What is quantum mechanics really all about?

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  • čas přidán 27. 04. 2024
  • Quantum mechanics is perhaps the most misunderstood of modern physics topics, with many counterintuitive concepts like cats being both alive and dead and with claims that something doesn’t exist until a human looks at it. In this video, Fermilab’s Dr. Don Lincoln boils quantum mechanics down to its essence and demystifies this mystifying theory.
    To learn more visit:
    fnal.gov
    quantum.fnal.gov
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Komentáře • 1,1K

  • @tanmoydutta5846
    @tanmoydutta5846 Před 4 lety +418

    I like the way how Prof.Don Lincoln explains Physics in a very simple, yet precise and concise manner

    • @tanmoydutta5846
      @tanmoydutta5846 Před 4 lety +1

      @D.O.A. yuh.... absolutely

    • @Christopher._M
      @Christopher._M Před 4 lety +3

      Your statement seems off. It would make sense if you said it was difficult and yet concise and precise. Saying he explained physics easily and yet it was concise and precise is extremely wrong. It makes no sense to add the yet.

    • @tanmoydutta5846
      @tanmoydutta5846 Před 4 lety +5

      @@Christopher._M but he says he's a physicist, not an English Major

    • @Christopher._M
      @Christopher._M Před 4 lety +1

      @@tanmoydutta5846 the one that said it wasn't the physicist it was the person who commented.

    • @tanmoydutta5846
      @tanmoydutta5846 Před 4 lety +1

      @@Christopher._M relax bro, I'm just quoting one of Don Lincoln's sayings itself...from of his earlier videos.. 😂😂😂😂

  • @ryanlyle9201
    @ryanlyle9201 Před 4 lety +77

    I’ve seen so many videos over this topic over the years, and honestly this is the best 10 minute overview of QM I’ve ever seen.

  • @9Ballr
    @9Ballr Před 4 lety +65

    This is why quantum mechanics will never tell me how much they're going to charge to work on my photon-powered car until they actually do the work.

    • @BOLT264
      @BOLT264 Před 3 lety

      @GUS GREENBARM what?

  • @kennethkogut8762
    @kennethkogut8762 Před 4 lety +154

    Dr Don, you are the type of son my parents always wanted

  • @jamesc7086
    @jamesc7086 Před 4 lety +6

    Dr. Lincoln does an outstanding job of breaking down some of the nebulous aspects of Quantum Mechanics without talking over his audience or interjecting silly metaphors. He even presents the various main theories on the collapse of the wave function probabilities without imposing his opinion on the discussion. A lot of grade 12 physics and first year university instructors could really use a refresher on how to introduce this subject matter. They could help students start to understand the concepts without scaring so many of them out of the field before they even really get started. Worth a look. Good for Fermilab for bringing science education out of the lab and classroom to the masses.

  • @jonahansen
    @jonahansen Před 4 lety +11

    "Each idea has burrowed its way into the subconscious of people who are interested in science, but aren't quantum experts." - I love that wording, for some reason....

  • @peterlobzhanidze1277
    @peterlobzhanidze1277 Před 4 lety +19

    I HAVE NEVER HEARD such a simple explanation of quantum mechanics, thanks a lot

  • @Docinaplane
    @Docinaplane Před 4 lety +80

    Quantum mechanics and thermodynamics was a class I took my first semester in college. I'm not sure if I have recovered from that trauma to this day!

    • @1pcfred
      @1pcfred Před 4 lety +5

      Just try to take things one day at a time.

    • @bungremora7798
      @bungremora7798 Před 2 lety +1

      😂😂😂😂

    • @crazyspace6792
      @crazyspace6792 Před 2 lety +1

      Those are 3 semester classes at the minimum.

    • @MyYTwatcher
      @MyYTwatcher Před rokem

      This is quite hard to believe as statictical mechanics and thermodunamics is standardly taught only after classical mechanics which is is at least one semester alone. Not mentioning that quantum mechanics is taught after classical mechanics and electromagnetism as a minimum which is 1 semester each as a minimum.

    • @Docinaplane
      @Docinaplane Před rokem

      @@MyYTwatcher My statement is factual. I was a chemistry major and that was the course they put me in my first semester in college.

