Preface — I am not a physicist. As a scientist, I feel it may be important to understand some of what is relevant today. I know little about a little.
Before anything, it’s important to understand this word that happens to be flying around quite often:
Quantum means a Quantity of something, however, this is coupled with physics:
So Quantum Physics has to do with the physics (matter, energy, interactions) on the subatomic level.
Below is a (rather shitty) AI-generated:
What it boils down to is:
- Classical Physics: one outcome i.e. if car go down hill at this speed, when will arrive at bottom of hill.
- Quantum Physics: distribution of outcomes i.e. if blindly throw ball, could likely land here, there, here, here, there… except things make zero sense and the ball falls through the ground etc…
The state of things we can see can be predicted with classical physics i.e. cars, planets, trees (to a certain extent)
Things at the subatomic level — Quantum Physics — do not follow the same rules, exhibiting odd behaviors, such as:
- Entanglement
The most romantic of concepts, Subatomic Soulmates, 2 particles that are synchronized no matter the distance between them.
Figure 6: Diagram of a generic Bell test (Ruzbehani, 2021)
They create 2 entangled photons (particles) in a satellite in space, send them to Earth at two separate locations, and measure each one independently using different detector settings.
Figure 7: Micius Experiment Diagram (Lu et Al, 2022)
Each result looks random on its own, but when they compare the data later, the outcomes line up in a very specific way that shows the two photons were acting as one connected system the whole time.
Takeaway: some particles are deeply interconnected in ways we cannot even see or understand, even across huge distances.
Relevance: the universe is not built from independent pieces (hippie vibes intensify).
- Superposition: electrons (mass) and photons (massless light particles) can exist in multiple states or places at once until measured.
Figure 1: Photon Created from the Vibration of a Particle (EWT)
So they shot 1 laser at 2 slits and found the following:
Figure 2: 2-slit experiment (builtin)
Figure 3: Single & double slit experiment
Takeaway: the light particle goes through the 2 slits at the same time, where it exists in multiple possible places at once (superposition), and that creates the pattern.
Relevance: the foundation for Quantum Computing (covered next blog entry).
- Tunneling:
Waves at the subatomic level can pass solid barriers continuously
Figure 4: Quantum Tunneling (BYJU’s)
Takeaway: particles can directly pass through objects continuously.
Relevance: in flash computer memory, electrons tunnel through insulating layers. i.e. tunneling is crucial for modern computing.
Figure 5: Control Gate and Tunneling (Atoms and Sporks)
Quantum physics is not a singular discipline, but rather intricately woven set of rules in how things move in the subatomic level.
Understanding Quantum can (and has) lead us to incredible leaps in science that use these rules for the benefit of humanity, something I will cover next week in Quantum Computing.
Sources:
https://energywavetheory.com/photons/photon-interactions/
https://builtin.com/software-engineering-perspectives/superposition
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Quantum_physics
https://byjus.com/physics/quantum-tunnelling/
https://atomsandsporks.wordpress.com/2020/04/19/quantum-tunneling-and-flash-memory/
Ruzbehani, M. (2021). Simulation of the Bell inequality violation based on quantum steering concept. Scientific Reports, 11, 5647. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-85041-5
https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-news-analysis/micius-a-quantum-enabled-satellite
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