Transcript Quantum physics I

What’s Going On Here?
•Copenhagen Interpretation- late 1920’s- most widely accepted approach
• Heisenberg, Niels Bohr, Max Born
• There is no deep reality, no hidden “real” position and momentum
• Bohr: “There is no quantum world. There is only an abstract quantum description.”
• Heisenberg: “The ‘path’ (of a particle) comes into existence only when we observe it.”
• Electrons (and other quantum particles) don’t possess all attributes innately
• Static attributes- innate- mass, charge, spin
• Dynamic- all others- created in part by how they’re measured
• Quantum meter- observer intervenes in reality by selecting attribute to measure
• No definite place or motion unless being measured, and even then, HUP
• Heisenberg: “Atoms are not things.”
• Measuring device described classically, but it and measurement ultimately not analyzable
• Measurement- making of a record (Polaroid, Geiger counter) or conscious observation
• Correspondence Principle- in the domain of classical physics, quantum predictions
correspond to Newtonian
• Old physics as special case in which observer effects can be neglected
• Classical concepts don’t change but their application restricted
• Complementarity Principle- wave-particle duality
•Heisenberg: “Some physicists would prefer to come back to the idea of an objective
real world whose smallest parts exist objectively in the same sense as stones or trees
independently of whether we observe them. This however is impossible.”
A Role for Consciousness?
•John von Neumann- 1932- Die Grundlagen (The
Foundations)
•von Neumann’s Proof- Neorealism (ordinary reality
underneath quantum facts) incompatible with quantum
theory
•Consciousness creates reality- von Neumann,
Henry Stapp, Walter Heitler
•Only consciousness can solve the measurement
problem
•M device not special, described with proxy wave
•von Neumann Chain- the wave function collapse can
be located anywhere on the chain from quon gun to
observer’s consciousness, but not eliminated
•The only unusual feature in the chain is the point at
which a physical signal in the brain becomes an
experience in the mind
•“Consciousness” hard to define and work withnot the mainstream physics focus
Neorealism
•World made of ordinary objects- the atoms really are things
•Einstein, Planck, Schrödinger, de Broglie
•Rejected by Heisenberg, Bohr, von Neumann, most physicists
•David Bohm- 1952- ordinary-object model of the electron
•Real wave, real particle, definite position and momentum at all times
•Pilot wave- field guiding electron’s movement
•Electron’s attributes innate, but seem contextual- pilot wave responds
to any change in the universe immediately, before measurement
•Faster than light signaling- forbidden by special relativity
•Gets around von Neumann’s proof- the electrons combine in
“unreasonable ways”
•Real fields moving faster than light = time travel, reversed causality
•Hugh Everett- 1957- Many worlds- reality consists of a
steadily increasing number of parallel universes
• For any situation in which multiple outcomes are possible, all
outcomes occur, each in a parallel universe identical except for the
outcome of the single measurement
•Resolves quantum measurement problem- M devices and
measurement not special
• M devices and measurement special in Copenhagen
• But can’t really be- made of same reality as everything else
• von Neumann- M devices not special, but measurement is- collapses
wave function
•Decoherence- explanation for appearance of wave function
collapse, not actual collapse- superposition still exists but is
beyond measurement
•Many minds- physical state continuous and causal, mental
state discontinuous and probabilistic
• Each observer has an infinity of minds
• Strong mind-body dualism
•Other quantum theories- transactional interpretation;
consistent histories interpretation; ensemble interpretation;
relational quantum mechanics; stochastic mechanics; objective
collapse theories; modal interpretation; several more
Many
Worlds
The EPR Experiment
•Einstein and Bohr- debate about underlying randomness and observer-created nature
of reality
•EPR thought experiment- 1935- Einstein, Podolsky, Rosen- originally momentumcorrelated electrons, now polarization-correlated photons
•Shot out from light source in “state of parallel polarization” - each photon’s phase depends on
the other
•Phase entanglement- twin state
•Quantum vs. classical ignorance
•Truly indefinite, or definite but unknown?