  • @quill444
    @quill444 Před 4 lety +33

    "I swear, that train 0:24 went right through a STOP sign, Officer!" - j q t -

    • @onemoremisfit
      @onemoremisfit Před 4 lety +3

      Driver sees a remarkably wise-looking kindly old gentleman standing just across the tracks, and stops to ask,
      "Did you see that train almost hit me?"
      And the gentleman replies,
      "It did."

  • @fluffymuffin4567
    @fluffymuffin4567 Před 4 lety +6

    You really explain this in an easy to understand kind of way, I’ve been interested in quantum mechanics for a while now and I couldn’t find a way to start learning about it, thanks for this video!

  • @XXX-fe3or
    @XXX-fe3or Před 4 lety +2

    Thank you for choosing "wave function" as a subject and clearing the myhts created aroud that. Your way of telling things with sound palpable approach is very much appreciated.

  • @manosmpoliotis8304
    @manosmpoliotis8304 Před 4 lety +7

    Easy to understand and unbelievably informative as always, greetings from Grreece.

  • @HallsteinI
    @HallsteinI Před 4 lety +206

    Fermilab and PBS Spacetime uploaded on the same say? Christmas had come early'

  • @delstanley1349
    @delstanley1349 Před 4 lety +38

    I didn't realize at the time, and that was a long time ago that I guess I was sort of introduced to "quanta." Must have been in the 2nd or 3rd grade. It was a poem that went like this:
    Little drops of water
    Little grains of sand
    Make the mighty ocean
    And the pleasant land
    Thus the little minutes
    Humble though they be
    Make the mighty ages
    Of eternity.

    • @lukesrockhouse
      @lukesrockhouse Před 4 lety +5

      That is amazing. Thanks for posting that. Its so simple yet so true

    • @delstanley1349
      @delstanley1349 Před 4 lety

      @@lukesrockhouse > The poet's name is Julia Carney. There are variations, but the one I remember in class (more than 50 years ago) was the above.

    • @MichaelGonzales-by1eo
      @MichaelGonzales-by1eo Před 2 lety +1

      I’m going to print and frame this. On my honor. Amazing.

    • @delstanley1349
      @delstanley1349 Před 2 lety

      @@MichaelGonzales-by1eo > At the time I posted this a year ago, I couldn't remember the author's name; only the poem by rote. Second graders usually don't remember who wrote or composed anything. The author is Julia Abigail Carney, a Boston teacher. It was written in 1845 in Boston. The title is "Little Things." I read she started it impromptu while standing at the blackboard.

  • @trainsurgeon
    @trainsurgeon Před 4 lety +2

    Your wave function explanation was the most clear I have experienced Prof. Lincoln, thank you!

  • @ssiddarth
    @ssiddarth Před 4 lety +1

    The topics are explained so well in all the videos, glad to be a subscriber of this awesome channel

  • @Vikezupa
    @Vikezupa Před 4 lety +33

    Don is one of the few physicists who brings me back down to ... reality.
    Thanks, Don!

    • @soberingmind4125
      @soberingmind4125 Před 2 lety +1

      That black board looks like they discovered eternal quantumessence of sprit|mind|body|soul. Or that could be called the quadessence of sprit|mind|body|soul.
      Or am I just trying to sound smart?
      Lol.
      Seriously, yes... I like listening to him also. Humble and sane.

    • @soberingmind4125
      @soberingmind4125 Před 2 lety

      What is wave function?
      Perhaps thinking E=mc2, Pilot, and Entropy (thermal dynamics)will confirm needed things for evolved perspective to lead to the facts.
      Every thing is conserved and recycled depending on the levels of radiation vs matter (regardless of scale). Consider entropy at a scale of the whole universe.
      Pilot makes most sense to me.
      But I am dumb and suffer dunning kruger effect now and then.
      Who knows?
      Not I.
      Lol

  • @nmagko
    @nmagko Před 4 lety +6

    I always hated Schrodinger's cat story. Thanks Don to clarify and get rid all those false ideas of quantum world. Excellent video.

