Full Documentary Relativity v quantum mechanics – the battle for the uni...
Δημοσιεύτηκε στις 15 Μαΐ 2016
It
is the biggest of problems, it is the smallest of problems. At present
physicists have two separate rulebooks explaining how nature works.
There is general relativity, which beautifully accounts for gravity and
all of the things it dominates: orbiting planets, colliding galaxies,
the dynamics of the expanding universe as a whole. That’s big. Then
there is quantum mechanics, which handles the other three forces –
electromagnetism and the two nuclear forces. Quantum theory is extremely
adept at describing what happens when a uranium atom decays, or when
individual particles of light hit a solar cell. That’s small.
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Read more
Now
for the problem: relativity and quantum mechanics are fundamentally
different theories that have different formulations. It is not just a
matter of scientific terminology; it is a clash of genuinely
incompatible descriptions of reality.
The conflict between the
two halves of physics has been brewing for more than a century – sparked
by a pair of 1905 papers by Einstein, one outlining relativity and the
other introducing the quantum – but recently it has entered an
intriguing, unpredictable new phase. Two notable physicists have staked
out extreme positions in their camps, conducting experiments that could
finally settle which approach is paramount.
Basically you can
think of the division between the relativity and quantum systems as
“smooth” versus “chunky”. In general relativity, events are continuous
and deterministic, meaning that every cause matches up to a specific,
local effect. In quantum mechanics, events produced by the interaction
of subatomic particles happen in jumps (yes, quantum leaps), with
probabilistic rather than definite outcomes. Quantum rules allow
connections forbidden by classical physics. This was demonstrated in a
much-discussed recent experiment in which Dutch researchers defied the
local effect. They showed that two particles – in this case, electrons –
could influence each other instantly, even though they were a mile
apart. When you try to interpret smooth relativistic laws in a chunky
quantum style, or vice versa, things go dreadfully wrong.
Relativity
gives nonsensical answers when you try to scale it down to quantum
size, eventually descending to infinite values in its description of
gravity. Likewise, quantum mechanics runs into serious trouble when you
blow it up to cosmic dimensions. Quantum fields carry a certain amount
of energy, even in seemingly empty space, and the amount of energy gets
bigger as the fields get bigger. According to Einstein, energy and mass
are equivalent (that’s the message of E=mc2), so piling up energy is
exactly like piling up mass. Go big enough, and the amount of energy in
the quantum fields becomes so great that it creates a black hole that
causes the universe to fold in on itself. Oops.
The Large Hadron Collider
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‘Quantum mechanics provided the conceptual tools for the Large Hadron Collider.’ Photograph: Rex Features
Craig
Hogan, a theoretical astrophysicist at the University of Chicago and
the director of the Center for Particle Astrophysics at Fermilab, is
reinterpreting the quantum side with a novel theory in which the quantum
units of space itself might be large enough to be studied directly.
Meanwhile, Lee Smolin, a founding member of the Perimeter Institute for
Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Canada, is seeking to push physics
forward by returning to Einstein’s philosophical roots and extending
them in an exciting direction.
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To understand
what is at stake, look back at the precedents. When Einstein unveiled
general relativity, he not only superseded Isaac Newton’s theory of
gravity; he also unleashed a new way of looking at physics that led to
the modern conception of the Big Bang and black holes, not to mention
atomic bombs and the time adjustments essential to your phone’s GPS.
Likewise, quantum mechanics did much more than reformulate James Clerk
Maxwell’s textbook equations of electricity, magnetism and light. It
provided the conceptual tools for the Large Hadron Collider, solar
cells, all of modern microelectronics.
What emerges from the
dust-up could be nothing less than a third revolution in modern physics,
with staggering implications. It could tell us where the laws of nature
came from, and whether the cosmos is built on uncertainty or whether it
is fundamentally deterministic, with every event linked definitively to
a cause.
is the biggest of problems, it is the smallest of problems. At present
physicists have two separate rulebooks explaining how nature works.
There is general relativity, which beautifully accounts for gravity and
all of the things it dominates: orbiting planets, colliding galaxies,
the dynamics of the expanding universe as a whole. That’s big. Then
there is quantum mechanics, which handles the other three forces –
electromagnetism and the two nuclear forces. Quantum theory is extremely
adept at describing what happens when a uranium atom decays, or when
individual particles of light hit a solar cell. That’s small.
Sign up to the long read email
Read more
Now
for the problem: relativity and quantum mechanics are fundamentally
different theories that have different formulations. It is not just a
matter of scientific terminology; it is a clash of genuinely
incompatible descriptions of reality.
The conflict between the
two halves of physics has been brewing for more than a century – sparked
by a pair of 1905 papers by Einstein, one outlining relativity and the
other introducing the quantum – but recently it has entered an
intriguing, unpredictable new phase. Two notable physicists have staked
out extreme positions in their camps, conducting experiments that could
finally settle which approach is paramount.
Basically you can
think of the division between the relativity and quantum systems as
“smooth” versus “chunky”. In general relativity, events are continuous
and deterministic, meaning that every cause matches up to a specific,
local effect. In quantum mechanics, events produced by the interaction
of subatomic particles happen in jumps (yes, quantum leaps), with
probabilistic rather than definite outcomes. Quantum rules allow
connections forbidden by classical physics. This was demonstrated in a
much-discussed recent experiment in which Dutch researchers defied the
local effect. They showed that two particles – in this case, electrons –
could influence each other instantly, even though they were a mile
apart. When you try to interpret smooth relativistic laws in a chunky
quantum style, or vice versa, things go dreadfully wrong.
Relativity
gives nonsensical answers when you try to scale it down to quantum
size, eventually descending to infinite values in its description of
gravity. Likewise, quantum mechanics runs into serious trouble when you
blow it up to cosmic dimensions. Quantum fields carry a certain amount
of energy, even in seemingly empty space, and the amount of energy gets
bigger as the fields get bigger. According to Einstein, energy and mass
are equivalent (that’s the message of E=mc2), so piling up energy is
exactly like piling up mass. Go big enough, and the amount of energy in
the quantum fields becomes so great that it creates a black hole that
causes the universe to fold in on itself. Oops.
The Large Hadron Collider
Facebook Twitter Pinterest
‘Quantum mechanics provided the conceptual tools for the Large Hadron Collider.’ Photograph: Rex Features
Craig
Hogan, a theoretical astrophysicist at the University of Chicago and
the director of the Center for Particle Astrophysics at Fermilab, is
reinterpreting the quantum side with a novel theory in which the quantum
units of space itself might be large enough to be studied directly.
Meanwhile, Lee Smolin, a founding member of the Perimeter Institute for
Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Canada, is seeking to push physics
forward by returning to Einstein’s philosophical roots and extending
them in an exciting direction.
Advertisement
To understand
what is at stake, look back at the precedents. When Einstein unveiled
general relativity, he not only superseded Isaac Newton’s theory of
gravity; he also unleashed a new way of looking at physics that led to
the modern conception of the Big Bang and black holes, not to mention
atomic bombs and the time adjustments essential to your phone’s GPS.
Likewise, quantum mechanics did much more than reformulate James Clerk
Maxwell’s textbook equations of electricity, magnetism and light. It
provided the conceptual tools for the Large Hadron Collider, solar
cells, all of modern microelectronics.
What emerges from the
dust-up could be nothing less than a third revolution in modern physics,
with staggering implications. It could tell us where the laws of nature
came from, and whether the cosmos is built on uncertainty or whether it
is fundamentally deterministic, with every event linked definitively to
a cause.
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