I’ve cited Nick Lucid’s Science Asylum YouTube channel over the years. His latest video is a wonderful take on all the quantum cat clickbait which I’ve noticed lately – another nostalgic set of pieces on Schrödinger’s legendary thought experiment. Much misunderstood [1]. A favorite of fabulists (and mystics). Well, Nick nails the reality. Yet, I… Continue reading Enough cat in a box! – an isolation setup
In quantum field theory, if gravity isn’t a fundamental force, how does it emerge? This article describes a theory of deep quantum electromagnetic interactions. Photon transactions (emission / absorption) populate a relational network of events which structures spacetime. According to the theory, each transaction gives rise to a pair of events in spacetime, effectively stitching… Continue reading Reframing spacetime – a stitch of events or pitch of time
[Draft 1-6-2025 see comments for updates] Yeah, quantum physics is weird. What might be called Weirdness 1.0 (QM), 1.1 (QED), 1.2 (QCD), etc., as I’ve written about, have embedded frozen tropes in the popular psyche. But can’t we do better? When physicists talk about analogies – use everyday language (terms) to talk about the quantum… Continue reading Advancing QFT visualization – further demystification?
There are some rarified (typically mathematical) arguments that random processes – given an infinite scope & time – will “almost surely” produce any specific artifact spontaneously – a complex thing in its entirety, rather than its components. Such claims strike me as mythic (at best). Yet, naturally, the meaning and emergence (evolution) of consciousness (conscious… Continue reading Boltzmann brain RIP?
How dark is the universe? Optically – for visible light. Far away from star light and reflected dust. Here’s an interesting perspective on electromagnetic (EM) cosmic energy density – just for optical wavelengths. And without any clarification of fuzzy bounds for a galaxy’s reach. The entire electromagnetic spectrum is another story. • Live Science >… Continue reading How dark is the universe – optically?
Here’s a possible story which helps demystify quantum field theory. A personal visualization, which stays within the bounds of spacetime and avoids needless paradoxes. There are two key concepts to my sketch: the Grid and a quantum’s tail. This post lays out the second idea, namely, a quantum’s tail.
Here’s a possible story which helps demystify quantum field theory. A personal visualization, which stays within the bounds of spacetime and avoids needless paradoxes. There are two key concepts to my sketch: the Grid and a quantum’s tail. This post lays out the first idea, namely, the Grid.
This post is about my ongoing physics research project. To tell a story (perhaps literally) which conceptually unpacks quantum field theory. That is, to develop a framework which: visualizes Wilczek’s Grid (discussed in other posts) and demystifies the historical tropes of quantum mechanics.
[Preliminary 11-11-2023] [“Quantum foundations” series] Table of contents Context This post was inspired by Don Lincoln’s latest YouTube video (below). Insights from quantum field theory (QFT) have helped me better understand strange aspects of quantum theory [1]. In particular, leaving behind notions of point particles and wave-particle duality, and just going with fields and wavepackets in… Continue reading Wavepackets and uncertainty principle
[“Quantum foundations” series – QFT charge inversion] As discussed elsewhere (e.g., in “QFT – How many fields are there?” and comments), in the Standard Model, “there is one field for each kind of particle.” So, consider the positron – the “negative-energy solution” of the Dirac equation. It’s likely that electrons and positrons (anti-electrons) are localized… Continue reading Does antimatter ‘fall’ the same as matter? – QFT and CPT symmetry
