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100th Anniversary of Quantum Physics
Posted by
michael
on Sat Dec 14, 2002 11:58 PM
from the quanta-is-a-pretty-good-editor-too dept.
from the quanta-is-a-pretty-good-editor-too dept.
EricR writes "On December 14, 1900, Max Planck presented experimental results in front of the German Physical Society and announced that they could best be explained if energy exists in discrete packets, which he called "quanta." Today is the 100th birthday of Quantum Physics."
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100th Anniversary of Quantum Physics
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100th? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:100th? (Score:5, Funny)
The number 100 is correct.
Slashdot is simply very late with the news this time.
Re:100th? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:100th? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:100th? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:100th? (Score:5, Funny)
delta E * delta t >= h-bar
Therefore, the slashdot editors are being careful about not determining the time too precisely lest Max Planck and the German Physical Society accidently obtain an energy with an order of magnitude anywhere between a butterfly's wings and a supernova.
Re:100th? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:100th? (Score:5, Funny)
Richard P. Feynman said... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Richard P. Feynman said... (Score:4, Interesting)
What Einstein disagreed with were things like the Uncertainty Principle, the EPR paradox (If he had lived to see it), and most likely even Schrodinger's Cat. He disagreed with the assumptions that led to these conclusions. So Einstein was most definitely NOT a supporter of quantum mechanics as we now know it. Even the greatest can be mistaken.
Re:Richard P. Feynman said... (Score:5, Informative)
I think his main problem was the idea of Universal instantaneous collapse of the wavefunction (which leads to "spooky action at a distance"[2] and God playing "dice with the Universe"). These concepts came from the Copenhagen Interpretation, and was the best way the Quantum theoreticians could think to explain the seemingly counterintuitive results of QM - it's pure philosophy and has nothing to do with the Physics.
Of course not everyone necessarily subscribes Copenhagen now. My personal favourite explanation is the proposition popular in the 80s and in Sliders - that multiple Universes are created at each instant multiple outcomes are possible, each reflecting the different outcomes.
Quantum mechanics as we currently know it includes Bose-Einstein statistics describing the behaviour of systems of integer-spin particles (which leads to the concept of a Bose-Einstein condensate - a highly active area of research today); Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation (described at the atomic scale by the Einstein coefficients); quantisation of electromagnetic radiation (proposed by Einstein); Einstein's explanation of the photoelectric effect (for which he received the Nobel prize). Stretching the boundaries a little, there are equations for the equilibrium number of charge carriers in Solid State physics which rely on the quantisation of charge in the material. These are known as the Einstein equations.
Even the greatest can be mistaken.Such as when he removed lambda from his equation on the state of the Universe (his "biggest blunder", indeed :-)).
[1]Point of order: even Schroedinger didn't believe in Schroedinger's Cat. He set it up as a thought experiment to show how absurd QM is (I mean, who could really believe in a dead/alive cat? Not him). The experiment has of course, since been done, sans cat.
[2]He believed that the "instantaneous" collapse of the wavefunction would lead to information being propagated instantaneously throughout the Universe. Of course, the wavefunction is not a measurable quantity so this does not occur.
Enrico Fermi Institute - Dec 2nd (Score:5, Informative)
Check out the University of Chicago's Physics Department [uchicago.edu] for all the information you could want to know about modern research in quantum physics.
Oh, and December 2, 2002 was the 60th Anniversy of the first self-sustaining controlled release of nuclear energy [uchicago.edu]
Sorry about the spelling... (Score:5, Informative)
CERN [www.cern.ch]
The Enrico Fermi Institute [uchicago.edu]
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratories [fnal.gov]
Agronne National Laboratories [anl.gov]
Los Alamos National Laboratories [lanl.gov]
Yep, all the information you could want on modern Quantum Physics.
boo hoo (Score:5, Funny)
My thoughts on the matter. (Score:5, Insightful)
It is all so amazing and we must realize that any theories we come up with will never be able to describe things as a whole. It is basically the universe trying to understand itself...when it already knows. Dang....now I am getting into Zen philosophy so I will jsut shut up becasue I don't know where this is leading towards.
Since i'm not smart enough to make a joke here (Score:4, Funny)
Quantum Mechanically Speaking, (Score:5, Funny)
Basis of all science (Score:4, Interesting)
Through the wave of all the 2002-1900=100 jokes here, I would like to salute Mankinds greatest discovery, Qauntum Physics. This shows teh flexibility of the human brain, able to work with 4 dimensions (Relativity) to now (26 dimensions), and even something as strange as Quantum Mechanics, that defies our imagination and relies purely on reasoning, yet so powerful, it gave us the best of the last century's inventions, including the device you're staring at.
