Tag Archives: quantum superposition
What does it mean to interpret quantum physics?
The United Nations has designated 2025 the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. Many physics magazines and journals have taken the opportunity to publish more articles on quantum physics than they usually do, and that has meant quantum physics … Continue reading
Posted in Scicomm, Science
Tagged Bohmian mechanics, classical physics, Copenhagen interpretation, hidden variables, many-worlds interpretation, Nirmalya Kajuri, nonlocality, QBism, quantum computing, quantum cosmology, quantum entanglement, quantum physics, quantum superposition, wavefunction
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What on earth is a wavefunction?
If you drop a pebble into a pond, ripples spread outward in gentle circles. We all know this sight, and it feels natural to call them waves. Now imagine being told that everything — from an electron to an atom … Continue reading
Posted in Scicomm
Tagged classical mechanics, coherence, decoherence, delocalisation, Newton's second law, quantum information, Quantum mechanics, quantum superposition, Schrödinger equation, uncertainty principle, wavefunction, wavefunction collapse, zero-point motion
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The gap between language and quantum mechanics
Physics World has a fantastic article about the problem with using a language invented, in Terry Pratchett’s words, “to tell other monkeys where the ripe fruit is”, to describe the peculiar but very much real possibilities created by the rules … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Culture, Scicomm
Tagged Embassytown, faith, Higgs boson, language, quantum computing, quantum entanglement, Quantum mechanics, quantum superposition, Werner Heisenberg
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A ‘quantum consciousness’ absurdity at IIT Mandi
As you go downward, inward, smaller and smaller, you get more vast conscious experience. This is the idea in Indian knowledge systems. At the bottom of it, or the very base of it, at the source, is Brahman. My point … Continue reading
Posted in Scicomm, Science
Tagged decoherence, IIT Mandi, Indian knowledge systems, Indian philosophy, Orch OR, quantum computer, quantum superposition, Roger Penrose, Science of Consciousness, Stuart Hameroff
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A quantum theory of consciousness
We seldom have occasion to think about science and religion at the same time, but the most interesting experience I have had doing that came in October 2018, when I attended a conference called ‘Science for Monks’* in Gangtok, Sikkim. … Continue reading
Posted in Scicomm
Tagged consciousness, Diósi-Penrose scheme, Lajos Diósi, Orch OR, quantum superposition, Roger Penrose, Stuart Hameroff
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The problem with rooting for science
The idea that trusting in science involves a lot of faith, instead of reason, is lost on most people. More often than not, as a science journalist, I encounter faith through extreme examples – such as the Bloch sphere (used … Continue reading
Posted in Analysis, Scicomm
Tagged arrow paradox, biopolitics, Bloch sphere, common English, emergent properties, expertise, faith, mathematical physics, pseudoscience, quantum superposition, reason, science communication, science journalism, Social Psychology, statistical significance, trust, uncertainty, wave function
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Scientists make video of molecule rotating
A research group in Germany has captured images of what a rotating molecule looks like. This is a significant feat because it is very difficult to observe individual atoms and molecules, which are very small as well as very fragile. … Continue reading
Posted in Scicomm
Tagged carbonyl sulphide, classical mechanics, Coulomb explosion, electromagnetic force, Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, laser, Quantum mechanics, quantum superposition, strong nuclear force, velocity map imaging spectrometer, weak nuclear force
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