User:Noahsarksofttoys

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The 20TH century has been a century of leaps and bounds in the scientific world, we have been so fortunate to have lived in it and now into this next one. Almost as soon as Einstein's theory of relativity solved some of the unanswerable questions of the time and propelled us forward to even more exciting discoveries and understanding of how things work and the relationship between particles, quantum mechanics has opened up a new volume of unanswered questions and strange phenomena. How can it be that tiny particles of matter are so intricately and co dependently designed. That the universe hangs there and goes on and on to mind boggling quantities and size, with mathematical laws, some of which we know and understand, that just make things work? The strange behavior of light, what is time, when did they start and how, who started the big bang, what existed before the big bang, the EPR paradox, the double slit experiment, does observation change things, who’s looking at us, what is the fastest speed possible. These and many more FAQ have yet to be answered and no doubt, will be in time, as have so many have been answered in the past. Will there be another “Newton“, “Rutherford“, “Einstein”, “Hawkins” etc. come along at just the right time to leapfrog us into a whole new world of understanding and adventure. (do you ever wonder about that). Why is an atom electrically neutral (the total negative charge of the electrons exactly balances the total positive charge). What makes it stay that way, what would the universe be like if these rules were different? How can you have rules without a ruler, we don’t create the rules we simply discover them. A pair of protons have spin of 1/2; thus, no matter what direction is chosen for measuring the spin the values are always + 1/2 or - 1/2. A pair of protons has a total spin (angular momentum) equal to zero. When the two protons move in opposite directions until they are far apart the total angular momentum of the system remains zero, even if the two particles are millions of kilometers apart and are not interacting with each other at the time. What “force” maintains this state and it is maintained instantly no matter how far apart the protons are? We sometimes hear stories about twins feeling the same pain at the same time while being 1000’s of kilometers apart. Is the “force” connecting the two the same? Niels Bohr in the early 1900's showed that when an electron changed orbits it did not move in a continuous trajectory from one orbit around the nucleus to another. Instead, it suddenly (instantaneously) disappeared from its original orbit and reappeared in another orbit. Can there really be such a thing as instant? Yes we have answered many of what seemed to be bewildering questions in the past, which have shed new light on the wonders of the universe but while we struggle vigorously to explain the existence and workings of everything in the universe in its unfathomable macro and micro sizes, with the wondrous tools of quantum mechanics and relativity, is the goal; knowledge for knowledge sake, knowledge for the advancement of mankind, is there something in our nature that compels us to want to know how things work and what makes them work or is it to prove that “science” is all we need and therefore we can eliminate the need for any designing or controlling being, such as God. Perhaps it’s a combination of all the above, but I find the more I study these wonderful things we actually are, with every new and exciting step forward, proving He (God) must exist. There is just far too much in quantum or universal physics that screams design, control, blueprint, intention, balance, purpose etc. etc. etc. How could such perfect togetherness come about by chance? Lets question the terms, “Infinity” and 'infinite'. Terms used often and by many in connection with quantum mechanics / physics, mathematics, the size of the universe, density, speed and others. The theory of Relativity tells us that there can’t be anything that is actually infinite, things can only move towards infinity. Even in a black hole where the mass of a large stars collapses in ever decreasing size, it can’t ever be infinitely small. We say the concentrated mass, plus the accumulated mass that is sucked in is finite, the 'infinity' can only refer to the maths. If not, then everything would be in the black hole. Would that be infinity? No because no “thing” can ever be infinite. Stephen Hawking describes the universe as being "finite but unbounded". Perhaps only his mind can get a hold on that one! The universe is said to be expanding, so if it is infinite what is it expanding into?