Quantum Mechanics is more than the kind of Physics that allows engineers to make locomotives. Its even more than what allowed us to land on the moon. As a warmer, we get nukes and the mighty computer. This physics promises us glimpses of the time the Universe was born, the quantum computer, time travel, teleportation, and many other things we have'nt imagined yet.
Physics has always been the foundation of knowledge, and it was replaced 100 years ago (+- 2 years). I think we're in for much bigger surprises this century.
Re:Basis of all science (Score:5, Funny)
Sounds like your brain is a little too flexible right now. Go home and sleep it off, dude.
Definitions (Score:2, Informative)
When Planck was studying spectra, he was mostly dealing with photons, and then layed down the fundamental parts of quantum theory, outlining the physics behind these "digital" packages, which Einstein later defined as photons.
Ok, Slow news day. Other cool Dec 14th events: (Score:3, Informative)
this page [todayinsci.com] talks about some other interesting scientific events that have their anniversary today:
1986 - First non-stop, non-refuelled flight around the world
1967 - Announcement of first synthesis of biologically active DNA
1962 - Mariner transmits information from first-ever rendezvous with Venus
Argh this is all B.S.! (Score:1)
But in Russia there is no word for... (Score:2)
Wasn't it Boltzmann (Score:1)
Quantum Physics -- entanglement (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Quantum Physics -- entanglement (Score:4, Informative)
"it doesn't even matter how far apart they are in the universe; they'll always do the same things at the same times no matter where they are in the universe"
Wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong. Quantum entanglement says that the two particles *started off the same (or opposite or some such relationship of the initial states). It follows, then that if you do not *observe* either particle for quite some time, and take the two of them far distant from one another, then the instant that you *observe* the state of one particle, you immediately *know* the state of the other particle (wherever it is).
This gives at first pass the illusion that you have gotten information at faster than the speed of light... I mean, you did just *instantaneously* learn the state of a particle far, far away, right? That's gotta mean that you communcated with that thing way over there, right? No. Not at all.
Now, what makes this interesting is the fact that quantum mechanics tells us that if you don't *observe* either particle's state, then neither particle has actually "picked" a state yet. So, it's as though the one particle *told* the other one that "hey I was observed at state A, so you must now occupy state B". So, now it appears that information has traveled faster than the speed of light... and I won't argue that point, because last I knew better scientists than me were still duking that one out.
However, one thing that anyone with a basic understanding of this can agree upon is the fact that there is no way to *use* the possible information transfer involved in the collapse of a wave function to TRANSMIT INFORMATION. Why? Well, there is no way to observe a wave function directly. You can only measure some operator on a wave function (like energy, position, spin), and by doing so, you collapse the wave function into an eigenfunction of that operator. However there is no way to tell whether the eigenfunction you observe is the result of *your* observation or someone elses. In other words, you can't tell if you collapsed the wave function or if someone else did, and quantum entanglement doesn't *do* anything other than pre-collapse the wave-fcuntion for you.
Just in case (Score:1)
In case the Slashdot editor's inboxes get too clogged up, I'd just like to note that 2003 is the 100th anniversary of flight. Maybe someone can post the story now so that it makes it to the front page in time.
Of course, here in New Zealand, we celebrate the anniversary somewhat earlier than you do in the US :-)
STF
If only... (Score:2, Informative)
God bless this man (Score:3, Informative)
Max-Planck-Gesellschaft [www.mpg.de] - [ Translate this page [google.com] ] ...
n [google.com]
Max-Planck-Institute betreiben Grundlagenforschung in den Natur-, Bio-
und Geisteswissenschaften im Dienste der Allgemeinheit. Insbesondere
Description: Übersicht aller Institute in Deutschland.
Category: World>Deutsch>Wissenschaft>Forschungseinrichtunge
www.mpg.de/ - 20k - Dec. 13, 2002 - Cached [216.239.39.100] - Similar pages [slashdot.org]
MPIfM [mpim-bonn.mpg.de] ... Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science Max ...
