Ask Michio Kaku. Is Quantum Real or Imaginary

Michio Kaku: Theoretical Physicist, Bestselling Author, Popularizer of Science: "Ask Michio Kaku"

Just in the process of finishing Michio's amazing book Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos but I have a few problems with it. Not with what he is saying or how he is saying it but more the community in general. Like giving absolutes like nothing travels faster than the speed of light.. now in general relativity that is correct, but when we go to the infantesimally small in the quantum world or for that matter to dark matter and dark energy which make up about 22% and 74% respectively and we know almost nearly nothing of either of these states can we truly say with absolute certainty that NOTHING TRAVELS FASTER THAN LIGHT.

When we know (kind of) that during the inflationary period of the creation of the universe that something must have travelled faster than light to create the size of the current universe.. if not we remodel a theory to fit the hypothesise that nothing travels faster than light.

Now I know that maybe I am being a simpleton here and I would imagine I am missing something key here but....

Another thing that I always wondered when it came to the Quantum world was the theory of observation that made things real or pop into existence (ok another gross simplification here). In essence again electrons defy our traditional world view (of the very large) in how they orbit around each other and their friends. Its like a frantic drunken drug induced dance, rather than the majestic almost preordained ballet of how the moons orbit the planets, planets orbit the star, solar systems orbit each other within the galaxy etc and etc.

Here again I see the electron (again I could and more than likely are wrong because of my gross misunderstanding of the field) as been something else (when mathematically positioned it is within an area of probabilities that it is by the window just beside the bit of dust I meant to clean away) so it is in now a nice static fixed location. But in the Quantum world they say it isn't because before I observed it, it could have been elsewhere. It was only because I saw this (figuratively speaking of course) that it was and is really there.

I think our view of the world with things in static position and when we assume that they are mathematically is wrong (again I add my lack of knowledge here could make this whole post a waste of my and your time and I am missing something because of it). I will hopefully over the next few days create an animation to show the following:
My little electron is sitting my the mote of dust happily static and in its fixed position (relativity speaking).
I take a step back and now the mote of dust and the electron are sitting in position on the window sill.
I take another step back and the window sill is sitting statically in my wall of my house fixed solidly in the ground.
Take another step back (and have to go above my house here but go with me on this) my house is sitting statically on the ground (no earth quake zone here thank whatever) immovable, fixed not moving... but hold on it is cause I am hovering fixed above my house and the house is moving with the rotation of the earth, infact so am I but now at a slightly different speed, I move further up and out and I see now that my house and the earth are moving at quite a speed within its non fixed position within time and space, the further out I move the more the electron that was sitting happily dancing in its location beside the mote of dust was always moving, but infact that bit more because when it is taken within its own position within time and space and the position of the observer is taken within their own everything is moving and nothing is fixed >:¬}.

So when Heisenberg came up with the uncertainty principle, that when trying to locate the position of a particle in a small region of space the momentum of the particle makes it almost impossible to precisely locate its position. Should not we also take into consideration the position of the observer and the actual position of the space we are trying to observe at the time, in order to attempt to precisely locate its position. But because we do not know the exact position of the universe and extrapolating that our own position within it how can we ever work out when taking all the other forces into account that can influence a particle its exact position. Can we not be happy with an approximation.. god my head hurts! >:¬}

Either way back to Michio Kaku's book Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos, read it, its brilliant and written in such away that even I can grasp the sniff of what he is saying, but it gives you a real true understanding on how small we really are and how wonderful the universe really is. It has everything a great book needs to have, excitement, knowledge, passion, romance, thrills (ok maybe not traditional romance but.... >:¬} buy it, borrow it steal it.. but what you must do is read it!

If Michio actually reads this post I only really said buy it!


Seed Newsvine

Wireless Electricity

Xinhua - English" BEIJING, June 8 (Xinhuanet) -- Scientists may have signaled an end to electric cords and batteries when they lit a 60-watt light bulb from a power source seven feet away without using a physical connection. The researchers have named their concept "WiTricity" as in "wireless electricity."

