Quan Mechanics - Is There a Simple Explanation?

2min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

Is there a simple explanation for why we don't observe all this weird quantumness in our everyday life? You did the coin flip example, but then you were quick to say, not with real coins, of course, with cubits. So why not? If the real world quite a mechanical, why don't we observe all these things? Yes. I mean, i think a good example is perhaps the heisenberg uncertainty principle that i mentioned. A but for a sort of a microscopic objects that we encounter in our everyday lives, those uncertainties are tiny compared to what we can see with our eye. And again, when you do experiments, you often really deal first hand, or even

When it comes to thinking about quantum mechanics, there are levels. One level is shut-up-and-calculate: find a wave function, square it to get a probability. One level is foundational: dig deeply into the underlying ontology. But there’s a level in between, long neglected but recently coming to life. In this level you think about — or do experiments with — entangled quantum systems in the real world, putting entanglement to use. Monika Schleier-Smith is an experimental physicist specializing in cold atoms, which can be both entangled and manipulated. We discuss how to use such systems to study everything from metrology to quantum gravity.

Support Mindscape on Patreon.

Monika Schleier-Smith received her Ph.D. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is currently an Associate Professor of Physics at Stanford University. Among her awards are a MacArthur Fellowship, a Sloan Fellowship, and the I. I. Rabi Prize in Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics from the American Physical Society.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.