Quantum Mystery

A Quantum Mystery

In the submicroscopic world, things behave in strange ways. The laws of quantum mechanics are different from the Newtonian laws that govern the macro world—for instance, one quantum physicist has discovered that he can lower the temperature of an object or cause it to move just by watching it.

According to physicist Keith Schwab, the problem comes in finding the dividing line between the two worlds—the micro and the macro—even in establishing that such a line exists. He has created a tiny device—a tiny (8.7 microns, or millionths of a meter, long; 200 nanometers, or billionths of a meter, wide) sliver of aluminum on silicon nitride, which is pinned down at both ends and allowed to vibrate in the middle. He and his team observed this tiny object and measured its vibrations. Schwab says his team discovered that "by looking at it we can make it move." They were able to cool it down the same way. He says, "…if we were to keep going on with this work, we would be able to cool this thing very cold. Much colder than we could if we just had this big refrigerator." Next, he wants to test another principle of quantum mechanic--the superposition principle--which holds that a particle can simultaneously be in two places. Schwab says, "We're trying to make a mechanical device be in two places at one time. What's really neat is it looks like we should be able to do it."

Quantum physicist Dean Radin, who was a recent Dreamland guest, doesn’t think the micro world acts so differently from the macro, but says the problem is that we don't fully understand how the larger world really works. He writes: "One of the most surprising discoveries of modern physics is that objects aren't as separate as they may seem. When you drill down into the core of even the most solid-looking material, separateness dissolves. All that remains…are relationships extending curiously throughout space and time…Scientists are now finding that there are ways in which the effects of microscopic entanglements 'scale up' into our macroscopic world. Entangled connections between carefully prepared atomic-sized objects can persist over many miles…What if these speculations are correct? What would human experience be like in such an interconnected universe? Would we occasionally have numinous feelings of connectedness with loved ones at a distance? Would such experiences evoke a feeling of awe that there's more to reality than common sense implies? Could ‘entangled minds’ result in the experience of your hearing the telephone ring and somehow knowing-- instantly--who's calling? If we did have such experiences, could they be due to real information that somehow bypassed the usual sensory channels, or are such reports mere delusions? Can psychic or 'psi' experiences be studied by science, or are they beyond the reach of rational understanding?"

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