Site
Introduction (Oct. 2007): This website is primarily
on the subjects of truth and reality. We get about 50,000 page views
a day and are one of the top philosophy / physics sites on the Internet.
The central thesis is best stated in three parts;
i) We must know the truth to act wisely, and truth
comes from physical reality.
ii) Our present and past societies are not founded
on truth and act unwisely (overpopulation, destruction of nature,
pollution, climate change, religious and economic wars, etc.).
iii) We now know the correct language for describing
physical reality (all matter interactions are wave interactions in space),
and this knowledge is critical for our future survival, being the source
of truth & wisdom.
So how do we prove that this is true? Everyone will agree that true
knowledge of reality must explain and solve the fundamental problems
of knowledge in physics, philosophy and metaphysics. This website
does exactly that. The above subject pages provide short summaries /
simple solutions to these central problems of knowledge. To begin it
is useful to read the Introduction & Summary
to this Physics Philosophy Metaphysics Website.
Short Summary of Quantum Physics
These Quantum Physics pages (on either side) show how this new
understanding of physical reality (that all light and matter interactions
are wave interactions in Space) explains and solves the central problems
of Quantum Theory.
The mistake was to work from Newton's foundation of particles and
instantly acting gravity forces in space and time (many things) and then
have to add more things to explain light and electricity, i.e. charged
particles, continuous electromagnetic fields and waves ( Faraday, Maxwell, Lorentz, Einstein's
Special Relativity).
Thus by 1900 the central concepts of Physics were;
Matter as discrete particles with both gravitational
mass and electrical charge properties (mass-charge duality).
Light as continuous electromagnetic waves (velocity
of light c).
Continuous electromagnetic fields created by discrete charged
particles (discrete particle-continuous field duality).
Local charge interactions limited by the velocity of
electromagnetic waves (velocity of light c).
Over the next 30 years Quantum Theory destroyed these foundations by
showing the exact opposite, that;
Matter has wave properties thus a particle-wave duality
( de
Broglie Waves, Schrodinger's
wave equations).
Light has discrete particle properties thus a particle-wave
duality ( Light
'quanta', Max
Planck, Albert
Einstein)
Continuous deterministic fields are replaced by discrete statistical
fields e.g. Heisenberg's
Uncertainty Principle, Niels
Bohr's Copenhagen Interpretation, Born's
probability waves to predict the location of the particle.
Non-Local matter interactions ( instant
action-at-distance EPR Bell Aspect)
The solution to this confusion and contradiction is simple once
known. Describe reality from One thing existing, Space (that we all commonly
experience) and its Properties. i.e. Rather than adding matter
particles to space as Newton did, we consider Space with properties of
a continuous wave medium for a pure Wave Structure of Matter. This is the
Most Simple Science Theory of Physical Reality (despite many claims
to the contrary, science does actually work, we just needed the correct
foundation of continuous Space rather than discrete matter).
Most importantly, this Dynamic
Unity of Reality provides simple solutions to all the 'strangeness'
of quantum physics that has resulted from this discrete / disconnected
'particle' conception of matter. i.e.
Matter is a Wave Structure of Space - the Spherical
Wave Center creates the 'particle' effect.
Light is a Wave Phenomena - however, spherical standing
waves (matter) act as spherical resonators and only interact (resonantly
couple) at discrete frequencies / energies which gives the effect of
discrete light 'quanta'.
Reality is both Continuous (Space) and Discrete (Standing Wave
Interactions).
Reality is both Local and Non-Local - matter is causally
inter-connected in Space by its Spherical In and Out Waves (traveling
at velocity c, i.e. Einstein's Locality). However (and very importantly),
with relative motion these matter wave interactions form de
Broglie phase waves that travel at high velocities (c 2/v),
explaining EPR and apparent Non-Locality / Instant-Action-at-a-Distance.
Reality is Causally Connected but Non-Deterministic / Statistical. The
waves in quantum theory are real waves (not abstract 'probability waves')
but lack of knowledge of the interconnected whole (infinite Space) causes
statistical behaviour of matter (as Einstein believed).
