Trout

iTrader: (1)

And Schrodinger's cat is not very well.

jods

I'm a bit rusty on Quantum Mechanics - Remind me

Carlh

Hmmmm.

Through the wormhole on discovery is a good program. If its US only, you might have to find other means of watching it.

Let me ask this simple question to those who seem to know loads about light.

I have a torch. Its a £2 torch, so not particularly bright.
Now light is supposed to be particles or something that travel at 186,000 mph
If we were to remove the atmosphere of earth and everything in between, lets say we were standing in space, with absolutely no universe around us -planets, suns, nebulas that sort of thing.
If I were to switch on my cheapo torch, light is supposed to travel basically as far as the universe.
So how come my torch, generates enough power to make these particles (appear from no-where? or are they "switched on") and move at 186,000 mph.

Thats a LOT of power. If someone could harness the actual light particles....

or am I completely wrong and someone has a lay-mans terms for explaining where all this energy comes from...

billythekid

Yes, its confusing. Which is why the men with maths and physics problems are going back to the men who read philosophy as we can't answer a lot of these problems with maths.

Trout

iTrader: (1)

Carl,

the force required is mass x acceleration and as light particles have a mass of near zero, the force required is very small.

Once a particle is moving in a vacuum it will travel forever - until it hits the edge of the universe.

Carlh

so what is light? when the torch is switched on, how does two wires and some electricity create god knows how many particles and push them in all directions?

How does a mirror seem to duplicate a light-source. The mirror isnt powered by anything, yet you can create <more> light? it baffles me and im a software developer.

bigsinky

Ahhhh!!! that explains it. thick as pig $hit you lot

Neoscooby

Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, just don't open the box

Trout

iTrader: (1)

I see you have reached the limit of your thinking

A mirror does not create more light - it reflects back the existing photons, minus a few as they get lost in the glass, silver surface etc.

Bluddy programmers.

Trout

iTrader: (1)

I have actually created a new quantum state.

An average state between alive and dead...

serega

It's pretty simple really, watch this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5sF06nBPeg

billythekid

This is where it all goes very wrong, as some say that by observing the state of something in the universe can in fact cause its demise... which is not good... if you think about it. But there is a lot of stuff out there to look at yet

Trout

iTrader: (1)

Have you just discovered somewhere totally unspoilt; or have you just spoiled somewhere totally undiscovered?

FlightMan

You want to put Hamsters in at Heathrow?

CREWJ

Warp drive here we come

billythekid

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15034852

Wurzel

iTrader: (1)

I think you mean the

Large
Hadron
Collider

rather than

London HeathRow

But could be wrong

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Yes, was a typo but both, the LHC would become the "Large Hamster Collider", not useful scientifically, dubious morally but excellent nonetheless, I am sure I could envisage all sorts of cool stuff by releasing Hamsters at a major international airport as well.

TelBoy

Would the proof of this overcome the last stumbling block to explaining the creation of the Universe, has anyone heard? Are we finally at the point of unravelling religious belief once and for all?

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

No, they tried those, they were very quick but stopped half way round at a wine bar and left the keys on the table, he tried to chat up some much younger Quarks because they had nice Bosons, they had a weak interaction but he quickly decayed.

Leslie

I expect anytime that the scientists will think up yet another new theory in an attempt to explain it all as they always do when they arrive at something they cannot prove. We are all expected to accept the theory of course even though it cannot be proved because they are supposed to be ever so clever. If it is true that they have observed such superfast particles, then a lot of their earlier theories are likely to bite the dust.

You never know, they might even be forced to say that "God moves in mysterious ways"

Les

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Yes, but I will take the fact they still try to explain stuff over "It just is, right" and never, ever review anything in the face of new evidence, science generally hasn't invented obtuse reasons to prevent me from my favourite hobbies, Pork Products, Sex and Beer.

I think maybe that if they sort out all this that seems minute and complex there may be another lvel of complication beneath it that makes this seem elemental, perhaps they will never explain things, maybe there is no reason.

Trout

iTrader: (1)

That's quite clever...


...for you

wayne9t9

Duracell

tony de wonderful

Science won't unravel religious belief. It doesn't deal in metaphysics.

Geezer

Edited for accuracy

Geezer

Leslie

Seems to me that if you have a source which is producing light in a particular direction, if you move the source in that same direction then the light waves or particles however you wish to regard them are travelling at the speed of light plus the speed at which the source is travelling, ie faster then the speed of light!

It is all "relative" of course. Can't see the problem...Seemples!

Les

tony de wonderful

I think you get time dilation to compensate...or some bollox.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Physics jokes. its the future

warrenm2

"We don't serve faster than light particles in here" said the bartender.
A neutrino walks into a bar.