Register | Sign In


Understanding through Discussion


EvC Forum active members: 65 (9162 total)
3 online now:
Newest Member: popoi
Post Volume: Total: 915,817 Year: 3,074/9,624 Month: 919/1,588 Week: 102/223 Day: 13/17 Hour: 0/1


Thread  Details

Email This Thread
Newer Topic | Older Topic
  
Author Topic:   Quantum Physics
Son Goku
Inactive Member


Message 1 of 6 (625799)
07-23-2011 5:38 AM


Hello!,
A while ago I derailed a thread about Dark Matter and started explaining quantum mechanics. I really enjoyed the thread, but became busy and slacked off. I'd really like to do it again as there were some great questions and I'm now free to devote time to the thread for a good long period.
I realise this is a debate forum so I was conscious of disrupting a debate thread (I still did it though ), so would there be any place where such a thread is appropriate? Possibly coffee house, but maybe there are others?

Replies to this message:
 Message 2 by Admin, posted 07-23-2011 7:17 AM Son Goku has replied

  
Admin
Director
Posts: 12998
From: EvC Forum
Joined: 06-14-2002
Member Rating: 2.3


Message 2 of 6 (625800)
07-23-2011 7:17 AM
Reply to: Message 1 by Son Goku
07-23-2011 5:38 AM


These kinds of topics generally go in the Big Bang and Cosmology forum, but if there's no tie-in to the creation/evolution debate then Coffee House would be a better place. I'd really rather have this in the Big Bang and Cosmology forum - can you recall any of the creation/evolution issues that prompted the departure into quantum physics?

--Percy
EvC Forum Director

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by Son Goku, posted 07-23-2011 5:38 AM Son Goku has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 3 by Son Goku, posted 07-23-2011 2:35 PM Admin has not replied

  
Son Goku
Inactive Member


Message 3 of 6 (625801)
07-23-2011 2:35 PM
Reply to: Message 2 by Admin
07-23-2011 7:17 AM


Some issues...
I think the most common issues relating back to evolution/creation debate were:
1. That Quantum Physics by being probabilistic (or for other reasons) appears to be less mechanistic than most other branches of science. This leads to the claim that "even scientists have abandoned strict empiricism/materialism".
2. More directly that fact that things can have no cause, e.g. virtual particles coming out of nowhere, implies that things may come into existence without a cause.
3. General assumptions in science are often questioned such as "how do we know the laws of physics are the same in other galaxies?" and "how do we know decay rates are constant for dating?". Since quantum mechanics underpins a lot of these experimental assumptions it would be useful to discuss it.
I'm sure there are more, but these are the ones I remember best. Basically as a fundamental science that underlies a lot of our knowledge of the natural world it has a lot to say about why we are so certain that:
(a) Our assumptions and/or predictions are correct
(b) That other assumptions are not possible, i.e. fundamental decay rates changing.
Since it's so technical and unintuitive however these issues never really get address and without an explanation some of the assumptions seem arbitrary.
Hope I haven't rambled on too much!

This message is a reply to:
 Message 2 by Admin, posted 07-23-2011 7:17 AM Admin has not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 4 by Adminnemooseus, posted 07-23-2011 3:15 PM Son Goku has not replied

  
Adminnemooseus
Administrator
Posts: 3974
Joined: 09-26-2002


Message 4 of 6 (625802)
07-23-2011 3:15 PM
Reply to: Message 3 by Son Goku
07-23-2011 2:35 PM


Re: Some issues...
Admin and I did a bit of PNT discussion starting here at the "Topic Proposal Issues" topic.
1. That Quantum Physics by being probabilistic (or for other reasons) appears to be less mechanistic than most other branches of science. This leads to the claim that "even scientists have abandoned strict empiricism/materialism".
2. More directly that fact that things can have no cause, e.g. virtual particles coming out of nowhere, implies that things may come into existence without a cause.
3. General assumptions in science are often questioned such as "how do we know the laws of physics are the same in other galaxies?" and "how do we know decay rates are constant for dating?". Since quantum mechanics underpins a lot of these experimental assumptions it would be useful to discuss it.
If you do another message (in this existing topic) presenting one of the above themes along with your perspective on that theme, then we have a promotable topic. We can go onto other sub-themes as the topic progresses (although each sub-theme might more properly belong in an entirely separate topic). A relevant subtitle to go with that sub-theme would be a good thing.
Adminnemooseus

Please be familiar with the various topics and other links in the "Essential Links", found in the top of the page menu. Amongst other things, this is where to find where to report various forum problems.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 3 by Son Goku, posted 07-23-2011 2:35 PM Son Goku has not replied

  
Son Goku
Inactive Member


Message 5 of 6 (625803)
07-25-2011 6:35 AM


Our Quantum World
Quantum Mechanics has been with us for essentially a century now and despite the length of time one still
can't say that it's been fully digested or understood by anybody. Despite this it lies at the basis of
several technologies, but also gives us fundamental results that we use in other sciences, such as the
constancy of decay rates.
My view is that quantum mechanics is not just another theory, but completely alters our view of the basis of
the natural world. I contend that the view of reality revealed by it makes most objections to or alternatives
to the scientific view of our origins and reality untenable, by basically either:
(a) Pushing the objections into the highly implausible.
or
(b) Revealing the fundamental thinking behind such views to be too human to be true in our quantum world.
Concrete examples of the constrictions of quantum mechanics are radiological dating techniques and most of
the dating techniques used in cosmology (e.g. using spectra of stars for their ages)
(too broad?)
Edited by Son Goku, : No reason given.

  
Adminnemooseus
Administrator
Posts: 3974
Joined: 09-26-2002


Message 6 of 6 (625805)
07-25-2011 6:48 PM


Thread Copied from Proposed New Topics Forum
Thread copied here from the Quantum Physics thread in the Proposed New Topics forum.

  
Newer Topic | Older Topic
Jump to:


Copyright 2001-2023 by EvC Forum, All Rights Reserved

™ Version 4.2
Innovative software from Qwixotic © 2024