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Subject: Quantum Physics

Since taking Physics IV in college about four years ago, I have been interested in quantum physics (even though we just barely touched on the subject). I consider myself fairly well adept at classical physics, but quantum physics is a beast all it's own.

Has anybody else here done Young's Double-Slit Experiment? This experiment floored me. I assumed, as did my other classmates, that when shining a laser at two slits in a piece of paper, that the light coming out and shining on the wall behind would be in the shape of the two slits. Boy was I wrong! Yes, there were two bright slits in the middle, but then there were other lines beyond the two slits that alternated brightness.

Anyway, long story short, if we learn how to harness the power of quantum physics, we may one day have a quantum computer. A quantum computer will revolutionize the computer industry because it will have the computing power of approximately 10^150 classical super-computers.

I just thought I would bring this up and see if anybody else is interested in such a topic. I don't know, maybe I just get too excited about such nerdy things.

  • 02.08.2005 5:30 AM PDT
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I need to get about 3 more cups of coffee in me before I even begin on this subject.

  • 02.08.2005 6:30 AM PDT

Posted by: focused7
I need to get about 3 more cups of coffee in me before I even begin on this subject.

That is why you need to wake up at the time I do, I am already on my fifth cup.

QUANTUM PHYSICS IS GR3AT!1!1 OMG LOL

  • 02.08.2005 6:34 AM PDT

"My knee is bleeding, can I have a bandaid?" "Today its your knee, and in 10 years it'll be your wrists, why are you making this my problem?"

Do this again and I'll brand your ass with the banning prod

Clicky!

  • 02.08.2005 6:35 AM PDT

Posted by: Ghostkilla
Clicky!

I know this is too exciting for you. Just change your pants and everything will be OK.

  • 02.08.2005 6:39 AM PDT

"My knee is bleeding, can I have a bandaid?" "Today its your knee, and in 10 years it'll be your wrists, why are you making this my problem?"

Do this again and I'll brand your ass with the banning prod

Stupid double post!

[Edited on 2/8/2005 6:40:32 AM]

  • 02.08.2005 6:40 AM PDT
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yes I have done Young's Double-Slit Experiment its because light bends.

Its been a long time but I think thats what you're refering to, am I wrong?

  • 02.08.2005 7:12 AM PDT

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we r?

Nice article. Yes, I think in about 50 years we will know more about it. Hopefully we can populate Reach!!! lol j/k.

  • 02.08.2005 7:15 AM PDT
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Posted by: Metal Nutz
yes I have done Young's Double-Slit Experiment its because light [color=white]is made of waves[/color].

Its been a long time but I think thats what you're refering to, am I wrong?


corrected statement

  • 02.08.2005 7:33 AM PDT

Posted by: Metal Nutz
yes I have done Young's Double-Slit Experiment its because light bends.

Its been a long time but I think thats what you're refering to, am I wrong?

Actually, it shows that light can act as a wave and a particle. A particle of light, a photon, has very strange characteristics.

The array of light produced by the slits is caused by interference. Think of light as a sine wave. When both waves of light through the slits hit the wall behind the slits at the peak of their waves, they are additive and create a bright line. If one is at the top of it's wave, and the other is at the bottom, it is subtractive and creates a "dark" line (no light, obviously).

But Max Plank discovered that light is a particle doing other experiments involving electrons. Low energy light "bumped into" the electrons a made them move. High energy light bumped into the electrons and made them move faster than that of the low energy light.

The strangest part is that if you "fired" one photon at a time at the slits, it will actually go through both slits. That is just freaky.



[Edited on 2/8/2005 7:44:58 AM]

  • 02.08.2005 7:34 AM PDT

Quantum physics is terrible. In fact, anything AMQ (Atoms, Molecules and Quanta) is annoying.

Young's Double Slit experiment has little to do with quantum physics, however. It's a simple wave interference experiment. The gold leaf experiment is what should freak you out.

  • 02.08.2005 9:13 AM PDT

Posted by: goweb
Quantum physics is terrible. In fact, anything AMQ (Atoms, Molecules and Quanta) is annoying.

Young's Double Slit experiment has little to do with quantum physics, however. It's a simple wave interference experiment. The gold leaf experiment is what should freak you out.

Sorry, but it isn't just a wave interference experiment. Maybe if we were talking about sound waves, but not light. Once a photon goes through two seperate slits at the same time, we are talking about quantum interference.

And the gold leaf experiment actually changed the way we looked at atoms, it didn't really have anything to do with quantum physics.

Edit: And as for saying quantum physics is terrible, I kind-of agree with you. I find it interesting, but I enjoy living in a Newtonian world where gravity does it's job, damnit.