MAX PLANCK INSTITUTE OF MATHEMATICS MAX-PLANCK-INSTITUT FÜR MATHEMATIK
Vivatsgasse
www.mpim-bonn.mpg.de/static/home.html - 8k - Cached [216.239.39.100] - Similar pages [slashdot.org]
Max-Planck-Institut für Informatik: Home Page [mpi-sb.mpg.de]
... International Max Planck Research School for Computer Science (IMPRS) PhD Programme ...
g en [google.com]
and fellowships for graduates of all nationalities European Union Marie
Description: Saarbrücken (Deutschland)
Category: World>Deutsch>...>Informatik>Forschungseinrichtun
www.mpi-sb.mpg.de/ - 9k - Dec. 13, 2002 - Cached [216.239.39.100] - Similar pages [slashdot.org]
Max-Planck-Institut fuer Astrophysik, Garching [mpa-garching.mpg.de] - [ Translate this page [google.com] ]
Description: Prominent research institution in astrophysics.
Category: Science>Physics>Astrophysics>Institutions [google.com]
www.mpa-garching.mpg.de/ - 1k - Cached [216.239.39.100] - Similar pages [slashdot.org]
Planck [st-and.ac.uk]
... Max Planck came from an academic family, his father being professor of law at ...
Kiel and both his grandfather and great-grandfather had been professors of
www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/ Mathematicians/Planck.html - 12k - Cached [216.239.39.100] - Similar pages [slashdot.org]
Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen - Home [www.mpi.nl]
... The Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics is one of the institutes of the ...
German Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften eV Currently
www.mpi.nl/world/ - 5k - Cached [216.239.39.100] - Similar pages [slashdot.org]
Max-Planck-Institut für Gesellschaftsforschung - Homepage [mpi-fg-koeln.mpg.de] - [ Translate this page [google.com] ]
... The Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies is an institute ...
for advanced research in the social sciences. It builds a bridge
Description: Köln (Deutschland)
Category: World>Deutsch>...>Forschungseinrichtungen [google.com]
www.mpi-fg-koeln.mpg.de/ - 21k - Dec. 13, 2002 - Cached [216.239.39.100] - Similar pages [slashdot.org]
Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik [ipp.mpg.de] - [ Translate this page [google.com] ] ...
Das Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik untersucht die physikalischen Grundlagen
für ein Fusionskraftwerk, das - ähnlich wie die Sonne - Energie aus der
Description: Garching (Deutschland)
Category: World>Deutsch>...>Physik>Forschungseinrichtunge n [google.com]
www.ipp.mpg.de/ - 14k - Dec. 13, 2002 - Cached [216.239.39.100] - Similar pages [slashdot.org]
Max Planck Institut fuer Radioastronomie Bonn [mpifr-bonn.mpg.de] - [ Translate this page [google.com] ]g en [google.com]
[english]. Aktuell, Das Institut. Forschung, Mitarbeiter.
Öffentlichkeit, Intranet. webmaster@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de.
Description: Bonn (Deutschland)
Category: World>Deutsch>...>Astronomie>Forschungseinrichtun
www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/ - 2k - Cached [216.239.39.100] - Similar pages [slashdot.org]
Public Advisory (Score:5, Funny)
As such, there is a risk of discussions developing that involve people talking out of their
completely uninformed ass. Some of the most common symptoms of Quantum Ass-Talking Syndrome (QATS) involve the following topics:
If you feel the urge to discuss these topics, we advise that you immediately consult somebody who knows what the hell they're talking about. If further trouble develops, a dose of reality is recommended.
In NETHACK (Score:1)
In Soviet Russia.... quantum tunnels you! (Score:2, Interesting)
As Hawking said (to paraphrase)... not only does God play dice but some times he throws them where no one can see.
One of the things i find so funny about it is how much physicist seem to hate it, even the ones that helped found it!
However it is the most accurate theory in modern physics, which is why it has become known as the standard model.Perhaps string theory or M-theory can help make it a bit more astetic... which seems to be what most physicist go for these days.
/. submission queue (Score:4, Funny)
Oh, please... (Score:1, Interesting)
Meh.
What Planck actually discovered (Score:5, Informative)
Somehow, Planck worked out an equation which yielded that wavelength distribution quite precisely. I believe that it is correct that his model was a "what if" conjecture about energy exisiting in discrete packets.
As discussed, the rest is history.
53 years of passing time has dimmed my memory, but I'm pretty sure that is the story.
Re:What Planck actually discovered (Score:4, Informative)
Plank showed, by solving statistically-mechanically, a series of independent discrete quanta(estimating the photon oscillation as simple-harmonic), the allowed spectrum was consistent with the observed data.