  • @Nostradamus_Order33
    @Nostradamus_Order33 Před 4 lety +2

    One of the better videos I have seen from you guys. Keep up the good work. This was clear and concise.

  • @nebulasy8
    @nebulasy8 Před 4 lety +2

    Thank you Dr. Lincoln for this video. Glad to hear you’re forging into QM.
    Could you please do a video about the delayed-choice quantum eraser experiment?

  • @cedricveinstein6949
    @cedricveinstein6949 Před 4 lety +3

    Don Lincoln is one of the *very* few in CZcams who has both the required knowledge of the complex physics subject at hand and the skill&patience to teach it to us "less physics savvy".. at least to the level that we can use it to further build our understanding about that very subject

  • @kagannasuhbeyoglu
    @kagannasuhbeyoglu Před 4 lety +6

    Many thanks to everyone who contributed to this channel. That must be the Fermilab difference. Thank you Professor Don Lincoln.

  • @jaspernatchez
    @jaspernatchez Před rokem +2

    Dr. Lincoln is the greatest! I've read and heard about the wave function and always wondered why I still didn't know what it is! Thank you!

  • @constpegasus
    @constpegasus Před 4 lety +2

    I feel like giving you a big hug for this. Thank you sir.

  • @kennylex
    @kennylex Před 4 lety +86

    Noooo, do not kill Schrodinger's cat, let curiosity do that.

    • @garystewart3110
      @garystewart3110 Před 4 lety +3

      eh it's got nine lives ^^

    • @destinationEuropa
      @destinationEuropa Před 4 lety +3

      Curiosity was sent to Mars specifically to exterminate cats

    • @peikkojumala
      @peikkojumala Před 4 lety +3

      I was curious so I opened the box and the cat was dead :( My curiosity killed it! ;'{

    • @MusicalRaichu
      @MusicalRaichu Před 4 lety

      Q: How many physicists does it take to kill a cat?
      A: Just one, Schrödinger, but you may need several parallel versions of him.

    • @sonicx254shere3
      @sonicx254shere3 Před 3 lety

      @aDBo'Ch 1 ok have a good day

  • @bvbk007
    @bvbk007 Před 4 lety +64

    Minor nit pick: visualizing the square of the wave function - it's wrong. Square of a (sine) wave is continuous and differentiable. It doesn't have much bearing on the rest of the content presented.

    • @patekswiss9521
      @patekswiss9521 Před 4 lety +14

      he's showing something like the square of the absolute value of sin(x)

    • @drdon5205
      @drdon5205 Před 4 lety

      Certainly true. But keep in mind how one would do the morphing of the sine to sine squared, from a mechanical point of view. And, of course, as bvbk007 notes, it isn't particularly fatal vis a vis the core points.

    • @DavidAndrewsPEC
      @DavidAndrewsPEC Před 4 lety +6

      A sine-wave has positive-going segments and negative-going segments. When you square the negative-going segments, you are multiplying a negative number by a negative number.
      Basic arithmetic 101: the product of two (or, indeed any even number of) negative numbers is POSITIVE! So the waveform of the sine-squared will have ALL positive-going segments.
      This, by definition, will give a function that is neither continuous (since there is a corner point to deal with) nor differentiable (since there is a corner point to deal with).

    • @drdon5205
      @drdon5205 Před 4 lety +13

      ​@@DavidAndrewsPEC That's not true. Plot out a sin^2(x) function in excel. You'll see that it's smooth, continuous and differentiable. The picture in the video is |sin(x)|, which doesn't have those properties.
      Take the derivative of sin^2(x) and see if that function is ever discontinuous.

    • @redjr242
      @redjr242 Před 4 lety +12

      @@DavidAndrewsPEC First of all, a corner point is still continuous. Second of all, you don't get a corner when squaring a smooth curve passing through zero because the square function has a derivative of zero at zero and this will "flatten out" the corner into a locally parabolic shape just touching the x-axis.

  • @Bodyknock
    @Bodyknock Před 4 lety

    Great video as always. It got me thinking that I'd be really interested to see a Dr. Lincoln video on Quantum Bayesianism , the school of thought that the wave functions should be interpreted as subjective Bayesian probabilities which reflect the observer's confidence of a particle's value versus being an objective measure with an actual physical counterpart. I don't know that I've seen any good videos about Quantum Bayesianism yet but it is one of the (as far as I know) possible interpretations of what Quantum Mechanics actually "is".