I realise this is a pretty abrupt / radical introduction to a new way
of seeing things - that it will take some time to adjust. But the Wave
Structure of Matter is simple sensible and obvious once known. Each Quantum
Physics page has a short summary and important quotes, so it is easy
to click around and confirm things for yourself. Enjoy! Think!
Geoff
Haselhurst - Email - Nice
Letters.
Quantum Physics: Werner Heisenberg
The Wave Structure of Matter (WSM) explains Werner Heisenberg Uncertainty
Principle as caused by incorrect 'particle' conception
of Matter. Heisenberg Biography, Pictures, Quotes
Introduction: Werner Heisenberg
The problems of the particle and thus the resulting paradox
of the particle / wave duality, have caused great confusion within quantum
physics over the past seventy years, as both Werner Heisenberg and Paul
Davies explain;
Both matter and radiation possess a remarkable duality
of character, as they sometimes exhibit the properties of waves, at other
times those of particles. Now it is obvious that a thing cannot be a
form of wave motion and composed of particles at
the same time - the two concepts are too different. (Heisenberg,
On Quantum Mechanics, 1930)
The idea that something can be both a wave and a particle
defies imagination, but the existence of this wave-particle duality is
not in doubt. .. It is impossible to visualize a wave-particle, so don't
try. ... The notion of a particle being everywhere at once is impossible
to imagine. (Davies, On Quantum Physics, 1985)
The solution of the difficulty is that the two mental
pictures which experiment lead us to form - the one of the particles,
the other of the waves - are both incomplete and have only the validity
of analogies which are accurate only in limiting cases. (Heisenberg,
On Quantum Mechanics, 1930)
Light and matter are both single entities, and the apparent duality arises
in the limitations of our language.
It is not surprising that our language should be incapable of describing
the processes occurring within the atoms, for, as has been remarked,
it was invented to describe the experiences of daily life, and these
consist only of processes involving exceedingly large numbers of atoms.
Furthermore, it is very difficult to modify our language so that it will
be able to describe these atomic processes, for words can only describe
things of which we can form mental pictures, and this ability, too, is
a result of daily experience. Fortunately, mathematics is not subject
to this limitation, and it has been possible to invent a mathematical
scheme - the quantum theory - which seems entirely adequate for the treatment
of atomic processes; for visualisation, however, we must content ourselves
with two incomplete analogies - the wave picture and the corpuscular
picture. (Heisenberg, On Quantum Physics, 1930)
The most difficult problem … concerning the use
of the language arises in quantum physics. Here we have at first no simple
guide for correlating the mathematical symbols with concepts of ordinary
language: and the only thing we know from the start is the fact that
our common concepts cannot be applied to the structure of the atoms.
(Heisenberg, The Tao of Physics, p54)
The solution to this apparent paradox is to simply explain how the
discrete particle properties of matter and light (quanta) are in fact
caused by the Spherical Standing Wave Structure of Matter.
Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle of Quantum Mechanics
Quantum Mechanics, from 1900 to 1930, revolutionised the foundations
of our understanding of light and matter interactions. In 1900 Max Planck
showed that light energy must be emitted and absorbed in discrete 'quanta'
to explain blackbody radiation. Albert Einstein in 1905 showed that the
energy of light is determined by its frequency, where E=hf. Then in the
late 1920s, Louis de Broglie and Erwin Schrodinger introduced the concept
of Standing Waves to explain these discrete frequency and energy states
of light and matter (standing waves only exist at discrete frequencies
and thus energy states).
At the same time that the wave properties of matter were discovered,
two further discoveries were made by Werner Heisenberg and Max Born that
also profoundly influenced (and confused) the future evolution of modern
physics and quantum mechanics;
Werner
Heisenberg developed the uncertainty principle which tells
us that we (the observer) can never exactly know both the position
and momentum of a particle. As every observation requires an energy
exchange (photon) to create the observed 'data', some energy (wave)
state of the observed object has to be altered. Thus the observation
has a discrete effect on what we measure. i.e. We change the experiment
by observing it! (A large part of their problem though was to continue
to assume the existence of discrete particles and thus to try to exactly
locate both their position and motion, which is impossible as there
is no discrete particle!)
