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Lemontree
Joined: 10 Jul 2006
Posts: 3297
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 Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 3:16 pm Post subject: Quantum Physics, anyone? |
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So I just watched "What the *bleep* do we know?", last night. My brother had been raving about it for a while, so I put it on my Netflix queue and waited.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0399877/
| Wikipedia wrote: | Quantum mechanics is a fundamental branch of theoretical physics.
Quantum mechanics was initially developed to explain the atom, especially the spectra of light emitted by different atomic species. The quantum theory of the atom developed as an explanation for the electron's staying in its orbital, which could not be explained by Newton's laws of motion and by classical electromagnetism.
This abstract mathematical object allows for the calculation of probabilities of outcomes of concrete experiments. For example, it allows to compute the probability of finding an electron in a particular region around the nucleus at a particular time. Contrary to classical mechanics, one cannot in general make predictions of arbitrary accuracy. For instance electrons cannot in general be pictured as localized particles in space but rather should be thought of as "clouds" of negative charge spread out over the entire orbit. These clouds represent the regions around the nucleus where the probability of "finding" an electron is the largest.
Since its inception, the many counter-intuitive results of quantum mechanics have provoked strong philosophical debate and many interpretations. The probabilistic nature of quantum mechanics predictions cannot be explained in terms of some other deterministic theory, and does not simply reflect our limited knowledge. Quantum mechanics provides probabilistic results because the physical universe is itself probabilistic rather than deterministic. |
Besides the scientific breakdown of this theory, the movie goes into how such science affects us and the way we percieve the world. They talked of experiments where scientists have actually been able to photograph the SAME PARTICLE in two places at one time. About a scientist in Japan that did a study on water particles.. then flash froze the particles and photographed the shapes. The water molecules changed shape when barraged with a blessing from a zen budhist monk (looking alot like an intricate beautiful snowflake), and changed again when the word and thoughts of love were used on it.. and then became very chaotic when the phrase "I hate you so much. I want to kill you" was taped to the outside of the jar.
And so since our bodies are mostly made up of water... how do negative or positive thoughts effect our physical selfs?
It also talked of how we can control much of what happens to us... if we always seem to have bad luck.. alot of that might be our own subconscious attraction to it. A basic chemical addiction to that state of feeling. It also goes upon the theory that any situation has an unidentifiable number of possibilities floating around until we focus on the situation and then only one is there.
The thing about this whole science though.. is that its hard to describe, and I'm probably doing a horrible job at the moment. What I do know though, is that as I watched this film.. I wasn't surprised by much. Alot of what they talked of, were things I had felt to be true for quite sometime.
So yeah.. has anyone else seen this movie? Or read much about Quantum Physics? |
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Agamemnon
Joined: 10 Jul 2006
Posts: 907
Location: Studying somewhere. Or at least that's where I should be.
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| Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 3:25 pm Post subject: |
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I love Quantum Theory. Some Guy! loaned me a video that greatly helped explain string theory (facinating!) I have since seen this show on the science channel a few times. I don't remember the name, so if SG sees this, maybe he can tell us the title.
At any rate, I'll have to get into this more when I have more time. It's a subject I love discussing.
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-Agamemnon.....but you can call me Jake.
P: They don't know we know they know we know. And Joey, you can't say anything!
J: Couldn't if I wanted to. |
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maniac_wolfman
Joined: 10 Jul 2006
Posts: 628
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| Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 3:44 pm Post subject: |
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I don't know much about quantum theory, but I did a few papers on quantum computing.
Nothing too exciting or head exploey though.
I got a good mark on the paper even though I had about two sentances of actual facts and the rest was me pretty much talking out of my ass. I think teachers have come to expect that method of reporting though. |
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mantismag
Joined: 09 Jul 2006
Posts: 81
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| Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 3:57 pm Post subject: |
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| i read a book on quantum theory once. that was a long time ago before the whole string theory thing though. although i find quantum physics interesting, i've completely ignored string theory because so many people on the internet think they're experts in it. i have no idea where it came from or what makes these idiots think they're so smart. anyone wanna explain? |
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E-boy
Joined: 10 Jul 2006
Posts: 1545
Location: Virginia (Much barfiness)
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| Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 4:27 pm Post subject: |
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Check out the latest incarnation. BRANES.
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"Life is tough, but it's tougher when you're stupid" ~ SGT John Stryker from "Sands of Iwo Jima". |
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lily
Joined: 10 Jul 2006
Posts: 1531
Location: worcester, ma
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| Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 4:32 pm Post subject: Re: Quantum Physics, anyone? |
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| Lemontree wrote: | About a scientist in Japan that did a study on water particles.. then flash froze the particles and photographed the shapes. The water molecules changed shape when barraged with a blessing from a zen budhist monk (looking alot like an intricate beautiful snowflake), and changed again when the word and thoughts of love were used on it.. and then became very chaotic when the phrase "I hate you so much. I want to kill you" was taped to the outside of the jar.
And so since our bodies are mostly made up of water... how do negative or positive thoughts effect our physical selfs? |
this 'science' is 100% bullshit. the 'scientist', dr. masaru emoto, has never had his research published in a peer-reviewed journal. from the wikipedia article on him...
| Quote: | In a double blind study of Emoto's claims, designed to enhance credibility by reducing the potential for bias, experimenters would photograph and record snowflakes formed from different water samples before learning which samples had been sent which messages. Without double blinding, the photographers are free to hunt through the diversity of snowflakes in each sample to look for snowflakes that match their expectations of what the snowflake should look like, because they already know which message was attached to which container. Indeed, the creativity of photographers rather than the rigour of the experiment is the explicit policy of Emoto:
[...]