  • @richardturietta9455
    @richardturietta9455 Před 4 lety

    I love your videos, Dr. Lincoln. keep 'em coming, helps my understanding a little more every time.

  • @methedemon
    @methedemon Před 4 lety +5

    Excellent video as usual 👍

  • @jmautobot
    @jmautobot Před 4 lety +5

    Thank you for the excellent video. One question I have is... If a particle, prior to being measured, exists in all possible locations of the wave function, then why are some of the locations more probable for it to be found in than others? Thank you.

  • @davidpalmer9780
    @davidpalmer9780 Před 4 lety +1

    Thanks Dr. Don for another informative video that maintained my interest in the topic. I look forward to the next.

  • @landofahhs_1
    @landofahhs_1 Před 4 lety +1

    Thank you for clarifying quantum theory to the point of simple intuitive reasoning even a layman can grasp. When attempting to follow and investigate the subject, the multitude of examples given in science media and documentaries often confuses more than explaining with all the bizarre thought experiments/paradoxes.

  • @vjnt1star
    @vjnt1star Před 4 lety +4

    0:27 I can only imagine what was going on in the head of the driver when he saw the train "I'm already late for the theater I'll take my chances!"

  • @uneedtherapy42
    @uneedtherapy42 Před 4 lety +12

    8:34 Sean Caroll for the win!

  • @rollinwithunclepete824
    @rollinwithunclepete824 Před 4 lety +1

    Thanks, Dr Lincoln. I feel that I know something I didn't know before watching your video, but that usually the case after I watch a video of yours.

  • @helciobmello
    @helciobmello Před 4 lety

    Thanks for this great video, professor. It helped me cast away wrong impressions about the infamous wave function.

  • @ciprianstanescu
    @ciprianstanescu Před 4 lety +3

    About what I thought as well: what was proved was that the Q.M. probabilistic equations are always correct in all tests, and all the others theories like "in both states at the same time/superposition" have no solid proof yet (like many tv and youtube documentaries would have you believe). Thanks Dr. Lincoln for clarifying this.

  • @FOSology
    @FOSology Před 4 lety +4

    I don’t understand. Why do we have to think of the particle being everywhere that’s possibly allowed by the wave function at once? It’s just a probability distribution isn’t it? Once it’s detected, of course it’s only going to be in one place. Why can’t we think of it just as any other probability distribution, in which there’s multiple, possible states, some more probable than others, given the specific environmental conditions? How does thinking that the particle is in all those states at once, before detecting it, help us?

    • @thstroyur
      @thstroyur Před 4 lety

      And that's _exactly_ what I was talking 'bout in my comment: Don made the WF sound like an 'object' - i.e., he implicitly introduced a bias for an _ontic_ standpoint - from which all the weirdness in QM is (hehe) born

  • @dennisdonovan4837
    @dennisdonovan4837 Před 4 lety +1

    Thank you Dr. Lincoln (and by inference - Femilab) … a great - concise - (and) - enjoyable discussion on this often misrepresented topic. 👍🏽👍🏽

  • @Ausiedundan
    @Ausiedundan Před 2 lety +1

    Wow such a good explanation Professor! Thanks so much!!

  • @superj1e2z6
    @superj1e2z6 Před 4 lety +4

    This video is above my expectation _value_

  • @iainmackenzieUK
    @iainmackenzieUK Před 4 lety +5

    Can you please tell us something about the "role of the observer in collapsing the wave function"? I guess it would help to put to rest some of the more weird ideas around quantum physics...I hope :)

  • @wayneyadams
    @wayneyadams Před 4 lety +2

    Finally, a video that tells it like it is. This is the best video I have ever seen about quantum mechanics. It is simple, straightforward, and addresses some of the ridiculous ideas that have sprung up around quantum mechanics.
    I would also like to add that the Schrodinger's Cat argument was put forward as criticism, and was not meant as a serious example of the the true nature of the universe. The idea of the cat being simultaneously alive and dead, was derisive and meant to show the fallacious conclusions that can be drawn from quantum mechanics. Unfortunately that aspect of the argument has been lost and people cite the argument as serious theory.