Lucky for him, simple harmonic oscillators have that exact energy spectra (E=hbar*omega(N+1/2)) where N is the energy-level (or quantum number) of the oscillator. Lucky guess, or insight of pure genious. No other (that i know of) systems have such an energy spectra (evenly-spaced, singly occupied). simple examples are particle-in-box and hydrogen atom.
This method of the blackbody radiation as quantum simple-harmonic oscillators is also very nearly similar to calculating the specific heat of crystals (Einstein method for independent oscillators, but corrected by Debye for coupled oscillators up to a sharp cutoff frequency).
This, though, ushered in new tidings, not just for pure quantum physics, but for statistical physics of quantum objects (bosons, fermions) which have different statistical distributions than classical particles (maxwell-boltzmann statistics). paved the way for solid-state physics to burgeon forth (hello transistors!!!)
Happy Agnostica! (Score:1)
Birthday Party (Score:4, Funny)
Republican Majority Leader, Trent Lott, made a birthday speech congratulating Quantum Physics with its 100 year anniversary, and fondly recalled when during the planning stages of the Manhattan project, scientists were considering building a weapon of mass destruction based on Quantum Physical principles.
"I can tell you now, I wish they'd picked Quantum Physics," Lott said, "If they did, I'm sure the world as we know it would be a better place for white people to live."
And he hated it (Score:4, Interesting)
Not long after, Planck came forward using Boltzmann's ideas. There is some evidence to show that Planck's true hope was that he would be proved wrong -- he didn't like the quanta or probability interpretation at all.
Tim
Chunk physics (Score:4, Interesting)
.. Just had to share that.
David Bohm - implicate-order hypothesis - (Score:1, Informative)
http://www.fdavidpeat.com/interviews/bohm.h
David Bohm 1917-1992
In 1950 David Bohm wrote what many physicists consider to be a model textbook on quantum mechanics. Ironically, he has never accepted that theory of physics. In the history of science he is a maverick, a member of that small group of physicists-including Albert Einstein, Eugene Wigner, Erwin Schrödinger, Alfred Lande, Paul Dirac, and John Wheeler--who have expressed grave doubts that a theory founded on indeterminism and chance could give us a true view of the universe around us.
Today's generation of physicists, impressed by the stunning successes of quantum physics--from nuclear weapons to lasers-are of a different mind. They are busy applying quantum mechanics to areas its original creators never imagined. Stephen Hawking, for example, used it to describe the creation of elementary particles from black holes and to argue that the universe exploded into being in a quantum-mechanical event.
Bucking this tide of modern physics for more than 30 years, Bohm has been more than a gadfly. His objections to the foundations of quantum mechanics have gradually coalesced into an extension of the theory so sweeping that it amounts to a new view of reality. Believing that the nature of things is not reducible to fragments or particles, he argues for a holistic view of the universe. He demands that we learn to regard matter and life as a whole, coherent domain, which he calls the implicate order.
Most other physicists discard Bohm's logic without bothering to scrutinize it. Part of the difficulty is that his implicate order is rife with paradox. Another problem is the sheer range of his ideas, which encompass such hitherto nonphysical subjects as consciousness, society, truth, language, and the process of scientific theory making itself.
The son of a furniture dealer, Bohm was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, in 1917. He studied physics at the University of California with J. Robert Oppenheimer. Unwilling to testify against his former teacher and other friends during the McCarthy hearings, Bohm left the United States and took a post at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. From there he moved to Israel, then England, where he eventually became professor of physics at Birkbeck College in London.
Bohm is perhaps best known for his early work on the interactions of electrons in metals. He showed that their individual, haphazard movement concealed a highly organized and cooperative behavior called plasma oscillation. This intimation of an order underlying apparent chaos was pivotal in Bohm's development.
In 1959 Bohm, working with Yakir Ahronov, showed that a magnetic field might alter the behavior of electrons without touching them: If two electron beams were passed on either side of a space containing a magnetic field, the field would retard the waves of one beam even though it did not penetrate the space and actually touch the electrons. This 'AB effect" was verified a year later.
During the Fifties and Sixties Bohm expanded his belief in the existence of hidden variables that control seemingly random quantum events, and from that point on, his ideas diverged more and more from the mainstream of modern physics. His books Causality and Chance in Modern Physics and Wholeness and the Implicate Order, published in 1957 and 1980, respectively, spell out his new theory in considerable detail. In the Sixties Bohm met the Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti, and their continuing dialogues, published as a book, The Ending of Time, helped the physicist clarify his ideas about wholeness and order.