•Locality- no action at B can affect measurement at G
•Each photon should have a definite value at all angles, whether measured or not; since QT
doesn’t account for this attribute, it’s incomplete
•Einstein- “One can escape from this conclusion only by either assuming that the
measurement of B (telepathically) changes the real situation at G, or by denying
independent real situations as such to things which are spatially separated. Both
alternatives appear to me entirely unacceptable.”
•Newton- “That one body may act on another at a distance through a vacuum without
the mediation of anything else... is so great an absurdity, that I believe no man, who has
in philosophical matters a competent faculty for thinking, can ever fall into.”
Bell’s Theorem
•J.S. Bell 1964- Either the statistical predictions of quantum theory or the principle of local
causes must be false
•Clauser 1972- skeptical, but verified quantum predictions experimentally
•Any system which obeys quantum predictions cannot be explained by a local reality
•Phase entanglement- all quons connected once they interact
•Interconnection- since all connected at Big Bang, entire universe still connected
•Locality- physical mediation through matter or fields
•Gravity and all four forces local
•Wavicle mediation
•Diminish in strength with distance
•Velocity of field deformation no greater than c
•Nonlocality
•Unmediated action at a distance- no physical fields necessary
•Unmitigated- does not diminish with distance
•Immediate- instantaneous, not limited by c
•Quantum fact now- any model of reality whatsoever must be nonlocal
•Universe of local phenomena built on non-local reality consistent with Bell
•And quantum irrationality macroscopic
•Criticism- deals with reality, not phenomena
•Stapp: “Bell’s Theorem is the most profound discovery of science.”
• Zero-point field- ground state energy underlying subatomic
matter
• Einstein and Stern 1913- Nullpunktsenergie- to correct a Planck
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equation
A universal field- no such thing as a vacuum or nothingness
Repository of all fields and all ground energy states and all virtual
particles- “field of fields”
Accounts for nonlocality- every part of the universe instantaneously
in touch with every other part
Total energy greater than all the energy in matter
• A single cubic meter could boil all the oceans in the world
• Casimir effect- two perfectly conducting parallel plates
• Quantum fluctuations- wavelengths comparable to the plate
separation distance are excluded from between the plates
• The resulting zero-point radiation overpressure pushes the plates
together
• Zitterbewegung- “jitter motion”- random, speed-of-light
fluctuations of point particles
• Scatters particles to Compton radius, explaining how point particles
can behave as though having volume
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Probability density of electron
Typical atomic vibration rate 1013 Hz
• HUP- at absolute zero, if momentum were zero, position would be
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too, and both could be known at once
Virtual particle exchange even at absolute zero
No subatomic particle can ever be brought completely to rest
Random noise in microwave receivers and electronic circuits
Keeps helium from freezing at atmospheric pressure at any
temperature
• Stability of matter depends on dynamic particle interactions with
ZPF
• Every particle exchange radiates energy- virtual particles too
• Electrons lose and gain energy from ZPF in dynamic equilibrium to
maintain orbit
Zero-Point
Field
Zero-Point Field
•Dark energy- resurrection of Einstein’s cosmological constant (Λ, energy
density in otherwise empty space)
•ZPF constant in a given volume- more created as universe expands- not
diluted
•Theory- zero-point energy driving acceleration of universal expansion
•Dark energy as low-frequency, gravitationally active component of ZPE
•Haisch-Rueda-Puthoff- inertia is resistance to being accelerated through the
ZPF
•Mass is an illusion explained by ZPF “grabbing onto” subatomic particles
•Matter is not a fundamental property of physics
•E=mc2 not changing between two distinct, fundamental physical entities
•Just a recipe for amount of energy necessary to create the
appearance of mass
•There is no mass; there is only charge
•Mass is energy, not just equivalent to it
•Not two, matter and immaterial- just one, energy
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Pribram- memory distributed throughout brain as quantum waveforms
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Wave resonance /interference to recall memories
DeValois and DeValois 1979- converted plaid and checkerboard patterns into Fourier
waves (representing function/pattern as superposition of waves)
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Brain cells of cats and monkeys respond to the interference patterns of the
component waves, not the patterns
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We sense quantum information and construct out of it our image of the world
Yasue- brain processes occurring at quantum level