  • @NalitaQubit
    @NalitaQubit Před rokem

    Love your lessons!!! Thank you for your hard work!

  • @Metaldetectiontubeworldwide

    Yess my favorite proffesor is back ..🙌🤩👍

  • @gr8withan8playz
    @gr8withan8playz Před 4 lety +3

    Really love this channel. It's gotten me really interested in physics!

  • @eric-ck2yo
    @eric-ck2yo Před 4 lety +1

    Love your videos thanks for making them :)

  • @ellidominusser1138
    @ellidominusser1138 Před rokem

    I just found out about you half an hour ago and I love your videos

  • @mellowfellow6816
    @mellowfellow6816 Před 4 lety +10

    It's like: we know how to drive the car, but we don't yet know how the engine works.

    • @frankschneider6156
      @frankschneider6156 Před 4 lety +2

      And what's worse: there is at least some chance, that we may never know.

    • @s3cr3tpassword
      @s3cr3tpassword Před 4 lety +1

      I think we know how the engine works. (The calculate part)
      We just don’t know what and engine is.

  • @physicsguy877
    @physicsguy877 Před 4 lety +4

    I'm currently studying physics as a grad student, so I should probably not be typing this and get back to work, but I want to humbly say that I don't think this video does quantum mechanics justice.
    First of all, I think saying the particle is in "many places" before being measured is problematic. The particle is not in many places, and it is not somewhere but we just don't know where. It is in a superposition represented by the wave function. This concept simply does not have any classical analog. It's a new thing that must be taken on its own terms.
    Much more importantly, it is not even the wave-function alone that makes quantum mechanics a weird and rich subject. Think about the dice example Don brought up. If they are "quantum" dice, then you can never predict what side they'll land on and all you can say is that each side shows up 1/6 of the time (fair dice). If they are normal - "classical" - dice, then you *can* know with certainty what side they'll land if you study how you throw them closely enough, but it is still the case that the dice fall on each side with frequency 1/6 over many rolls. Now tell me, what is the difference between these two scenarios? At the level of dice rolling, nothing really. Both sets of dice roll with 1/6 probability per side. If this were all there was to quantum mechanics, quantum mechanics would just be a very pompous way of saying that no matter how careful experimenters are, they can never predict anything with certainty, even in principle.
    The heart of quantum mechanics is *not* probability, but *interference*. Let me explain. Quantum mechanics says that for each way an event can happen, there is a special number called an *amplitude*. The amplitude is represented by something called a complex number. Don't mind what that is if you don't already know. What's important is that, unlike probabilities, which are always positive, complex numbers can cancel each other out when added together. To get the probability of the event happening, you add the amplitudes for each way the event could happen and then square the result. Because of this property, you can have situations where there is more than one way for an event to happen, but one way contributes a positive amplitude and the other a negative amplitude, so the amplitudes cancel out and the event never happens! This is exactly what's going on in the famed double slit experiment. With each slit open individually, you can find a particle at a specific location on the screen, but with both slits open, you never find the particle there (the dark bands). You've increased the number of ways the particle can get to the location, but instead of the particle getting there twice as often say, it never gets there. This canceling of amplitudes is interference, and it is essential to any discussion of what quantum mechanics really is all about.

    • @edcunion
      @edcunion Před 4 lety

      Ok, but if the recorder or observing device is put at the two open slits the system acts like particles are being fired at the slits, with two distinct bands not an interference pattern resulting on the recording screen in front? Perhaps the interference or interaction has happened now at the slits, the interaction between matter and energy occurred, the result being the particle(s) came from out of everywhere into focus? I like the idea of thinking the electron was the size of the universe before it came into focus at the slits when recorded/observed.

    • @TK0_23_
      @TK0_23_ Před 4 lety

      Don is not making this video for you. (Grad student) He's making it to help people learning this stuff on youtube who have an interest in physics. You watch one video, you're confused. You watch 10 you start to sort of get it. Eventually stuff clicks. This is a 10 minute video to help novice phycisists understand more. Hopefully we'll learn something.