Recently retired from Birkbeck College, Bohm is now trying to develop a mathematical version of his implicate-order hypothesis-the kind of precise, testable theory that other physicists will take seriously. It is not an easy task, for Bohm's universe is a strange, mystical place in which past, present, and future coexist. The objects in his universe, even the subatomic particles, are secondary; it is a process of movement, continuous unfolding and enfolding from a seamless whole that is fundamental. To test the theory of general relativity, Einstein forecast that the sun's gravity would bend light waves from distant stars; he was correct. So far Bohm has been unable to find an experimental aspect that could support his ideas in the same way.
Although recently recovered from serious heart surgery, Bohm continues to make frequent trips throughout Europe and to the United States, where he lectures, talks to colleagues, and encourages students. His ideas have been enthusiastically received by philosophers, neuroscientists, theologians, poets, and artists.
Bell's Inequality (Score:1)
Cheer and seasons greetings!
oo__ don@saklad.org
Weblog Guide to Problematical Library Use
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The ability to perceive or think differently... (Score:1)
According to this web site:
http://www.gurteen.com/gurteen/gurteen.nsf
Bohm was also the founder of MITs DIALOGUE project, which somehow seems to be linked to or behind the OpenCourseware project.
"The ability to perceive or think differently is more important than the knowledge gained." David Bohm.
Excerpts from an interview with David Bohm:
Omni: Yet you've said that quantum mechanics doesn't provide a clear picture of nature. What do you mean?
Bohm: The main problem is that quantum mechanics gives only the probability of an experimental result. Neither the decay of an atomic nucleus nor the fact that it decays at one moment and not another can be properly pictured within the theory. It can only enable you to predict statistically the results of various experiments.
Physics has changed from its earlier form, when it tried to explain things and give some physical picture. Now the essence is regarded as mathematical. It's felt the truth is in the formulas. Now they may find an algorithm by which they hope to explain a wider range of experimental results, but it will still have inconsistencies. They hope that they can eventually explain all the results that could be gotten, but that is only a hope.
Omni: How did the founders of quantum mechanics initially receive your book Quantum Theory?
Bohm: In the Fifties, when I sent it around to various physicists-including [Niels] Bohr, Einstein, and [Wolfgangl Pauli--Bohr didn't answer, but Pauli liked it. Einstein sent me a message that he'd like to talk with me. When we met he said the book had done about as well as you could do with quantum mechanics. But he was still not convinced it was a satisfactory theory.
Bell's Inequality (Score:1)
100 years from now... (Score:2)
I'm waiting.... (Score:1)
If I read the article... (Score:3, Funny)
GHZ (Score:1)
for a high school physics class?...
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Two year old news from Agnostica.com (Score:2, Informative)
Guess I need to update the site more often.
Nice to know the folks at Slashdot celebrate Agnostica, though!
can never find a good Quantum Mechanic (Score:2)
Re:1900 + 100 = ? (Score:1)
Yes it was, they were a bit slow with it, but its finally here - the slashdot repost.
Re:Belief in a God is stupid (Score:1, Offtopic)
Re:Bah (Score:1)
Tomble answers your questions! (Score:5, Funny)
As you can doubtless see from a second look, it all fits into place that Planck's announcement, which lead to other scientists further investigating the full ramifications of the theory, was the conception of Quantum Physics as we know and love it today. Whilst the title is obviously innacurate, the observation that today is Quantum Physics' 100th birthday is clearly correct, as it is broadly accepted that models of reality have a 2 year gestation period- a similar duration to elephants, I believe.
Sadly, though, Quantum Physics has not been too lucky in love, having had occasional brief flings with 50's icon Relativity, whom everyone would have liked to see it matched up with, but it never quite seemed to work out for them- it seems they just had too many differences.
Although we all wish Quantum Physics well, and it seems surely impossible that such a great catch would never get married (who knows, maybe good old Q.P will be able to patch things up with Relativity after all), it shall obviously not be having any anniversaries for some time yet.
Hope this clears everything up,
Tomble
Sorry, all this talk of RPN means I NEED this... (Score:2, Funny)
Notation reverses YOU!
Whereas of course,
In SOVIET RUSSIA,
RPN POLISHES you!
Although strictly speaking, that probably should have been:
In SOVIET POLAND,
Notation YOU! reverses
Whilst SOVIET RUSSIA has it's own method of doing these things, which didn't quite catch on in the west.
Sorry about that, everyone.
Re:Quantum mechanics allright (Score:1)
viva mexico!
Re:Max Planck wasn't so smart.. (Score:1)
Re:Uncertainty (Score:1)