What is Reality--2011

What is

What is

Reality?

Reality?

Isaac Newton

Isaac Newton

vs

vs

Quantum Physics

• Our modern day picture of reality comes from Isaac Newton (1642-1727).

• First scientific portrait of existence/reality

• One fundamentally different from the myriad versions of reality (one or more per

Our reality is based on Newton’s 3 Laws of Motion: • Inertia: if an object is left alone, it will continue

undisturbed.

– Static objects remain at rest. – Moving objects remain in motion.

• True everywhere for all things

• Abolishes ghosts, demons, goblins, spirits, gods, etc from our reality

• Force: a force applied to an object will cause a change in momentum.

– Momentum is quantifiable mathematically = Mass X Speed – This law tells us precisely how a force (e.g. friction or gravity)

will change the objects motion.

– The mathematical precision of this Law has allowed us to

determine the nature of matter (reality) in ever increasing detail.

• Mutual Action: to every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction.

Newton’s 3 Laws of Motion

• To these 3 Laws of Motion, Newton added the Law of Universal Gravitation:

every object in the universe exerts a force on every other object.

• Newton invented Calculus to explain all of these laws mathematically.

• Set the standard for all scientific descriptions of reality: if it cannot be explained

Newton’s picture of reality presumes

three basic ideas: #1

1) Newton’s laws give us a picture

consisting of objects, each of which has a specific, quantifiable state.

• Each object has one innate position, one speed, and once constant mass.

Newton’s picture of reality presumes three basic ideas: #2

2) Newton describes a deterministic

universe.

• Every effect has a specific cause and

each distinct cause produces one distinct effect.

• Only when a force acts on an object

Newton’s picture of reality presumes three basic ideas: #3

3) Newton’s laws describe reality in entirely

objective terms.

• Only discrete, mathematically verifiable objects

are real.

• There is no place for mind consciousness, will,

soul, or God. (Newton himself was a devout believer in the Christian God, and would be

Our Newtonian Reality

Reality consists ONLY of pieces of matter

that differ simply in shape, mass, location, and motion.

Newton’s reality is composed of nonsentient (not self aware) objects that change

What does it mean for something to

exist

, to be

real

?

• Objects exist because we can detect them with our senses. A desk exists because we can see it, touch it, etc.

• Based on repeated inspection, we also assume

that the desk is something independent of

our senses. It is really out there and will go on existing even when we don’t touch it, see it, etc. • While this is a reasonable assumption, it is still

an assumption.

• It is simpler to make our model of reality on the basis that the desk has an independent

This all seems straightforward

enough.

But all things said to exist are not

as concrete as a desk.

Okay, but what about…?

Atoms, for example, are too small to see or touch, or to sense directly in anyway.

• Our knowledge of them comes indirectly, via

tools like high-powered microscopes.

• The data from these tools must be processed

and interpreted by humans.

• At the sub-atomic level there are limits to what

we can sense, and particles (really small

objects) do not behave according to the

Newton’s Laws. Does this mean they do not

Okay, but what about…?

Then there are even more abstract entities such as fields, as in a gravitational field. • It is readily apparent that gravity is real;

we can observe and even feel its effects, yet we cannot see or touch the field

Okay, but what about…?

What about concepts we use in daily life, such as citizenship or information?

Certainly they are real even though we cannot see or touch them.

• We may be able to see or touch the medium for storing or displaying

information, such as a computer disc or a screen, but we cannot perceive the

Okay, but what about…?

There is also a category of things that are broadly described as cultural—for example music or literature.

• The definitive rock ‘n’ roll of Led Zeppelin

cannot be equated with the CD you hold in

your hand; it exists somehow differently, yet is still just as real.

• Nor can religion or politics be identified merely

with the people who practice them, yet they

exist in a less-than-concrete, yet very real

Okay, but what about…?

Finally, there is the realm of mathematics and logic, the things(?) we use to discover and

describe reality itself, at least in science.

• _{Your math teacher will tell you about an}

existing theorem about, say, prime numbers.

• _{You can see it represented with written}

Okay, but what about…?

How about dreams? A dream is real, at least for the dreamer, yet it is

considerably less substantial than a desk.

Do any of these abstract ideas exist

anywhere in anyway beyond our own imaginations?

Or is it that our imaginations actually create

In the Words of Dr Quantum

Reality is not just the physical world; it’s the relationship of the mind with the physical world that creates the perception of reality. There is no reality without a perception of reality.

Let us return to the desk, the one thing we know for sure is real because we can

verify its existence objectively.

