quantum mechanics

This follows on from the 'The Secret' thread I started earlier, but I think it deserves a new topic. Sorry if it doesn't. Anyhoo, the woos on the business networking circuit have thrown a bunch of papers at me about 'Quantum Consciousness' which all looks like complete and utter garbage...

• AUG. 10 Quantum physicist Dr. Amit Goswami will talk about his book, "The Visionary Window." 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 10 at the Carmel Art Association, Dolores Street between Fifth and Sixth, Carmel. A book-signing will follow at Pilgrim's Way Bookstore across from the art association...

I have just finished reading the wikipedia article "Delayed Choice Quantum Eraser." It contains the following paragraph: The results from Kim, et al. have shown that, in fact, observing the second photon's path will determine the particle or wavelike behavior of the first photon at the...

I hope this question doesn't get me laughed out of the club... I have a biologist's grasp of physics; in other words, if I can't picture it in my mind I have difficulty understanding it. Obviously I have big problems with quantum mechanics, then. Heisenberg's Uncertainty principle seems (to...

Just for fun, let's assume Wheeler's many-worlds interpretation is correct. Here's a question: Do we now have to worry about quantum ethics? Here's a (over)simplified example of what I mean: you engage in some very risky behavior or other, that has a high probability of injury or death --...

any views on entanglement and "awareness" on a subatomic level? i like how that fits into ideas of reincarnation..... Quantum entanglement at its simplest is taking two particles, combining them (don't ask me how....) and then seperating them..... now here's the remarkable part - you can move...

Theory: Nothing can escape from a black hole 'cause the gravity is so strong the escape velocity is higher than the speed of light. Not even massless particles like photons can escape. And I'm ignoring zero point vacuum energy particle pairs at the event horizon. So, IF gravity is...

Okay, I'm by no means a Quantum Physics expert, but I've read a fair bit. I'm trying to get a straight answer on what exactly counts as a measurement. I know that when not being observed, photons (for example) do not have a specific position in space, and act as waves. Then, a measurement...

Deepak Chopra's latest venture into "woo" tries to assert that all branches of mysticism have an "invisible connection". What is disturbing about this is his assertion that these things are fact - but beyond the realm of science to currently understand. He again uses the old Western mystical...

I have no idea, as I'm not really all that smart. But neither are most of the quacks out there who spout off about QM and/or QP as the answer to whatever BS they're trying to push on you. It occured to me that you can use this question to shut these types of people up. I read somewhere that...

Metro, a free newspaper given away on public transport in London and elsewhere, has a new astrologer, Wendy Bristow. They’ve published an interview with her in today's paper, and guess what: Would any physicists like to comment, once they’ve cleaned the tea or coffee off their screen and...

http://www.metro.co.uk/metro/interviews/interview.html?in_page_id=8&in_interview_id=1244 I would write to point out how much crap this but it would seem pointless given it's the paper's astrologist.

http://www.hannity.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47146 This guy is arguing that quantum phsyics backs up intelligent design and disproves evolution. I'm no expert in quantum physics, but it sounds like bunk to me. Might anyone here want to register over there and lay down some smack?

It was the discussion between JJ and another, I believe Lucy that led me to these thoughts. The Coulomb effects states that the repulsive forces between similar positive charges rises as the inverse of the square of the distance between them, I hope that is right...

Dear friends, Page 120, of book, Healing Words, by Larry Dossey, M.D. claims there are several scientific experiment have been done that demonstrates mind changes the outcome of REG (Random Event Generator) by a small percentage. Of course, I do not think so. But I also want to be open minded...

What can I say to all the people who fall back on the quantum physics thing to support their New Age conclusions? I know they don't understand it enough to know what they're talking about, but I don't understand it enough to counter them. Help?

Anytime I try to approach the definition of Naturalism or Rationalism with anyone, I get the "but quantum physics has shown...." routine. I understand 99 percent of everybody doesn't know what quantum physics is about, yet they leap at it to support their New Age conclusions. What can I say to...

Apologies if this has been posted before, I ran a search and did not turn anything up, but I admit I'm tired and subsequently lazy. :D This sounds like utter and complete bunk, but there was an article on Nature.com called "Natural selection acts on the quantum world" written by physicist...

It is said that observation collapses wave functions for atomic particles. Is consciousness necessary for observation to take place? Can a camera without film "observe you" Theory That activity at the subatomic level can be symbolically represented at the macroscopic level. For example a...

Am I under- or overstating what QM "is"? In a recent post I just said this to someone regarding their philosophy and their claim that it involves QM. Interesting you mention QM; you are aware that QM is a mathematical theory? It is not a theory of words, when you read about QM is someone...

I was reading a recent issue of Time magazine in my doctors office, and there's a heckuva lot of amazing (and mostly legitimate) things being done these days with nanotechnology. Much of it (as I understand it) relies on how the properties of material change at quantum levels. In example, I was...

I asked about QM before - and have since read a bit more about the topic. I still have 2 questions though: 1. Can scientists "see" the particles that make up protons and things? Meaning - do scientists have some sort of super-duper microscope that can actually see these particles? If not - how...

Hey guys, Thanks for helping me understand things a bit deeper. One last question - i heard that at the quantum level, everything is random. These fluctuations don't operate under any of the classical physics laws. Can someone point me to a paper or something that actually says this? And...

I have heard about QM supporting Psychics from various places...What exactly are the paranormal believers saying about this? What is their argument as far as QM supporting psychcis being? I know it deals with Non-locality if particles,when they appear to be in more than one place at once. How...

Im sure as many other are that the total misunderstanding of the wholeness of Quantum mechanics and its corrolarys applied to so called supernatural explanations as well as `proving` the effectiveness of crystal therapy etc is very dismaying. All the serious works on QM by real scientists who...

Just another round-up of nutjobs, charlatans, gullible idiots, self-proclaimed geniuses, etc. If this sort of thing depresses you, don't read it. Quantum Consciousness And Your Imortality : "QUANTUM CONSCIOUSNESS AND YOUR IMMORTALITY is a scientific analysis of our physical reality and of the...

Hello all, As mentioned by me in other topics--apart from other points about possible working of homeopathic/TRS remedies, Technicals as Quantum-- Photons, Waves, Gravity etc. are some concept which possibily can be related to it. In the interest of addition to scientific knowledge--we...

I ran acorss this in a wikipedia article As far as I am aware there are ~16 fundimatl particles predicted by the standard modle so I can't work out where this five spins claim come from. Does anyone know where this may be comeing from?

Several days ago, Rolfe was kind enough to provide me with links to several papers which purport to explain how high-dilution homeopathic remedies work in terms of quantum mechanics. Although I've been busy this week, tonight I finally got to the first of the bunch: Weak Quantum Theory...

What is quantum spin? Ok, I know this has been asked before. I have seen several physicists claim that it is a pure quantum concept and that it is just accident that it was named spin. An earlier discussion on this board confirmed my suspicion that this cannot be correct because it is a measure...