[Edited on 2/8/2005 9:59:50 AM]

  • 02.08.2005 9:45 AM PDT
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quantum physics is not too bad as long as you accept that no-one really knows why it exists. having said that, the maths which goes into describing all the probability waves and such like is stupid.

as for the quantum computer thingy, look up quantum entanglement. i believe thats the area concerned with quantum objects instantly transferring infomation between them.

  • 02.08.2005 9:48 AM PDT

quantum physics is not too bad as long as you accept that no-one really knows why it exists.
Yes, the famous physicist Dr. Richard Fenymann stated that anyone who thought he understood quantum physics did not understand it enough to understand that he did not actually understand it.

as for the quantum computer thingy, look up quantum entanglement. i believe thats the area concerned with quantum objects instantly transferring infomation between them.
This is yet another example of life imitating art (if you want to call Star Trek art). Soon we will be teleporting all over the place (when I say soon, I mean sometime in the next 1,000 years).

  • 02.08.2005 10:14 AM PDT
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talking of feynman, have you read the feynman lectures on physics?
i'm studying physics at uni at the moment, and got those books for xmas. they are incredibly well written and explain lots of things far better than my lecturers could even dream of. even if you aren't studying physics, they're still quite entertaining.

  • 02.08.2005 11:40 AM PDT
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It was the two piles of sand in the double slit trick that got me! j/k
when watching the "atom gun" fire they do one thing, but when only whatching where they end up on the paper, they do another, crazy,

  • 02.08.2005 12:03 PM PDT
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Yeah I heard of quantum computers. A good article is on www.howstuffworks.com.
Apparently these computers will make specification pointless as they will be ultra powerful and never slow. There is also going to be a DNA computer too.

  • 02.08.2005 12:22 PM PDT
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String/M Theory is even more mind boggling. Confusing everyone else is fun!

  • 02.08.2005 12:36 PM PDT
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String theory was debunked sorry i thought it was cool for a while i even read elegant universe and quantum computers would be very cool using single atoms (or even protons) as binary switches is an amazing prospect but i do think you will be more interested by theoreticle physics its much more fun to think about like the fact that when you reach 148800 miles per second time passes at one half of its normal speed all distances become half of their normal distances and mass doubles

  • 02.08.2005 1:04 PM PDT

Posted by: Duke Shootem
talking of feynman, have you read the feynman lectures on physics?
i'm studying physics at uni at the moment, and got those books for xmas. they are incredibly well written and explain lots of things far better than my lecturers could even dream of. even if you aren't studying physics, they're still quite entertaining.

I read some of his things awhile ago, but other useless information has knocked everything about that out of my brain.

Posted by: jbSPINE
when watching the "atom gun" fire they do one thing, but when only whatching where they end up on the paper, they do another, crazy,

Thanks to the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, the photon will act the way we would expect it to act in "classical" physics when we try to determine it's path. Just like electrons, we can either see how fast an electron is going or it's exact position at one point in time, we cannot do both at the same time.

Posted by: Superbxen
String theory was debunked sorry i thought it was cool for a while i even read elegant universe

Well, it has been "debunked" by those who don't believe in it. Some physicist never believed in it, so they would obviously say it is not true. The problem is, it is the closest thing (as of now) we have to tying up all of the loose ends (sorry for the pun). The problem with trying to believe the string theory is that it requires 10 dimensions. The funniest part of it is the way these extra dimensions come about. Say the physicist come up with an equation that states 1+2=1. The way they remedy that is by adding another dimension that makes it 1+2-2=1. Obviously it is not that simple, but you get the point. Here is some history/information about the string theory.

  • 02.08.2005 1:59 PM PDT
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Quantum Physics, Astrophysics, Cosmology. All good. I'm only in High School, but I still love reading up on them. Anyone read the December 2004 issue of Discover? The article about escaping the end of the universe in 7 steps?

  • 02.08.2005 2:01 PM PDT

Posted by: Ender
Anyone read the December 2004 issue of Discover? The article about escaping the end of the universe in 7 steps?

I didn't yet, but I will.

  • 02.08.2005 2:07 PM PDT
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Not sure how factual it is, but Michael Crichton's book "Timeline" had a lot of cool background on quantum computers.

  • 02.08.2005 2:21 PM PDT

Posted by: Capt Sensible
Not sure how factual it is, but Michael Crichton's book "Timeline" had a lot of cool background on quantum computers.

I was considering mentioning "Timeline", but I didn't want to mix fiction with "fact". Michael Crichton obviously did a good amount of research on the subject of quantum physics when he wrote that book. It is a very good read, but I have never seen the movie, so I have no clue if that was good or not.

  • 02.08.2005 4:20 PM PDT

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