Quantum stuff

[bluedog225]

Interesting article about bringing quantum theory into the lab.

https://www.quantamagazine.org/physi...thing-20230222

[Paul Pless]

but less offensive idea

no ****

[Chris Woodward]

[QUOTE]which is a peculiar type of nothing that comes dangerously close to resembling a something. /QUOTE]
This might become my new tag line

[AndyG]

Guys, be careful about taking energy out of the vacuum...

"If our universe is in a false vacuum state rather than a true vacuum state, then the decay from the less stable false vacuum to the more stable true vacuum (called false vacuum decay) could have dramatic consequences. The effects could range from complete cessation of existing fundamental forces, elementary particles and structures comprising them, to subtle change in some cosmological parameters, mostly depending on the potential difference between true and false vacuum. Some false vacuum decay scenarios are compatible with survival of structures like galaxies and stars or even biological life while others involve the full destruction of baryonic matter or even immediate gravitational collapse of the universe."

"Dramatic consequences"

Andy

[bluedog225]

Hope it’s quick.

[Jim Mahan]

I dreamed about it last night and there was nothing left in the morning.

I haven't read the link in the OP yet, but it is amazing, and a truly good use of that word, where we (physicists) are getting to. Yesterday I read a short article about some work that involves freezing a single electron in an observational chamber built by the world's most powerful laser arrangement, and effectively measuring it in situ.

[P.I. Stazzer-Newt]

Guys, be careful about taking energy out of the vacuum...

"If our universe is in a false vacuum state rather than a true vacuum state, then the decay from the less stable false vacuum to the more stable true vacuum (called false vacuum decay) could have dramatic consequences. The effects could range from complete cessation of existing fundamental forces, elementary particles and structures comprising them, to subtle change in some cosmological parameters, mostly depending on the potential difference between true and false vacuum. Some false vacuum decay scenarios are compatible with survival of structures like galaxies and stars or even biological life while others involve the full destruction of baryonic matter or even immediate gravitational collapse of the universe[COLOR=#202122][FONT=-apple-system]."

"Dramatic consequences"

Andy

Brilliant - deserves a Poll!

Is This;
1 - An accurate account of the current thinking on theoretical physics

2 - A Spoof account of the current thiking

3 - A Chatgpt essay by someone studying hard and hoping for a "C" at O-Level

4 - Other.

[AndyG]

It is 1. And a collapse would propagate at c, so we'd never even know it was coming.

A potential "Nothing, Everywhere, With No Warning".

Andy

[bluedog225]

Yeah. But what if it propagated at 100 miles a day. That would get exciting.

[Jim Mahan]

It just tickles the pie out of me that we are at a point in our understanding of the Universe that we can observe, measure and count, and make use of quantum mechanics, the tiniest invisible stuff, and at the same time also know and observe and measure with our amazing tech, the same nature of that level of stuff, at large in the cosmos, tens of billions of years ago and that far way, and deduce that the same particles, quarks and molecular hydrogen, are influenced by gravity enough to clump into great clouds enough to make enough gravity to well up into stars large enough to generate fusion in their cores, all in more or less empty space, and become aggregated to make the largest and most complex things we can imagine—other than the human brain—galaxies and galaxy clusters—and our understanding of all that is accurate enough to be functional enough to send remote tech out of our solar system to continue that exploration.

Tickled. Just fckn tickled. AND nearly all of that understanding and tech developement has happened in only the last hundred years or so, based on the most rudimentary observations by our curious forbears over the last few millenia.

[LeeG]

it’s a good time to be a hairless ape Jim.

[Chris Woodward]

A bunch of fiddle fking hairless apes who can't leave well enough alone, and will kill us all in the end.