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Dendritic networks in brain operating through quantum coherence
Pyramidal networks in neocortex crystallize and transform signals between the
cortices and the rest of the CNS
Waveform broadcasting necesary for vision- neurons of visual cortex don’t pick up the full
spectrum of frequencies needed to form image
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Holography- each part mirrors the whole
TV, movies- still pictures, mind makes illusion of movement
Ishizaki and Fleming 2009- quantum coherence in light energy transport in photosynthetic
green sulfur bacteria under physiological conditions
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Nonclassical, simultaneous exploration of many paths of energy flow through
chromophores of a light-harvesting complex
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Theory- more efficient energy capture process, helping bacteria survive in low light
Quantum tunneling
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Radioactive decay- particle tunneling out of nucleus
Lowdin 1963- proton tunneling as a source of DNA mutations
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Double-well potential separated by a potential energy barrier
Asymmetric- protons jumping from deeper to shallower well can create
mutations- aging and cancer
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Kohen 1999- excited states of enzymes can reduce the proton potential barriers
between reactants
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Mayborov- DNA replication- efficiency comes from proton tunneling between
nucleotide (ATCG) and DNA polymerase
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Base pairs in DNA connected by 2 or 3 hydrogen bonds
Nucleotides- different rates of proton tunneling, different binding to
DNA-pol
Other quantum-related effects- conversion of chemical energy in ATP into motion;
magnetoreception in animals
Quantum
Physiology
Quantum Microtubules
• Hameroff, Pribram, Yasue, Hagan- microtubules and dendritic membranes as the
body’s internet
• Every neuron can communicate with every other simultaneously
• Microtubules- scaffolding of cell, 13 tubulin filaments around hollow core
• Radiate outward from center of cell to membrane
• Tracks to transport products, pull chromosomes apart during cell division
• Constantly assembling and disassembling
• MT’s as network for subtle waveform biocommunication- “light pipes”
conducting EM pulses
• Self-induced transparency- photons can travel along hollow core without
becoming entangled
• Coherent quantum waves would be 15nm in diameter, just like MT
core
• Coherence among neighboring tubules- vibration in one resonates in
unison through others
• Waveforms of NS action potentials and other info creates high-frequency,
complex interference patterns, which are transmitted through MT’s
• Holographic wave patterns reflected onto “screens” in cortices
• Holograms then interact to create picture of body/world
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“Each neuron is constructed with the appropriate crystal DNA structure, ion
channel system, and microtubules giving it the ability to join with others to relay
multiple waveform interference patterns simultaneously.”
• Paramecia, slime molds, plants able to respond to environment, learn, and
remember without CNS
• Also explains brain functioning at 1/1000 of a second
• Consciousness as coherent light?
• MT’s mirroring nadis, meridians?
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“The observer appears, as a necessary part of the whole structure, and in his
full capacity as a conscious being. The separation of the world into an
‘objective outside reality’ and ‘us,’ the self-conscious onlookers, can no
longer be maintained. Object and subject have become inseparable from
each other.” -Walter Heitler
“What we observe as material bodies and forces are nothing but shapes and
variations in the structure of space. Particles are just schaumkommen
(appearances). The world is given to me only once, not one existing and one
perceived. Subject and object are only one. The barrier between them cannot
be said to have broken down as a result of recent experience in the physical
sciences, for this barrier does not exist.” -Erwin Schrödinger
“If we ask, for instance, whether the position of the electron remains the same,
we must say ‘no’; if we ask whether the electron’s position changes with
time, we must say ‘no’; if we ask whether the electron is at rest, we must say
‘no’; if we ask whether it is in motion, we must say ‘no.’” -J. Robert
Oppenheimer
“The fundamental idea of Buddhism is to pass beyond the world of
opposites, … and to realize the spiritual world of non-distinction.”
-D.T. Suzuki
“It moves. It moves not./ It is far, and It is near./ It is within all this,/ And It
is outside of all this.” -The Upanishads
“Suchness is neither that which is existence, nor that which is non-existence,
nor that which is at once existence and non-existence, nor that which is not at
once existence and non-existence.”