What is the desk, in reality?

This desk is REAL, right?

Look at the parts we see before us. A piece of laminated wood, some stainless steel metal, some paint, some plastic, some nuts and

bolts; we could go on and on.

We have a bunch of parts—but where is the desk?

Parts of the Parts

Of Course, we can break the parts down even further, to see what parts the parts are made of.

Eventually we get beyond molecular structure to the atoms. All objects

Let’s look at the classical model of the atom (since we can’t actually look at an atom

itself, though surely it exists, right?)

Here we have a generic atom consisting of particles called electrons orbiting around a

If this was to scale, the nucleus would be smaller than a

marble, and the nearest electron a grain of salt circling in an orbit approximately the circumference of our school gym

This means that an atom is almost entirely made up of

empty space!

This means, in reality, this desk is almost entirely made up of empty space!

This means, in reality, YOU are almost entirely made up of

More Parts !?!

But now we have more parts—electrons, protons, and neutrons—so we need to understand these parts so we can understand the whole, the atom, and ultimately, the desk.

• This “classical” model of the atom (above) was abandoned by physicists early in the 20th

century.

• It does not represent the reality of the atom at

all, though high school students still are taught

Quantum Reality

Now we are in the realm of quantum physics —the subatomic world, the level of the

inconceivably small; the foundation of our world, our reality, you and me (literally).

Albert Einstein:

Four Revolutionary Ideas

One hundred and three years ago Albert Einstein (1879-1955) wrote four fundamental papers, all in the course of a few months, beginning a whole new way of understanding

reality.

The first paper claimed that light

must sometimes behave like a

Albert Einstein:

Four Revolutionary Ideas

• The second paper offered an

experimental test for the theory of heat and proof of the existence of atoms.

• The third paper addressed a central puzzle for physicists of the day – the connection between electromagnetic

Albert Einstein:

Four Revolutionary Ideas

The fourth showed that mass and energy

are two parts of the same thing,

mass=energy (E=mc2)—the greatest result of relativistic physics AND a

completely new definition of reality.

What does this really mean?

Energy equals

Mass multiplied by the

Constant squared

The Constant is the velocity of light, the

speed of light

(about 186,000 miles per second)

This means….MASS

IS

Mass = Energy X Speed of Light

If matter IS energy that means that in reality

this desk is really just a bottle of energy. Furthermore, if you increase one side of the

equation, the other side increases equally. If you increase the Energy value by, say,

speeding the object up, it must lead to a corresponding increase in Mass.

Einstein’s 3

paper:

Relativity theory

• Time is the 4th dimension fundamentally connected to our three-dimensional world.

• Everything measured in space must be measured in time

also.

• We have already seen how E=mc2 tells us that as speed (velocity) increases, mass is relatively heavier.

• Similarly, because time is tied to the increasingly heavier object, time passes relatively slower!

• These effects only become dramatic as one approaches the speed of light, but have been proven experimentally with nuclear clocks and really fast airplanes.

Relativity Theory

http://www.cleanvideosearch.com/media/action/yt/watch? videoId=p80IhaBz51M

Reality huh?

Say goodbye to Isaac Newton’s objective reality!

Measurements of mass, time, even length

and width, are NOT constant, but in reality

Einstein’s 1

& 2

papers

Einstein’s second paper proved

mathematically that atoms exist in reality.

• Enough said.

In his first paper Einstein takes us beyond his very real atoms to the sub-atomic

level, and gives birth to Quantum

Our Quantum Reality

Remember, Einstein’s first paper proved that light must sometimes behave like a stream of particles with discrete energies,

“quanta.”

This contradicted the accepted view of

reality that light consisted of waves, not

Following Einstein, scientists have

discovered that…

• sometimes light demonstrates the characteristics of a wave

• sometimes light demonstrates the characteristics of a particle.

• Even stranger, sometimes electrons, neutrons, and protons—particles—

demonstrate the characteristics of a wave. • Whether a beam of light or an electron in

Remember the classical model of

the atom:

Well, when we actually try to look at it, (remember we have to rely on sophisticated tools to detect this level of

reality):

•sometimes we see electrons orbiting the nucleus like in the above picture, but when we use different tools…

The Reality of Light…

…is just as strange.

Light is a particle when we actually look at it, BUT light is a wave when we DO NOT

look at it.

In reality, light is both a particle AND a wave at the same time!

The Reality of Light…

Take a look…

Quantum physics tells us that the way we look at something affects what it is—this means that ultimately, there is NO

OBJECTIVE REALITY!