    • @physicsguy877
      @physicsguy877 Před 4 lety

      @@TK0_23_ That's a fair point. Perhaps I'm being too critical. Frankly, I'm very happy to see so many people on the internet who are interested in learning this stuff who don't come from a physics background like myself. I don't think this video is that bad though; it just leaves out some of the most important parts of QM and promotes some unhelpful thinking about what the wave function "means". It just falls short of imparting real understanding, imo, but I really do care about imparting that understanding to lay audiences.
      I'd like to address your point about watching videos and being confused because I think it gets to the heart of what I'm personally advocating for. Firstly, everyone should know that there are a lot of misconceptions out there, and many of them stem from trying to reduce quantum mechanics to classical concepts that people are familiar with. Really, what makes quantum mechanics so weird is that it can't be understood in terms of stuff you already know, so analogies tend to obscure rather than elucidate. What I think this means is that, counterintuitively, the easiest way to understand QM is to take it more literally and seriously without any analogies as a crutch. This involves forgetting all of your assumptions about how the world works or ought to work, which is no small task. There's a quote from Feynman about the wave-particle duality of electrons: "If I say they (electrons) behave like particles I give the wrong impression; also if I say they behave like waves. They behave in their own inimitable way."
      Here are a few videos that I think do QM justice but that are intended for lay audiences. The first one addresses alot of the misconceptions I alluded to explicitly, and spends a lot of time discussing how to think about the wave function, entanglement, and why small things and big things seem to behave differently. The second is from Feynman, and highlights the central role of interference.
      czcams.com/video/q7v5NtV8v6I/video.html
      czcams.com/video/WWNnIWTVcMQ/video.html

  • @maxwellkeicha9418
    @maxwellkeicha9418 Před 2 lety

    Wow, very well explained in simple, precise terms. Thank you Sir.

  • @timmi1424
    @timmi1424 Před rokem

    Very well explained, certainly helped me develop a better understanding.

  • @fuseteam
    @fuseteam Před 4 lety +40

    we don't need to understand it fundamentally to use it effectively
    said every engineer ever
    in the face of quantum mechanics scientists morph into engineers

    • @frankschneider6156
      @frankschneider6156 Před 4 lety +2

      The issue is, that all "interpretations" lead to the same maths, which never fails. Yes, that's not completely true (Bell's theorem), but despite Aspect's experiment, doesn't this mean a lot either (except if one insists on the universe being local and that entanglement does not existing). So in the end; the maths is all we have and every "explanation" is at the current state of understanding just irrelevant story telling. Unfortunately, I don't think this is going to change in the next few decades.

    • @fuseteam
      @fuseteam Před 4 lety

      @@frankschneider6156 tis the same with engineers, all the different methods to solve a problem lead to one solution: the machine working
      for scientists the "machine" is Math

    • @fuseteam
      @fuseteam Před 4 lety

      @@happyfase exactly :p

    • @frankschneider6156
      @frankschneider6156 Před 4 lety +4

      @@fuseteam
      You are pretty wrong. Math is just a (quite helpful) tool, but it's in the end nothing but a strongly formalized description of a mental model, based upon observations, that supports the deduction of conclusions and allows quantification and predictions. Highly useful of course, but the true "machine" as you call it, is the experiment.
      No experiment -> no science.There is lots of math in the literature that turned out to be simply that: irrelevant maths, that has got nothing to do with (observable) reality. Mathematics is not a natural science. And just because you were able to derive an equitation that tells how nature behaves, doesn't mean, that it really does.