Further, because both the observed position and momentum of the particle
can never be exactly known, theorists were left trying to determine the
probability of where, for example, the 'particle' would be observed.
Max
Born (1928) was the first to discover (by chance and with
no theoretical foundation) that the square of the quantum wave equations
(described by the Wave Structure of Matter as Wave-Density) could be
used to predict the probability of where the particle would be found.
Since it was impossible for both the waves and the particles to be
real entities, it became customary to regard the waves as unreal probability
waves and to maintain the belief in the 'real' particle. Unfortunately
(profoundly) this maintained the belief in the particle/wave duality,
in a new form where the 'quantum' scalar standing waves had become
'probability waves' for the 'real' particle.
Werner Heisenberg Quotes
The problems of language here are really serious. We wish
to speak in some way about the structure of the atoms … But we
cannot speak about atoms in ordinary language. (Heisenberg,
On Quantum Physics, The Tao of Physics, p53)
That every word or concept, clear as it may seem to be,
has only a limited range of applicability. (Heisenberg,
The Tao of Physics, p35)
I
remember discussions with Bohr which went through many hours till very
late at night an ended almost in despair; and when at the end of the
discussion I went alone for a walk in the neighbouring park I repeated
to myself again and again the question: Can nature possibly be so absurd
as it seemed to us in these atomic experiments? (Heisenberg,
Physics and Philosophy, 1963)
The world thus appears as a complicate tissue of events,
in which connections of different kinds alternate or overlap or combine
and thereby determine the texture of the whole. (Heisenberg, On Quantum
Mechanics, Physics, and Philosophy, 1963)
Natural science, does not simply describe and explain
nature; it is part of the interplay between nature and ourselves. (Heisenberg,
On Quantum Mechanics, Physics and Philosophy, 1963)
What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed
to our method of questioning. (Heisenberg, Physics and Philosophy, 1963)
Every word or concept, clear as it may seem to be, has
only a limited range of applicability. (Heisenberg,
Physics and Philosophy, 1963)
The most difficult problem… concerning the use of
the language arises in quantum theory. Here we have at first no simple
guide for correlating the mathematical symbols with concepts of ordinary
language: and the only thing we know from the start is the fact that
our common concepts cannot be applied o the structure of the atoms. (Heisenberg,
Physics and Philosophy, 1963)
The violent reaction on the recent development of modern
physics can only be understood when one realises that here the foundations
of physics have started moving; and that this motion has caused the feeling
that the ground would be cut from science. (Heisenberg,
Physics and Philosophy, 1963)
This application of the concept of statistical laws was
finally formulated in the second half of the last century as the so-called
statistical mechanics. In this theory, which is based on Newton's mechanics,
the consequences that spring from an incomplete knowledge of a complicated
mechanical system are investigated. Thus in principle it is not a renunciation
of determinism.
The incomplete knowledge of a system must be an essential
part of every formulation in quantum mechanics. Quantum theoretical laws
must be of a statistical kind.
This state of affairs is best described by saying that
all particles are basically nothing but different stationary states of
one and the same stuff. Thus even the three basic building-stones have
become reduced to a single one. There is only one kind of matter but
it can exist in different discrete stationary conditions. (Atomic Physics
and Causal Law, from The Physicist’s Conception of Nature, Werner
Heisenberg, 1958)
Light
and matter are both single entities, and the apparent duality arises
in the limitations of our language. (Werner Heisenberg,
on Quantum Physics)
Both matter and radiation possess a remarkable duality
of character, as they sometimes exhibit the properties of waves, at other
times those of particles. Now it is obvious that a thing cannot be a
form of wave motion and composed of particles at
the same time - the two concepts are too different. (Werner Heisenberg,
on Quantum Mechanics, 1930)
The solution of the difficulty is that the two mental
pictures which experiment lead us to form - the one of the particles,
the other of the waves - are both incomplete and have only the validity
of analogies which are accurate only in limiting cases. (Werner
Heisenberg, on Quantum Mechanics, 1930)
Werner Heisenberg Biography
(1901 - 1976)
Werner Karl Heisenberg (December 5, 1901 – February 1, 1976) was
a celebrated German physicist and Nobel laureate, one of the founders
of quantum mechanics. He was born in Würzburg, Germany and died
in Munich. Werner Heisenberg was the head of Nazi Germany's nuclear energy
program, though the nature of his work in this capacity has been heavily
debated.
