• Quantum Physics - Where do I start?
    142 replies, posted
Dr quantum is from the series "what the bleep do we know? " its a great 5 disc set with a book in the series as well. i got shown it about 3 years ago, and i have haven't looked back since, quantum physics is completely mind blowing, and it shakes the very fundamentals of what you're taught at school, if only everyone knew :P
[QUOTE=zoots;30987397]Dr quantum is from the series "what the bleep do we know? " its a great 5 disc set with a book in the series as well. i got shown it about 3 years ago, and i have haven't looked back since, quantum physics is completely mind blowing, and it shakes the very fundamentals of what you're taught at school, if only everyone knew :P[/QUOTE] [url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_the_Bleep_Do_We_Know!%3F#Academic_reaction[/url]
[QUOTE=Jurikuer;30981093]No body here is a scientist. Some may have knowledge of other theories, but by now most theories have already been thought up on this subject so you're asking people to tell you what they know about something someone else taught them. Basically either get a class that'll teach you, or look up online (not as reliable).[/QUOTE] And then theories are just from our perspective. No theory on what the universe is/does is ever going to do itself justice. I've been doing some reading on Quantum though, and wholy shitballs it's immense.
Those cartoons Quark posted are actually extremely interesting, im gonna watch more.
[QUOTE=Quark:;30886480]I've learned more on the internet than I did in 12th grade [editline]4th July 2011[/editline] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jh8uZUzuRhk[/media][/QUOTE] Dr. Breen?
Jedi Mind Tricks.
[QUOTE=Spazmunt;31008660]And then theories are just from our perspective. No theory on what the universe is/does is ever going to do itself justice.[/QUOTE] I do agree. A theory is not "the truth". It is a description of reality. And also a theory is the best you can get in science. Example: Newton's Gravitational Law and General Relativity both describe Gravity very well in their respective range of validity.
[QUOTE=aVoN;31024348]I do agree. A theory is not "the truth". It is a description of reality. And also a theory is the best you can get in science. Example: Newton's Gravitational Law and General Relativity both describe Gravity very well in their respective range of validity.[/QUOTE] (Post directed towards the other readers not you personaly) Just as the whole QM theories work in smaller scales but get obsolete and also wrong in larger scales. That's what people always forget.
[QUOTE=Killuah;31024619](Post directed towards the other readers not you personaly) Just as the whole QM theories work in smaller scales but get obsolete and also wrong in larger scales. That's what people always forget.[/QUOTE] But quantum mechanics do hold up as objects get bigger. It's just that with such a large number of particles, results for ab initio equations average out and improbable results approach impossibility.
[QUOTE=The BoxDog;30886977][IMG]http://images.betterworldbooks.com/031/The-Cosmic-Landscape-Susskind-Leonard-9780316013338.jpg[/IMG] Read this I read it earlier this year. helpful diagrams.[/QUOTE] Just bought this....it's awesome so far.
Im 15 and Im very interested in this. Im going into grade 10 next year (September) and Im wondering what courses should I take to help me better understand quantum mechanics? Atm I have very good marks in both AP math and AP science. Any ideas?
[QUOTE=metallics;30895891]This. A point charge. But then, in semiconductors we get introduced to wonderful things called holes, which is the absence of an electron in a place they might be and they have a "current" and it becomes even more of a mess.[/QUOTE] Conventional current, you so funny.
I recommend going to your local library, searching for "Quantum Physics/Mechanics" and picking up some books. That's how I learned a lot about them. Also, look for "Hyperspace", which deals with a lot of that stuff.
[QUOTE=Shirky;31056901]Im 15 and Im very interested in this. Im going into grade 10 next year (September) and Im wondering what courses should I take to help me better understand quantum mechanics? Atm I have very good marks in both AP math and AP science. Any ideas?[/QUOTE] you're in AP math and science as a freshman?
[QUOTE=JohnnyMo1;31058321]you're in AP math and science as a freshman?[/QUOTE] Im in AP everything but French ( Its useless, much rather have taken Latin )
Does the AP system work differently in Canada because we only had one AP available to us as freshmen, World History.
[QUOTE=JohnnyMo1;31058904]Does the AP system work differently in Canada because we only had one AP available to us as freshmen, World History.[/QUOTE] Our schooling is pretty similar, Im not really sure if there is any reason for it or not though.
search it on google
[QUOTE=garychencool;31120474]search it on google[/QUOTE] This is not helpful. Please leave.
[QUOTE=JohnnyMo1;31058904]Does the AP system work differently in Canada because we only had one AP available to us as freshmen, World History.[/QUOTE] My highschool didn't even have AP classes until I left for PSEO, whereas other highschools did, so it may vary by school and not by country.
[QUOTE=aVoN;30888017]First of all you need to know the mathematical principles. Analysis I + II & Functional Analysis may help. Here you will learn basics of Series and their limies, complex Integrals and especially differential equations and Fourier transformations. Once you all got those basics, you are nearly ready to go for Schrödinger's Formalism (Wave-Machnic). Once you got this right, you should also know about Linear Algebra I to work with Heisenbergs Matrices-Mechanic (both - Schrödingers and Heisenbergs - Formalism are [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeomorphism]homeomorph[/url] so are equivalent for describing QM. But both have advantages and disadvantages in certain situations). When you all got this, solve potentials like box-potentials and transforming a spatial Wavefunction to a momentum one. Once you those basics right, you are ready for more complex potentials like the harmonic oscillators and it's operators. At final, you can go for the hydrogen atom and maybe to the extended hydrogen-atom model with spin-orbit coupling, hyperfine splitting etc (which will require perturbation theory). Just a little note: I studied 2 years of normal classical physics and the math for it before I've got my first contact with QM. The reason is, you can apply a lot of tricks you learned there later. Now I'm in year 5 and in the experimental quantum-optics sector (manipulating cold-atoms with light or vice-versa). Good luck.[/QUOTE] You are my hero, why won't you stop by in the german chat thread some time?
[QUOTE=JohnnyMo1;30909455]I was fucking terrible at math and didn't enjoy it at all until I was about 16. Now it's one of the things I'm most interested in. And I have no idea why I got so good at it so quickly.[/QUOTE] Practice makes perfect. If you enjoy something, you're more likely to put the time into understanding and practicing it.
ueah
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