-Ashvaghosha
Emptiness
and Form
•Particles spontaneously appear and
disappear from and into the void
•“According to the (field theory of matter), a
material particle such as an electron is merely
a small domain of the electrical field within
which the field strength assumes enormously
high values, indicating that a comparatively
huge field energy is concentrated in a very
small space. Such an energy knot (is) by no
means clearly delineated against the
remaining field”
•Hermann Weyl
•“Modern theoretical physics… has put our
thinking about the essence of matter in a
different context. It has taken our gaze from
the visible- the particles- to the underlying
entity, the field. …The field exists always and
everywhere; it can never be removed. It is the
carrier of all material phenomena. It is the
‘void” …Being and fading are merely forms of
motions of the field.”
•Walter Thirring
•In Chinese philosophy, the idea of the field is
implicit in the notion of the Tao as empty and
formless, yet producing all forms, but also
explicit in the idea of ch’i
•Ch’i as life energy, a form of matter present
throughout space which can condense into solid
objects
•“When the ch’i condenses, its visibility
becomes apparent so that there are then the
shapes (of individual things). When it
disperses, its visibility is no longer apparent
and there are no shapes.”
•Chang Tsai
•“The relationship of form and emptiness
cannot be conceived as a state of mutually
exclusive opposites, but only as two aspects of
the same reality, which exist and are in
continual co-operation.”
•Lama Govinda
•“Form is emptiness, and emptiness is indeed
form. Emptiness is not different from form,
form is not different from emptiness. What is
form, that is emptiness; what is emptiness, that
is form.”
•Prajna-paramita-hridaya Sutra
•“When one knows that the Great Void is full
of ch’i, one realizes that there is no such thing
as nothingness.”
•Chang Tsai
Eastern mysticism- the universe as an
interconnected cosmic web
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“The material object becomes… something
different from what we now see, not a separate
object on the background or in the environment of
the rest of nature but an indivisible part and even
in a subtle way an expression of the unity of all
that we see.”
-Sri Aurobindo
“Things derive their being and nature by mutual
dependence and are nothing in themselves.”
-Nagarjuna
“The external world and (the) inner world are …
only two sides of the same fabric, in which the
threads of all forces and of all events, of all forms
of consciousness and their objects, are woven into
an inseparable net of endless, mutually
conditioned relations.”
-Lama Anagarika Govinda
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A particle can only be
understood in terms of its
interaction with the
environment- not isolated
but an integrated part of the
whole
“One is led to a new notion
of unbroken wholeness …
inseparable quantum
interconnectedness of the
whole universe is the
fundamental reality, and
that relatively
independently behaving
parts are merely particular
and contingent forms within
this whole.” -David Bohm
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What Have We Learned?
Werner Heisenberg: “What we learn about is not nature itself,
but nature exposed to our method of questioning.”
Lao Tsu: “Ever desireless, one can see the mystery. Ever desiring, one sees the manifestations.”
Blaise Pascal: “The endpoint of rationality is to demonstrate the limits of rationality.”
Ken Wilber: “When the universe is severed into a subject vs. an object, into one state which sees vs. one
state which is seen, something always gets left out. In this condition, the universe ‘will always
partially elude itself.’ No observing system can observe itself observing. The seer cannot see
itself seeing. Every eye has a blind spot. And it is for precisely this reason that at the basis of all
such dualistic attempts we find only: Uncertainty, Incompleteness!”
David Bohm: “The notion that all these fragments are separately existent is evidently an illusion, and
this illusion cannot do other than lead to endless conflict and confusion. Indeed, the attempt to
live according to the notion that the fragments really are separate is, in essence, what has led
to the growing series of extremely urgent crises that is confronting us today. Thus, as is now
well known, this way of life has brought about pollution, destruction of the balance of nature,
over-population, world-wide economic and political disorder and the creation of an overall
environment that is neither physically nor mentally healthy for most of the people who live in it.
Individually there has developed a widespread feeling of helplessness and despair, in the face
of what seems to be an overwhelming mass of disparate social forces, going beyond the control
and even the comprehension of the human beings who are caught up in it.”
Albert Einstein: “A human being is part of the whole, called by us ‘Universe’; a part limited in time and
space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest –
a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us,
restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task
must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace
all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this
completely but the striving for such achievement is, in itself, a part of the liberation and a
foundation for inner security.”