. Length contraction could merely be an illusion brought about by a fault in our visual sense. Time dilation and length contraction may be able to be viewed in a similar way as the Doppler effect. While it has been much time since I last took a physics course, I do recognize that the Doppler effect deals with motion and sound, therefore, perhaps it is somewhat of an equivalent to time dilation or length contraction.
Relativity is clearly a quite complex topic that takes much time and study to completely understand. It is at a point such as this that we come very close to crossing the line between philosophy and science. Philosophy, which covers topics science cannot now answer or may not be able to answer, often comes very close to explaining the universe in similar terms to Einstein, simply without the math. It is in the future that answers to the questions man has asked for as long as he could think rationally will hopefully be answered.

What does it mean for us?

When learning about the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, it becomes clear that it revolutionizes the way we think of the universe. Our knowledge of universalities is no longer true and must be reexamined. For the majority of people, however, such a realization has little or no impact. Most likely, this is true because the majority of people have no conception of modern science nor do they care to learn of such theories as quantum. In essence, what I argue is that quantum theory can be perceived as having had very little impact on the real world.
Real world measurements and predictions are still conducted in the same way they were before quantum theory was developed. An architect will not use quantum mechanics to design his building; rather, he will continue to use Newtonian physics. Just because quantum theory states that measurements are not completely accurate does not mean that the world has changed the way it views everything. If one knows of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, he believes it to only apply to extremely small circumstances. Most scientists, at least in the realm of biology, continue to use reducibility as a basis for research. The biologist is taught to continue to reduce a phenomenon until it can be explained in the simplest way. Every function, occurrence, or construction of biology, it is believed by the vast majority of biologists, can be explained through reducibility. Quantum physics has not significantly changed the way that most biologists examine constructs such as the brain. At this time, Newton can still be used to give the world the answers it needs, so it will continue to be used until it cannot answer every question. A day will probably come when the world recognizes the importance of quantum theory, but at this time, Newtonian physics continues to be used by the general public.
Another important discussion raised by Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle is what makes the measurements uncertain. Are the measured variables uncertain because every time we attempt to measure one the other is changed? Such a belief would essentially nullify the Heisenberg uncertainty principle. If the uncertainty were simply due to the measurement, a time would come when the measurement could be taken accurately without affecting the other variable. Thus, at that time the Heisenberg uncertainty principle would be dead. Despite the lack of cause and effect presented by Heisenberg, to accept this reasoning for uncertainty is to simply reject the entire principle.
Although quantum physics has presented many interesting discussions, Newtonian physics also brought about a debate on another issue, one of determinism. If the universe is ruled by Newton’s laws of motion, then everything can be predicted. If that is true, then it is logical to conclude that human behavior can also be predicted in accordance to the laws of motion. Because everything is predictable and “determined” every person must also be following a pre-determined, and predictable path, if he is to follow the laws of motion as presented by Newton. The idea of free will, however, was still justified according to Newtonian physicists by explaining that the mind occurs internally and was not part of physics. It was detached from the physical world and thus did not follow determinism. Quantum theory, however, believes that there is a connection between the physical world and the mind, and it views this issue in a very different way. The idea of determinism for people, nevertheless, seems rather senseless to me. If all our actions were predetermined, it would not matter whether we knew it or not. For example, I could have been predetermined to write this blog entry, but regardless of what happens, I will always believe that I have done it out of free will. The choices we make and the thoughts we think could all be a part of determinism, but it would never be known. In a sense, everything is destined or determined to happen because it does happen. All choices lead to a consequence regardless of what the choice and consequence are.