NATURAL
MAGIC
I have held, for many years now, that when physicists
and cosmologists finally discover all the secrets of quantum mechanics and/or string
theory, we will learn that reality, in terms of that knowledge, is far more
fantastic and bewildering than any works of fiction that have been committed to
novels or film, and any illusions that have been presented on stage in a
“magic show.” I don’t expect those discoveries to be finalized and confirmed in
contemporary terms but probably by the end of this century.
I have always possessed an abiding interest in the
natural world, not only contemporary nature as we view it around us today, but
its evolution as well. In fact, as interesting as I find animal behavior and contemporary
cryptozoological discoveries in Tanzania or Southeast Asia, paleontological and
zooarchaeological discoveries are tantalizing click-bait for me. Beyond the
knowledge being unearthed, pun intended, in those disciplines, I find
discoveries in cosmology, astrophysics and quantum theory especially
intriguing. Those three areas of study are inexorably tied together in a bond
that, I predict, will never be broken.
Speaking of which, quantum mechanics may sound like an
exceedingly boring topic with references to electrons, bosons, gluons, photons,
quarks, gravitons[1]
and many other species of discreet particles, both proven and theoretical. Even
with cool-sounding, almost cartoon-character-like names, they do not reside in
our everyday vernacular, except among those whose occupations require them. Add
in theoretical entities such as dark energy and dark matter, among others, and millions
of eyes begin to glaze over.
However, if there is such a thing as magic – not stage
illusion, but real magic – it exists in the nature of quantum mechanics. A simple
and clear illustration of the implications of quantum mechanics can be seen here[2].
Photons or electrons (or other particles, depending on the sophistication of
the experiment and the budget of the laboratory) are the “ammunition” in the
“gun” firing said particles at the barrier containing the slits. Of course,
photons are the most readily available, even to the home hobbyist, in the form
of a laser pointer or other light source. A laser source is more
effective since the light emanates in parallel lines, perpendicular to the
beam, versus a light bulb or other incandescent source. (More on this in a
later post.)
A receiving medium, i.e., a sheet of paper or
other backdrop, may exhibit a grouping of photons in what physicists
inelegantly refer to as a “clump” directly in back of the slits. On the other
hand, the photons may form a striped pattern on the background, a pattern of
vertical stripes ranging away from the center of the midpoint to each side in
ever-lessening intensity, none of which are in back of the slits.
Implausible as it may seem, whether a grouping of
photons or electrons form a “clump” or a striped pattern on the background,
depends on the presence or absence of what some refer to as an “observer.”
However, this is an unfortunate term since the term connotes a human being
involved in the “observation.” True, a human can be an objective observer of
the phenomenon; however, removing even the tiniest human factor in the
experiment and findings is better served if the term “detector” is used to
represent an inorganic “observer” recording the results. HINT: It doesn’t
matter – the results are the same. Keep in mind that, could it be determined
which slit the photons went through, impossible except with highly
sophisticated laboratory equipment, the result would be two clumps behind the
slits.
If you think the results of that experiment are puzzling,
check out this video on the Quantum Eraser experiment
wherein the results are changed retroactively, i.e., the past is
changed. (I wish I knew about this possibility after my last college exam.)
The double-slit light experiment was designed and
first performed by Thomas Young in England and his findings presented to the
Royal Society of London on November 24, 1803.[3] Yet,
although he was a polymath in his time, his is not exactly a household name
like Einstein or Hawking. Although not an exact match to the details of Young’s
experiment, the process, hypothesis and results of modern experiments are the
same.
I don’t know about you, dear Reader, but I am amazed
by the results – and more significantly, the implications – of Young’s
200-year-old findings. Of course, I have encountered the double-slit experiment
as a passing reference in classes, textbooks and curiosity-driven, self-motivated
research, but I never delved into the implications until recently. If the work
of Richard Feynman; Erwin Schrödinger; Neils Bohr; in this case, the
temporarily intransigent Albert Einstein; Max Planck; Werner Heisenberg;
Stephen Hawking and many others too numerous to mention, are the spreading
roots and branches of quantum mechanics, Thomas Young’s experiment and findings
are the taproot, the beginning of recognition of reality at a sub-microscopic
level.
And then, we have the development of research into string theory, superstring theory, and M-theory, all three superbly elegant and related theories, even if someday proven invalid. These theories lead to thoughts of alternate universes, multiverses (countless universes), membranes (hence, the “M” in “M-theory”), Calabi-Yau manifolds, p-branes (not pea-brains), the possibility of other dimensions a fraction of a millimeter “above” (outside?) the ones to which we are accustomed. All of these are not only beyond the scope of this writing but are admittedly beyond my ken – for now. (Although, as a former artist and Fine Arts major, the beauty and facets of Calabi-Yau manifolds are visually intriguing).
Of course, one can point out that science has led mankind to some of the worst devastation of its own species as well as others, to which I would point out that the decisions to use that science and the resulting destructive forces were not made by scientists, much less science, but by those who had, and still have, no understanding of the power behind the science or the expected results. The decisions were made by uneducated minds in the relevant fields, hardly a rational argument against science.
I offer this piece for two reasons: 1) to hopefully arouse
curiosity or some interest in science beyond sucking an egg into a milk bottle,
powering a small digital clock with a potato, or the “magical properties” of a
lever and, 2) to aver that if science is allowed full rein to gallop ahead, we
will learn that reality is much more provocative and chimerical than any
fantasies that the human mind can conjure and commit to novels, movies, and
belief systems.
Further, according to theoretical physicist, Michio
Kaku, PhD, knowledge gleaned from scientific research in these areas may be the
magic wand that saves our species, not from ourselves (that’s on us), but from
the inevitable flameout of our sun or collapse of our universe as we know it.[5]
NATURAL MAGIC!
[1]
The “-on” ending on most of these particles seems to be a legacy from ancient
Greek wherein declension of nouns and adjectives, in neuter form, ended in
“-on.” The Greek naming convention apparently stuck in physics as it has in
medicine and other scientific disciplines.
[2]
The role of the cat in the video is a not-so-subtle reference to “Schrödinger’s
cat,” a metaphor for one of the implications of quantum mechanics.
[3]
Ananthaswamy, Anil. Through Two Doors at Once: The Elegant
Experiment That Captures the Enigma of Our Quantum Reality,
Penguin Random House, New York, New York, 2018, pp. 13-14.
[4]
See Galileo and the Scientific Revolution by Laura Fermi/Gilberto
Bernardini, Courier Corporation, 2013, and Meditations on First Philosophy
by René Descartes, specifically “Meditation III” and “Meditation V.”
[5]
Kaku, Michio. Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher
Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos, Doubleday, New York, New York,
2005.
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