h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Ehh, universal time got thrown out of the window with Einstein about a hundred years ago.

>>"Especially as I'm now being led to believe that there's no such thing as (universal) time."

Regarding QM, I get the feeling that you're generally led to places you already want to go to.

Potholer,
Why do you say that? I happen to be reading a book by a guy who is on basically the same wavelength as me apropos things QM. I accept he's 21 years out of date and that I've ever been in date, but nevertheless it's two men's attempts to get to the bottom of all this QM stuff isn't it? Or if not to the bottom of it at least another step along the quantum road.
I accept atoms and electrons and what have you but when it comes down to me saying I accept something like quarks you all throw up your hand in horror. I don't understand why you do that? I mean for example, quarks, ok we can't see them, so I suppose they're like an invisible billiard ball, but you know it's there because of where the other balls are going. That's my own analogy from looking at all those diags. of paths of particles etc. Those CERN things cost a lot of money so I must assume they're serving a useful purpose in plotting these paths and as a layman that's the way I see the results.
But what does it all mean at the end of the day? Is it merely an intellectual and mathematical exercise or is there some point to it. I've established, in my own mind at least, that the universe is a bundle of energy interacting with itself and that we are a miniscule part of it. And I'll accept that it all started 15 - 20 billion years ago, a long time ago, and that it will all end a long time into the future. And I'll even give you that we live in a wrap-around universe, a bubble pack that's expanding at the speed of light if you like. And I'll even throw in the fact that there's a quark on the other side of the universe that will affect what a quark in my room is doing if you like.
So where does it leave us? The non-universe, the place outside the plastic bag or the bubble-wrap, or the limit of red shift, or whatever. What's going on there? And isn't what's going on there also part of QM? And therefore we should be asking ourselves, like the Dala Lama (guilty of starting this whole discussion) about other matters? Dare I say it? Is there a creator or a karma? Is there a hand on the wheel? Is there any sense to the universe et al? Any point to it? No, you say. It's just maths.

>>"And I'll even throw in the fact that there's a quark on the other side of the universe that will affect what a quark in my room is doing if you like."

Not necessarily a quark. In fact, photons are the usual examples.
Even then, they're only connected if they had been prepared in a very special way at the same place, and the 'affect' is of a very specific, limited and one-off nature. As a source of meaningful communication, they appear to be quite useless.

>>"Dare I say it? Is there a creator or a karma? Is there a hand on the wheel?"

You can say it, but it's unconnected to QM.

>>"Is there any sense to the universe et al? Any point to it? No, you say. It's just maths."

No, that's not remotely what I've said. Once again, you're looking at the wrong level of analysis.
Some things have a point to *me*, and that is unaffected by anyone's conclusions over whether the universe has a point.

What *kind* of point could a universe have?

Potholer,
Ok, sorry, you didn't say it, but I get the impression there's somebody out there thinking it - everything is only maths.


"What point could a universe have?"
REPEAT:
"What point could a universe have?"

Exactly!

That's what the Dalai Lama is spending his whole life trying to figure out. And that's why he has recruited the best brains in the QM business. It's brings us nicely back to post 1.

>>"Potholer,
Ok, sorry, you didn't say it, but I get the impression there's somebody out there thinking it - everything is only maths."

Well, it sure as s*** isn't me, as would be obvious from the bulk of what I have written.

And the question was:

"What KIND of point could a universe have?"

No. wrong Lucky. You're doing it backwards.

Start with the basics - I outlined that in my post. Heck, start by trying to understand the basics of regular sound waves.

You're trying to start with the cutting edge, neglecting the basic building blocks.

Just start with learning about sound waves.

Sorry, my browser didn't refresh. That doesn't make a lot of sense.

Lucky, I think you're starting to ask some interesting questions - the same ones that the people building CERN are asking. But then you go and say the Dalai Lama is asking/solving the same problem. Which just doesn't work.

I think your interest and willingness to learn are commendable, I just would like to see you learn what quantum mechanics is really about.

Q. "What KIND of point could a universe have?"

A. Wow! That's deep!
Everything eating everything else?

Arnie,
I think that sound waves consist of vibrations at a certain frequency in a medium, in this case air, entering my ears which my brain interprets as information. Other animals can perceive sound waves arriving at higher and lower frequencies; whales, dogs, insects etc. A rainbow of sound you might imagine, and I'm receiving the middle range sounds (yellow,green).
I presume the air must be vibrating due to a disturbance caused by the particles moving about. If I want to hear sounds beyond the limited range of my ears then I need a receiver, like a radio, to receive and modify the sound into something that I can hear.
As for light waves. When I turn my television on to a empty channel I understand that I see the photons, the particles, bursting on the back of the screen, presumably because the screen is coated with some substance which they cannot pass through?

" When I turn my television on to a empty channel I understand that I see the photons, the particles, bursting on the back of the screen, presumably because the screen is coated with some substance which they cannot pass through?"

Not quite.

Assuming you are using a CRT screen (plasma works differently, as does LCD (and differently within sub groups of LCD) as does Laser and OLED) then the CRT tube at the back has an electron gun. This fires electrons at the front of the screen (the bit you see) which is coated inside with phosphur. When an electron hits the phosphur the phosphur emits a photon which is what you intercept to see the picture. This happens on any channel - empty ones being particularly fun since they enable you to see the creation of the universe (sort of). There's lots of other bits in there too.

Thanky you Ictoan. That is very intersting. Our untuned TV screen is how I imagine a universe (as you say "sort of").

Lucky, you need to understand the basic maths behind sound waves. What does higher volume actually mean, physically? What does higher frequency actually mean, physically?

http://www.school-for-champions.com/science/sound.htm

That's a service! Wish me luck!

Oh and a radio doesn´t pick up high frequency sounds waves. It picks up radio waves, which are a form of electromagnetic waves, and converts these into sound using the speakers.

Do you really think telling him you can see the beginning of the universe on your TV is a good idea?

I may have to nominate you for another wilde award for that Xanatic!

Hey you guys, stop rofling, I'm on my way. Sound Waves and General Wave Motion for today; so there!

Good luck - and don't hesitate to ask if you have questions.

Thanks Arnie. I'll keep you to that. I'm taking it step by step.
I just got the first 6 test Qs. right I'm pleased to say!

I think I may eventually need advice on how to type those strange symbols like upside down Y's and such things, but not yet.

I thought I´d explain the thing about the universe on tv. When you don´t have your tv tuned in to a channel, all you see on it is "snow". This is because normally the tv takes the info it is sent with EM-waves and turns it into a picture, but if it is not set to a specific channel what it recieves instead is electromagnetic background noise. There is always some EM-waves being sent out by different things, washing machines, the sun and other things. Your tv is trying to take this EM-noise and turn into a picture, and that is what gives the snow. Part of this EM-noise is actually radiation originating from the Big Bang that´s been hanging around, so part of the snow you see on your tv is actually a representation of the Big Bang.