    • @fuseteam
      @fuseteam Před 4 lety

      @@frankschneider6156 math is the machine
      they use it to make prediction for which they perform experiments
      Experiments verifies that what the machine spews out is not nonsense
      Or conversely proves it's just nonsense
      Ofc you can perform experiments without using the machine akin to building a car, doable but it'll take more time
      Tldr; machines are build by man to explore the laws natural world _more or less_

  • @EzAzAbc
    @EzAzAbc Před 4 lety +8

    9:00 FOR THE ANSWER TO THE TITLE

  • @edwardlee2794
    @edwardlee2794 Před 3 lety

    Thanks Dr. You did it again. Captivated to the end and contented that I still don't understand . Thanks for the efforts and keep up with the good work.
    From Hker worldwide

  • @zohaibatif4008
    @zohaibatif4008 Před 4 lety

    Personally i think it is more informative channel about physics that i have subscribed so far. Keep it Sir Don Lincoln..God bless you

  • @cullenjohnson0
    @cullenjohnson0 Před 4 lety +16

    And here I thought it related to the repair and maintenance of quanta.

  • @ZAPPAFREAK59
    @ZAPPAFREAK59 Před 4 lety +38

    "The crux of the biscuit is the Apostrophe."
    Frank Zappa

    • @agsantana
      @agsantana Před 4 lety +3

      Great conceptual continuity.

    • @shayneoneill1506
      @shayneoneill1506 Před 4 lety +3

      I told him no no no!
      He told me yes yes yes!
      I said I do it all time.
      Aint this boogie a mess.

  • @vm5571
    @vm5571 Před 4 lety +1

    Hello, I really enjoy your channel, it has a good mix of science and humor. I am not a quantum physicist but somewhat involved in science and very interested in technology.
    However, I have this hypothetical own "theory of everything" which as I think could explain many phenomena, such as quantum entanglement, gravity, superposition e.t.c.
    No heavy math involved, but easy to visualize. I realize that it is not easy to get anyone's attention if you are not professional in your own field, but what is the best place to post my idea so professional can examine it and say why it is not possible or wrong? Thank you.

  • @enhncr
    @enhncr Před 4 lety

    Very well done and explained! Thank you!

  • @kevy1yt
    @kevy1yt Před 4 lety +16

    8:50: “...Nothing is real until it’s observed. Those things really aren’t connected to quantum mechanics at all.”
    As they say, science advances one funeral at a time...

    • @pickaxminingexploration3208
      @pickaxminingexploration3208 Před 4 lety +1

      Sometimes in most cases you can pretty much extrapolate the process

    • @davidarnette327
      @davidarnette327 Před 4 lety +2

      Nothing in time is real

    • @kevy1yt
      @kevy1yt Před 4 lety +4

      Yes. What time is it? Now. When tomorrow at 8AM comes, what time will it be? Now. When 12/12/2025 noon comes, what time will it be? Now. So, is it ever NOT now? Isn’t Now the only time we will ever experience?

    • @sammalone2562
      @sammalone2562 Před 4 lety +2

      No. It can never be now.
      The speed of light still must meet our eyeballs, excite our vision rods, then be converted to electrical energy ad it traverses all the wiring to the visual cortex where the brains...of both scholar and idiot must evaluate the prediction of vision as submitted...and justify the perception created.
      All this takes time. And, by the time this completed, whatever we see is no longer as we see.
      There is never a now...at least for humans as we can only imagine now and that, too, takes time.
      We actually live in the past.

    • @sammalone2562
      @sammalone2562 Před 4 lety

      @@happyfase to perceive the present we must acknowledge the previous.
      Else we would no concept of present. And be as such would require there to exist no memory...or identity as we would not recall one moment from another.

  • @megalegonator
    @megalegonator Před 4 lety +6

    But what counts as a detector that can collapse a particle's wave function?

    • @longlostwraith5106
      @longlostwraith5106 Před 4 lety +2

      Anything that can interact with it.

    • @longlostwraith5106
      @longlostwraith5106 Před 4 lety

      @Star Trek Theory Your name tells me you know nothing about quantum mechanics.

    • @fuckingdebutants
      @fuckingdebutants Před 4 lety +1

      ​@Star Trek Theory Please, at least obtain a basic understanding before commenting. @MegaOmea, LongLost summed it up nicely, pretty much anything that can be entangled with the particle (according to MWI). One thing is for sure, a conscious entity is not a requirement.

