“What are the implications if ‘space-time’ (as conceived of in the Einstein Theory of General Relativity) is quantized like all other aspects of matter and energy?” asks Slashdot reader sixoh1. Space.com reports of a new study that tried to find out: In order for the math of general relativity to work, this fabric of space-time has to be absolutely smooth at…
Tag: quantum mechanics
How growth of the scientific enterprise influenced a century of quantum physics
Austrian quantum theorist Erwin Schrödinger first used the term “entanglement,” in 1935, to describe the mind-bending phenomenon in which the actions of two distant particles are bound up with each other. Entanglement was the kind of thing that could keep Schrödinger awake at night; like his friend Albert Einstein, he thought it cast doubt on quantum mechanics as a viable description…
The Wolfram Physics Project hopes to find fundamental theory of physics
Physicist and entrepreneur Stephen Wolfram has unveiled “The Wolfram Physics Project,” which he subtitles “A Project to Find the Fundamental Theory of Physics.” The aim of the project is to enlist the assistance of people around the globe to find the fundamental theory of physics—the theory that ties together all of physics, from the general theory of relativity to quantum mechanics….
Researchers solve puzzle of Compton scattering: New approach for testing theories in quantum mechanics
When the American physicist Arthur Compton discovered that light waves behave like particles in 1922, and could knock electrons out of atoms during an impact experiment, it was a milestone for quantum mechanics. Five years later, Compton received the Nobel Prize for this discovery. Compton used very shortwave light with high energy for his experiment, which enabled him to neglect the…
Stephen Wolfram Presents a Path to The Fundamental Theory of Physics
New submitter wattersa writes: Mathematician/Physicist Stephen Wolfram, founder of Wolfram Research and creator of the technical computation program Mathematica, has announced a discovery in the area of theoretical physics. His long-form blog post discusses the emergence of physical properties of our universe from what he describes as simple, universal, computable rules. He claims the emergent properties are consistent with relativity and…
Antibiotic matter waves: The quantum wave nature of a complex antibiotic polypeptide
One of the central tenets of quantum mechanics is the wave-particle duality. It tells us that even massive objects behave like both particles and waves. A number of previous experiments have shown this for electrons, neutrons, atoms and even large molecules. Quantum theory maintains that this is a universal property of matter. However, it had been notoriously difficult to extend this…
Does relativity lie at the source of quantum exoticism?
Since its beginnings, quantum mechanics hasn’t ceased to amaze us with its peculiarity, so difficult to understand. Why does one particle seem to pass through two slits simultaneously? Why, instead of specific predictions, can we only talk about evolution of probabilities? According to theorists from universities in Warsaw and Oxford, the most important features of the quantum world may result from…
Is nonlocality inherent in all identical particles in the universe?
What is interaction, and when does it occur? Intuition suggests that the necessary condition for the interaction of independently created particles is their direct touch or contact through physical force carriers. In quantum mechanics, the result of the interaction is entanglement—the appearance of non-classical correlations in the system. It seems that quantum theory allows entanglement of independent particles without any contact….
How quantum computing got a boost from an experiment in a cornfield
In a cornfield in India, Urbasi Sinha ran an experiment that may challenge the rules of quantum mechanics and paves the way for higher dimensional quantum computing Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24532731-200-how-quantum-computing-got-a-boost-from-an-experiment-in-a-cornfield/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
How a new quantum approach can develop faster algorithms to deduce complex networks
Our world has no dearth of complex networks—from cellular networks in biology to intricate web networks in technology. These networks also form the basis of various applications in virtually all fields of science, and to analyze and manipulate these networks, specific “search” algorithms are required. But, conventional search algorithms are slow and, when dealing with large networks, require a long computational…