Apparently, Emoto uses blind tests to screen the photo-taking skills of his photographers, but not systematically in the actual experiments, leaving the potential for selection bias. In an October 2005 interview through a translator, Emoto mentioned he didn't "understand this double-blind too much."[2] |
too bad, eh? would be cool if it were true. |
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Major Tom
Joined: 09 Jul 2006
Posts: 7562
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| Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 4:35 pm Post subject: |
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his name is "emoto"??
sounds like destiny |
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Michael
Joined: 09 Jul 2006
Posts: 10432
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| Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 4:54 pm Post subject: |
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according to wiki that film features (amongst others)
| Quote: | | John Hagelin was the head of the 1993 Transcendental Meditation project in Washington, D.C. (The Washington TM study [4] was mentioned in the film, but Hagelin was never identified as one of its authors.) He is chairman of the Physics Department at Maharishi International University in Fairfield, Iowa. The University was founded by the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the Indian guru who vaulted to fame after becoming the spiritual advisor to the Beatles. |
Gooooo Maharishi! wooop wooop wooop!
God I love those guys <3
But how any of this relates to quantum theory is beyond me |
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Lemontree
Joined: 10 Jul 2006
Posts: 3297
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| Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 5:05 pm Post subject: |
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Lily, yeah that is crazy.. and definitely a shame.
I still believe our power of thought can affect the world around us though. Just like all the experiments that have been done with plants and positive and negative speech towards them.
The water trick did seem a little extravagant and harder to believe.. but crazier things have happened. |
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Ol' Green Eyes.
Joined: 14 Jul 2006
Posts: 60
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| Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 5:14 pm Post subject: |
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Hm.
The universe is either real, which would mean impossible questions for every new answer, arguing over semantics, and in general, worrying very much over what the hell is going to happen to yourself when you die..
Or..
The universe is not real, and none of the answers we find in it will have any real meaning outside this shell of existence.
All of the building blocks for matter in this universe can be mysteriously converted into energy if the right amount of energy is first put into them. This is not only science, but philsophy as well. Too bad each field totally disregards the other as being useless in the long run.
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What is the protocol for filing with the media that I've seen Jesus in your mother's right nipple? |
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Lemontree
Joined: 10 Jul 2006
Posts: 3297
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| Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 5:16 pm Post subject: |
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In regards to another of the interviewed experts......
| Wiki wrote: | | JZ Knight/Ramtha appears frequently in the film as a scientist or spiritual teacher of some kind. By the end of the film, during the credits, she is identified as the spirit "Ramtha" who is being "channeled" by "JZ Knight.". Knight was born Judith Darlene Hampton in Roswell, New Mexico. The spirit, Ramtha, whom she claims to channel, is "a 35,000 year-old warrior spirit from the lost continent of Lemuria and one of the Ascended Masters." (Knight speaks with an accent because English is not Ramtha's first language.) |
um.....  ok. I thought some of the things she was talking about were interesting but...... yeah. *shrug* Who am I to judge though?
In fact the entire Wikipedia article on it is rather informative and interesting. I still believe in some of the philisophical ideas they were trying to get across, but the gross scientific exaggeration they used to get these points across rather taints the image of the film in my mind. Where before I might've given this film a 7/10... I think now my opinion would be closer to a 4/10.
My how I love Wikipedia. I should've looked up that article before I posted. Although I think there are still interesting ideas behind Quantum Physics to be discussed here. |
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Natashabi
Joined: 09 Jul 2006
Posts: 390
Location: Tejas
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| Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 5:50 pm Post subject: |
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| Agamemnon wrote: | I love Quantum Theory. Some Guy! loaned me a video that greatly helped explain string theory (facinating!) I have since seen this show on the science channel a few times. I don't remember the name, so if SG sees this, maybe he can tell us the title.
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Do you mean NOVA's Elegant Universe? |
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bun bun
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| Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 6:07 pm Post subject: |
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i love studying physics (and some math). it gives me a warm fuzzy.
highlights:
-> the double-slit experiment (a.k.a. WTF? it can tell when we look at it?!?!)
-> shroedinger's cat (a.k.a. WTF? something can occupy both sides of a boolean state?!?!?)
-> fractals (a.k.a. WTF? you can fit an infinite line into a finite area?!??! or an infinite area into a finite volume?!?!? a.k.a. WTF? an infinite value of a "lower" dimension can fit into a finite value of a "higher" one?!?!?! a.k.a. see next)
-> string theory (a.k.a. WTF????) |
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PsycoMonkey
Joined: 12 Jul 2006
Posts: 447
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| Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 6:08 pm Post subject: |
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| bun bun wrote: | i love studying physics (and some math). it gives me a warm fuzzy.
highlights:
-> the double-slit experiment (a.k.a. WTF? it can tell when we look at it?!?!)
-> shroedinger's cat (a.k.a. WTF? something can occupy both sides of a boolean state?!?!?)
-> fractals (a.k.a. WTF? you can fit an infinite line into a finite area?!??! or an infinite area into a finite volume?!?!? a.k.a. WTF? an infinite value of a "lower" dimension can fit into a finite value of a "higher" one?!?!?! a.k.a. see next)
-> string theory (a.k.a. WTF????) |
all in all WTF????? to all of it |
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thewaitersitsondown
Joined: 09 Jul 2006
Posts: 2673
Location: The walrus was Paul
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| Posted: Fri Jul 14, 2006 6:11 pm Post subject: |
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Quantum theory=fascinating
What the bleep do we know?=not exactly the most accurate source of info by a very long shot indeed. |
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