Going the other way, some say atoms can be broken down into infinitely smaller parts. Although we cant prove we have reached the ultimate elementary particle yet, it does seem that “quarks” may be it. Anything smaller than quarks enters the realm of energy, not particles. Stephen Hawking describes the smallest possible size in our universe, termed the Planck length as being about a millimeter divided by a hundred thousand billion billion billion, which is extremely small, but is not infinite smallness and hasn’t even started to get anywhere near it. Which is a oxymoron statement, sorry about that! In the 4 dimensional world in which we live to go any smaller is impossible, we would then enter the world of M-theory and see the other 7 dimensions of the 11 dimensions that go to make up our universe. These other dimensions are so small that we are unable to detect them, even though the mathematics of theoretical physics says they must exist as part of the fabric of our universe. Isn’t all this just a bit too neat, how could all this, and much more be there and be working so well simply by chance and without control. Sure I need lots of “faith” to believe there is a God who designed, started and keeps all this going, but I surely would need “infinite” faith to believe it all happened and continues without hick up by chance. If you believe the universe came about by chance then the moment it came in existence all “chance” MUST would have had to disappear, because there is no chance in what we observe today. Which leads us neatly into uncertainty principle. In 1926, Werner Heisenberg formulated the principle of uncertainty to try to explain and measure the universe at atomic and subatomic scales eg ; How do you measure the location of an electron around a nucleus? Heisenberg showed that uncertainties always turned up if one tried to measure the position and the momentum of a particle at the same time. He concluded that these uncertainties were not the fault of the experimenter, but fundamental in nature and inherent in quantum mechanics. The uncertainty principle is taken to mean that on an elementary level, the physical universe does not exist in a deterministic form, but rather as a collection of probabilities, or potentials. Which of course prompted Albert Einstein’s famous statement "I cannot believe that God would choose to play dice with the universe“. Which in turn prompted Bohr‘s, who was one of the authors of the Copenhagen interpretation response, "Einstein, don't tell God what to do." Bohr himself acknowledged that quantum mechanics and the uncertainty principle were counter-intuitive when he stated, "Anyone who is not shocked by quantum theory has not understood a single word." Einstein later said: "Of course, we can know where something is; we can know the position of a moving particle if we know every possible detail, and thereby by extension, we can predict where it will go." Bohr and Heisenberg were saying the opposite: "There is no way to know where a moving particle is ever, even given every possible detail, and thereby by extension, we can never predict where it will go”. Bohr also said: "There is no quantum world. There is only an abstract physical description. It is wrong to think that the task of physics is to find out how nature is. Physics concerns what we can say about nature." Is that having a bet each way? Uncertainty principle is just another tool we can use to try to explain that which we can only observe the consequences of. In other words, there may be no quantum leaping of electrons as predicted by quantum mechanics, there may be a definite position of a particle contrary to the uncertainty principle, but the only way we mere humans can describe mathematically in a useful way what we see in the real world is to use Quantum Mechanics. Richard Feynman said: "We have always had a great deal of difficulty understanding the world view that quantum mechanics represents. At least I do, because I'm an old enough man that I haven't got to the point that this stuff is obvious to me. Okay, I still get nervous with it.... You know how it always is, every new idea, it takes a generation or two until it becomes obvious that there's no real problem. I cannot define the real problem, therefore I suspect there's no real problem, but I'm not sure there's no real problem." That sound like something I would expect to hear from someone involved in quantum theory. Is there a uncertainty principle for English?

Now consider other things that exist in our universe and makeup who we are as human beings. Ethics: When we do what is right, we do what is suited to our true nature or in our best interests. That is, when "our" is referring to oneself and or the "group" of self's the local society we are a member of or the larger society, the Human race. Reward and punishment reinforce a moral law in all humans. Happiness is man's goal and is closely linked with goodness. Imagination: is it part of what drives us to even contemplate the wonders of the universe? Could we have even invented the wheel without it? Do any other living things have it? Is it the “in the image of ” piece that God has given only to us? Freewill: Does it actually exist? Uncertainty principle suggests not, is making a choice simply choosing the most certain one of a infinite number of choices? Is the wrong choice or bad choice just another?

Where do these things come from?

Perhaps it is fitting to leave the last word to the great mind. "As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality." Albert Einstein