MIT physicist Marin Soljacic started thinking years ago about how to transmit power wirelessly so his cell phone could recharge without ever being plugged in. "

Telsa did this almost 80 years ago, glad to see the world is beginning to catch up, needless to say he was also a major advocate and the father of "Zero Point Energy" which would not only solve the energy problem, Global Warming but also my back pocket!

For those who don't know Zero Point Energy is straight out of the quantum world. "In a quantum mechanical system such as the particle in a box or the quantum harmonic oscillator, the lowest possible energy is called the zero-point energy. According to classical physics, the kinetic energy of a particle in a box or the kinetic energy of the harmonic oscillator may be zero if the velocity is zero." Taken from Wikipedia Zero Point
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Get your own chart!

As an aside I remember I was giving a speech in Istanbul in 1999 for Com 21 cable company to the European Cable Industry. Over several drinks I had a long conversation with a wireless expert and I was saying it was only a matter of decades that we would have wireless power. He refuted it, but I was adamant that I was right, for me it was energy and it was only a matter of when it could be done, one matter stream is the same as another. Ok did not understand the science behind it, but the principle. Just wish now I bet on it >:¬}

Shape my day the Quantum Way

Over the last number of years I have been thinking on the possibilities of the mind, where we have come from, where we are and where we will be in the never ending now!
I have noticed that over the last 20 years (OK its taken me a long time), either I have been more receptive or there has actually been a major increase in group awareness of the power of the "Unified Mind" and what it can achieve.

Ireland and the Celtic Tiger I feel is a classic example of an awaking to the potential. For decades essentially since independence from Britain the Irish had a down beat view of ourselves, we had probably one of the greatest inferiority complex a nation could have. We worked hard outside of Ireland and "dossed" at home. We were always the almost haves, we almost won a medal in the Olympics. We had this sicofantic notion of ourselves that we were held back from our true potential by the BRITS, why it was their fault that we did not... what ever.

The ironic thing about our "sudden" belief in ourselves as a nation of peoples who can achieve things on a global scale, to be peoples who actually matter, to be a country that people want to come to visit on holidays (in their millions) to a country that is now viewed as the land of opportunity for hundreds of thousands of Europeans is actually down to a few BRITS, Jack Charlton, Daniel Day Lewis, Alan Parker to name but a few (ok Jim Sheridan and Roddy Doyle are Dubs and Irish but go with me on this)!

Upto the late 1980's and early 1990's Ireland was a nation of major begrudgers and we were a net exporter of our own People! Then it started with Big Jack and Stuttgard 1988 ENGLAND 0-1 IRELAND all of a sudden we bet them.. we actually bet them in their own beautiful game (OK it was a Scottish guy who scored the goal). Before the game we did not even think it could happen. Our hearts dreamt of the day that we would have a team that would actually bet England, but our heads new we couldn't... sure what the hell were we doing in the European Championships anyway. We won! God I remember the parties that day. Most people can remember where they were that day as well. Hearing the stories from people you would think that most of Ireland was actually there in the Stuttgard. When the boys came back it was to a hero's welcome. Not because we won the European Championships ( we did not.. not even close) but what they did was all of a sudden our hearts desire became a reality ... We bet England in football. This was to become known as "The Stuttgart Effect"! If we could do this we could achieve almost anything. Jack Charlton gave us a belief in ourselves.

In 1989 Jim Sheridan and Daniel Day-Lewis brought home the Oscars and a slue of other awards. My god what was happening, we are beginning to believe in ourselves now.

1990 Italy world cup finals again. This time we are expecting something great. We go there in our tens of thousands essentially to do what we do best and Party. But we also now believe we can win match's! We get to the quarter finals and were robbed by the Italians. In the 1980's and before we would have been depressed, but now hell we had a great time, we loved the journey now lets party. When the boys came back they were cheered on through the streets of Dublin by over 200,000 fans.

We are now a nation of believers we can achieve things. The biggest band in the world, why its an Irish Band, U2. Waterford Crystal becomes one of the most famous desirable brand in the luxury market. Guinness, Baileys Irish Cream, Jameson, these are now world brands and Irish. We are now a nation of potential and we are proud, we brag and hold our shoulders up high. Over the course of the next 10 years we have added many other Brands to the world market, Ryan Air now one of the largest Airlines in the World.

will finish this later....Quantum