There is no absolute “out there” unless there is mind “in here” that perceives it.

The observer effect says that there is no reality until that reality is perceived. This profound insight tells us that we alter every object in the world simply by paying attention to it.

What is “out there” depends on what we choose to look for.

--Dr Fred Alan Wolf

More crazy aspects of our

Quantum Reality

The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle tells us that there are natural limits to how complete our

picture of reality can even be.

• We cannot simultaneously know the speed AND the position of an object—airplane or electron.

• If we measure where it is, its position, it is no longer moving, so how can we measure its speed?

• If we measure its speed it is moving, so how can we say where it is?

More crazy aspects of our

Quantum Reality

Quantum Tunneling: Let's say you are throwing a rubber ball against a wall. You know you don't have enough

energy to throw it through the wall, so you always expect it to bounce back. Quantum mechanics, however, says that there is a small probability that the ball could go right through the wall (without damaging the wall) appear on the other side! With something as large as a rubber ball, though, that probability is so small that you could throw the ball for billions of years and never see it go through the wall. Still, it is NOT IMPOSSIBLE! But with

something as tiny as an electron, tunneling is an everyday occurrence.

You accept and apply this reality almost everyday: without it computer chips would not exist, and a 'personal‘

Quantum Tunneling

More crazy aspects of our

Quantum Reality

Reality is Non-Local

Consider two electrons

• electron e+ has positive spin • electron e- has negative spin

These two electrons encounter each other, and because of their complimentary spin, bond “in orbit” around each other.

Scientists isolate these two electrons, bonded in their local relationship, and separate them

e+ stays here in Denver

e- is sent to a lab in Switzerland

We subject our electron (e+) to an electromagnet, reversing its spin. Here in Denver, we now have an

e-The lab in Switzerland will simultaneously measure their e- electron as transformed into an e+!

The effect one particle can have on another particle does not depend upon their mutual proximity.

Quantum Entanglement

Reality is non-local

Yet another blow to our Newtonian Reality!

This means that every particle that has come in contact with another particle can affect that particle no matter where it is.

Since ALL particles were in infinite contact during

the so-called Big Bang, this means all particles

can affect all other particles!

If all particles are connected in this way, their disconnectedness must not be real.

There are not, in reality, a bunch of little parts

called particles. Instead there is just ONE… whatever ya wanna call it…

The Matrix

You think of yourself a separate and distinct object from the desk you are sitting in, but as you sit there right now, you are

exchanging electrons with the desk, like

two drops of water whose borders come in contact.

There is not really two drops of water at all, just water.

In the Words of Dr Quantum

Distinctions are not real. They are fleeting whispers of an all-pervading, subtle,

non-expressive potential reality. The world is not made of separate things.

Mind is not separate from matter. And you are not separate from any other being, animal,

vegetable, living, dead, or seemingly inanimate matter.

Dual-directional time

• In Quantum physics, the math works regardless of the direction of time.

• Time Reversal Symmetry

The cause-effect chain runs both ways in particle physics:

past-to-future AND

future-to-past

Not to Mention…

• _{Black holes:} a region of space from which nothing, including light, can escape.

• _Wormholes: 'shortcut' through space and time

• Many Worlds: the equations of physics that model the time evolution of systems without embedded observers are sufficient for modelling systems which do

contain observers;

• Multiple Universes: is the hypothetical set of multiple possible universes (including our universe) that together comprise everything that physically exists: the entirety of space and time, all forms of matter, energy and momentum, and the physical laws and constants that govern them.

• _{Shrodinger’s Cat:} The thought experiment presents a cat that might be alive or dead, depending on an earlier random event. The interpretation of quantum

mechanics implies that after a while, the cat is simultaneously alive and

So considering…

• Matter, in reality, is just compacted Energy.

• The theory of relativity tells us that because the speed of light is constant, things like mass and time are relative; Relativity depends on the lack of absolute references.

• Solid objects consist mostly of empty space.

• Particles only exist when we look at them; when we don’t they are just waves of probability.

And considering…

• Lower energy particles sometimes penetrate through higher energy barriers, (like a rubber ball through a wall), leaving both unaffected. • The Uncertainty Principle defines the limits of

what we can know about reality—we cannot simultaneously know the position and the

velocity of a particle.

• Particles can have non-local interactions with other particles.

…And also that…

The math of Quantum theory explains reality better than Newton’s calculus does, even beyond the subatomic world in the macro-world we live in.

…