Alice in Quantumland - 1023 Words

Alice in Quantumland 1. Electrons have no distinguishing features except spin Upon falling into the quantum wonderland while in her living room, Alice finds herself faced with a new reality of existence that seems to baffle her. She is first met with some strange-looking dweller of the new and vastly strange wonderland that she could not make out. She politely introduces herself as Alice, thereby invoking a response from her companion to the effect that it was an electron. Alice also noted that nearby was another similar looking figure to the electron, to which the new acquaintance explained was a different electron. To Alice, the two electrons looked strikingly alike, down to the umbrella they seemed to have been†¦show more content†¦This is verified by the double slit experiment. The experiment yields the phenomenon of interference when electrons are shot out from an electron gun one at a time; they are shot in a beam through an obstacle with two slits and onto a screen. T his experiment, and the resulting interference, indicates that each electron passes through the two slits at the same time and essentially interferes with itself. Similar to the other phenomena that Alice encounters, this one is also in direct violation of common sense judgments of observations in the macro-world. In essence, no observable entity in the real world of classical mechanics is capable of doing all things possible at the same time, let alone be in several different positions at the same time. 5. The Copenhagen interpretation and Schrà ¶dinger’s cat Alice proceeds to meet with a series of other unusual characters while in the quantum wonderland. One of the most intriguing characters she comes across is undoubtedly Schrà ¶dinger’s cat. Alice learns that Schrà ¶dinger had left a cat behind with some inhabitants of the quantum wonderland which he used as an experiment to test and prove some of the theories espoused within the larger field of quantum mechanic s. Schrà ¶dinger set up an experiment in which the cat was to be placed inside a box with a flask of poison, a radioactive source and a mechanism that would ensureShow MoreRelatedAlice In Quantumland 20142027 Words   |  9 Pagesï » ¿ Alice in Quantumland, speaks about a law of the quantum world, which shows that electrons have no distinguishing features except for their spin. This law being all electrons are identical, except that some spin-up, whereas others spin-down. The electrons even spin at the same speed. This allows them to interact harmoniously with each other and to find pairs within their space based only on each other s spins. In the novel, Alice noted that nearby was another similar looking figure to the electronRead MoreAn Adventure of the Quantum Universe in Alice in Quantumland by Robert Gilmore1556 Words   |  7 PagesThe novel, Alice and Quantum Land, by Robert Gilmore is an adventure in the Quantum universe. Alice, a normal teenage girl, goes through quant um land and understands what quantum is and how it works. The quantum world is a difficult one to understand, as its nature is one of complex states of being, natures, principles, notions, and the like. When these principles or concepts are compared with the macro world, one can find great similarities and even greater dissimilarities between the world wherein