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+--- Thread: Introduction to basic quantum ideas. (/Thread-Introduction-to-basic-quantum-ideas)
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RE: Introduction to basic quantum ideas. - Wisher - 04-19-2013
Cool.
I think it is good you did it from memory and not using manuals and formulae, that way is easier to read and comes more naturally, even if it does not follow the order it would be taught in an university. Moreover, I really like the introduction about how all came from trying to improve light bulbs, i didn't know that part, and it really makes everything gain a lot of sense.
There's something would have said differently, though. I always understood Schrödinger's cat paradox not as if the cat is both dead and alive at the same time, but more like the functions cat(dead) and cat(alive), which are probabilistic, overlap, and when the observer opens the box and actually looks inside, one of the two functions collapses, and the cat becomes a dead cat (or an alive cat) in that moment. Yeah, very much the same way you collapse the wave function of an electron by observing it. It is one of nthe principles of quantum physics that I have always loved: the fact that you are observing the system actually modifies the system.
Great work ^_^ It is a pity this sub-forum Doesn't have a topic recopilatory of quality threads, we could add this one to that imaginary list and put it on post-it.
RE: Introduction to basic quantum ideas. - Wisher - 04-19-2013
Cool.
I think it is good you did it from memory and not using manuals and formulae, that way is easier to read and comes more naturally, even if it does not follow the order it would be taught in an university. Moreover, I really like the introduction about how all came from trying to improve light bulbs, i didn't know that part, and it really makes everything gain a lot of sense.
There's something would have said differently, though. I always understood Schrödinger's cat paradox not as if the cat is both dead and alive at the same time, but more like the functions cat(dead) and cat(alive), which are probabilistic, overlap, and when the observer opens the box and actually looks inside, one of the two functions collapses, and the cat becomes a dead cat (or an alive cat) in that moment. Yeah, very much the same way you collapse the wave function of an electron by observing it. It is one of nthe principles of quantum physics that I have always loved: the fact that you are observing the system actually modifies the system.
Great work ^_^ It is a pity this sub-forum Doesn't have a topic recopilatory of quality threads, we could add this one to that imaginary list and put it on post-it.
RE: Introduction to basic quantum ideas. - -ELM - 04-19-2013
(04-19-2013, 01:51 PM)Wisher Wrote: Cool.
I think it is good you did it from memory and not using manuals and formulae, that way is easier to read and comes more naturally, even if it does not follow the order it would be taught in an university. Moreover, I really like the introduction about how all came from trying to improve light bulbs, i didn't know that part, and it really makes everything gain a lot of sense.
There's something would have said differently, though. I always understood Schrödinger's cat paradox not as if the cat is both dead and alive at the same time, but more like the functions cat(dead) and cat(alive), which are probabilistic, overlap, and when the observer opens the box and actually looks inside, one of the two functions collapses, and the cat becomes a dead cat (or an alive cat) in that moment. Yeah, very much the same way you collapse the wave function of an electron by observing it. It is one of nthe principles of quantum physics that I have always loved: the fact that you are observing the system actually modifies the system.
Great work ^_^ It is a pity this sub-forum Doesn't have a topic recopilatory of quality threads, we could add this one to that imaginary list and put it on post-it.
Thank you for your kind words. Most universities seem to introduce quantum ideas via the Bohr model but I thought showing that energy is quantized holds just as much significance as energy levels being quantized and offers the understanding in a clearer fashion. And you are indeed correct, when first proposing the paradox Schrodinger himself referred to a smearing and mixing of the two wave functions prior to measurement and consequently the collapse of the wave function. However for first time readers I thought it would be easier to understand if I highlighted the fact that the cat is indeed in a state of being alive and being dead simply by the fact that there is an overlap of said wave functions.
RE: Introduction to basic quantum ideas. - -ELM - 04-19-2013
(04-19-2013, 01:51 PM)Wisher Wrote: Cool.
I think it is good you did it from memory and not using manuals and formulae, that way is easier to read and comes more naturally, even if it does not follow the order it would be taught in an university. Moreover, I really like the introduction about how all came from trying to improve light bulbs, i didn't know that part, and it really makes everything gain a lot of sense.
There's something would have said differently, though. I always understood Schrödinger's cat paradox not as if the cat is both dead and alive at the same time, but more like the functions cat(dead) and cat(alive), which are probabilistic, overlap, and when the observer opens the box and actually looks inside, one of the two functions collapses, and the cat becomes a dead cat (or an alive cat) in that moment. Yeah, very much the same way you collapse the wave function of an electron by observing it. It is one of nthe principles of quantum physics that I have always loved: the fact that you are observing the system actually modifies the system.
Great work ^_^ It is a pity this sub-forum Doesn't have a topic recopilatory of quality threads, we could add this one to that imaginary list and put it on post-it.
Thank you for your kind words. Most universities seem to introduce quantum ideas via the Bohr model but I thought showing that energy is quantized holds just as much significance as energy levels being quantized and offers the understanding in a clearer fashion. And you are indeed correct, when first proposing the paradox Schrodinger himself referred to a smearing and mixing of the two wave functions prior to measurement and consequently the collapse of the wave function. However for first time readers I thought it would be easier to understand if I highlighted the fact that the cat is indeed in a state of being alive and being dead simply by the fact that there is an overlap of said wave functions.