Quantum mechanics
As
a student, he met Niels Bohr in Göttingen in 1922. A fruitful collaboration
developed between the two.
Werner Heisenberg invented matrix mechanics, the first formalization
of quantum mechanics in 1925. His uncertainty principle, discovered in
1927, states that the determination of both the position and momentum
of a particle necessarily contains errors, the product of these being
not less than a known constant. Together with Bohr, he would go on to
formulate the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics.
He received the Nobel Prize in physics in 1932 "for the creation
of quantum mechanics, the application of which has, inter alia, led to
the discovery of the allotropic forms of hydrogen".
During the early days of the Nazi regime in Germany, Heisenberg was
harassed as a "White Jew" for teaching the theories of Albert
Einstein in contrast with the Nazi-sanctioned Deutsche Physik movement.
After a character investigation that Heisenberg himself instigated and
passed, SS chief Heinrich Himmler banned any further political attacks
on the physicist.
Work during the War
Nuclear fission was discovered in Germany in 1938. Werner Heisenberg
remained in Germany during World War II, working under the Nazi regime.
He led Germany's nuclear weapon/nuclear power program, but the extent
of his cooperation in the development of weapons has been a subject of
historical controversy.
Werner Heisenberg revealed the program's existence to Bohr at a conference
in Copenhagen in September 1941. After the meeting, the lifelong friendship
between Bohr and Heisenberg ended abruptly. Bohr later joined the Manhattan
Project. Germany did not succeed in producing an atomic bomb.
It has been speculated that Werner Heisenberg had moral qualms and tried
to slow down the project. Heisenberg himself attempted to paint this
picture after the war, and Thomas Power's book Heisenberg's War and Michael
Frayn's play Copenhagen adopted this interpretation. Part of this interpretation
is based on the fact that Heisenberg did not champion the project to
Albert Speer in a way which got it any attention or very much funding
(which Samuel Goudsmit of the ALSOS project interpreted as being partially
because Heisenberg himself was not fully aware of the feasibility of
an atomic bomb). At best (for Heisenberg), he may have tried to hinder
the German project; at worst, he may have just been ignorant of how to
create an atomic bomb (it has been wryly commented that one can know
either Heisenberg's morality in this respect, or his competence, but
not both).
In February 2002, a letter written by Bohr to Heisenberg in 1957 (but
never sent) emerged. In it, Bohr relates that Heisenberg, in their 1941
conversation, did not express any moral problems with the bomb making
project, that Heisenberg had spent the past two years working almost
exclusively on it, and that he was convinced that the atomic bomb would
eventually decide the war. The context of this letter, however, was the
publication of the journalist Robert Jungk's Brighter Than a Thousand
Suns, which painted Heisenberg as having single-handedly and purposely
derailed the German project. Jungk printed an excerpt from a personal
letter from Heisenberg -- taken out of context -- to justify the claim
(in the full letter, Heisenberg was more demure about whether he had
taken a strong moral stance). Bohr was understandably flustered by this
apparent claim as it did not match with his own perception of Heisenberg's
war work at all.
Some historians of science take this as evidence that the previous interpretation
of Heisenberg's resistance was wrong, but others have argued that Bohr
profoundly misunderstood Heisenberg's intentions at the 1941 meeting,
or an overly passionate reaction to Jungk's work. As a piece of evidence,
it has had little effect on overall historical conclusions.
Werner Heisenberg Biography
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Heisenberg
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