    • @fuckingdebutants
      @fuckingdebutants Před 4 lety +2

      @Star Trek Theory You are an absolute fool, QM is the basis of a huge amount of technology used today, from lasers to transistors and semiconductors. And yes, the GPS is obviously dependant on QM & General relativity. Putting aside your weak attempts at trolling others, what is your profession? Have you left school yet? I have to keep reminding myself that mankind is not regressing, the issue is fools like you self educating online.. Am all for people questioning everything, but don't be an ignorant twat, you won't get far in life..

  • @KetilDuna
    @KetilDuna Před 4 lety +1

    I just love your lectures

  • @unstoppable-ar3292
    @unstoppable-ar3292 Před 4 lety +1

    Very informative. Thanks

  • @marcobiagini1878
    @marcobiagini1878 Před rokem +4

    In quantum mechanics the physical system is described through a wave function whose evolution over time is determined by the Schrodinger equation. The wave function represents infinite different possible results for the physical quantities related to the system, but when we take a measurement, only one of these infinite possibilities becomes real; after the measurement, we must therefore modify the wave function “by hand” to eliminate all other possible results, and this modification is called the “collapse” of the wave function.
    The fundamental problem with quantum mechanics is that interactions among particles are already included in the Schrodinger equation and such equation does not predict any collapse. The collapse of the wave function is a violation of the Schrodinger equation, i.e. a violation of the most fundamental laws of physics and therefore the cause of the collapse cannot be determined by the same laws of physics, in particular, it cannot be determined by the interactions already included in the Schrodinger equation. The Schrodinger equation is what allows us to make quantitative predictions about the outcomes of future measurements; everytime we make a measurement, we receive new information about the system, and we need to "update" our wave function, i.e. to collapse it, otherwise the Schrodinger equation would provides wrong predictions relative to successive measurements. After one century of debates, the problem of measurement in quantum mechanics is still open and still represents the crucial problem for all interpretations of quantum mechanics. In fact, on the one hand it represents a violation of the Schrodinger equation, that is, a violation of the fundamental laws of physics. On the other hand, it is necessary for the laws of quantum physics to make sense, and to be applied in the interpretation and prediction of the phenomena we observe. This is the inescapable contradiction against which, all attempts to reconcile quantum physics with realism, break.
    Quantum mechanics is incompatible with realism (that's why Einstein never accepted quantum mechanics); all alleged attempts to reconcile quantum mechanics with realism are flawed. Quantum mechanics implies that physical reality (the universe) consists of the collection of all observed phenomena and such phenomena do not exist independently of consciousness. In fact, the properties of a physical system are determined only after the collapse of the wave function; when the properties of the system are not yet determined, the system is not real, but only an idea, a hypothesis. Only when collapse occurs do properties become real because they take on a definite value. It makes no sense to assume that the system exists but its properties are indeterminate, because properties are an intrinsic aspect of the system itself. The collapse represents the transition from a hypothetical system to an actual system.
    The collapse of the wave function represents a non-physical event, since it violates the fundamental laws of physics, and can be associated with the only non-physical event we know of, consciousness. Therefore, the only consistent rational explanation of the collapse is that it occurs because consciousness is involved in the process. However, the fact that properties are created when a conscious mind observes the system in no way implies that it is the observer or his mind that creates those properties and causes the collapse; I regard this hypothesis as totally unreasonable (by the way, the universe is supposed to have existed even before the existence of humans). The point is that there must be a correlation between the collapse of the wave function (=violation of the physical laws) and the interaction with a non-physical agent (the human mind); however, correlation does not mean causation because the concomitance of two events does not imply a causal link. The consciousness that causes the collapse of the wave function must be an eternal consciousness, that is, a conscious God. This is the idealistic perspective, which implies that physical reality exists as a concept in the mind of God who directly creates the phenomena we observe, according to the matematical models through which He conceived the universe (the laws of physics); the collapse of the wave function is a representation of the moment when God creates the observed phenomenon. This is essentially the view of the Irish philosopher George Berkeley, and in this view God is not only the Creator, but also the Sustainer of the universe. Idealism provides the only logically consistent interpretation of quantum mechanics, but most physicists do not accept idealism because it contradicts their personal beliefs, so they prefer an objectively wrong interpretation that gives them the illusion that quantum mechanics is compatible with realism.

    • @marcobiagini1878
      @marcobiagini1878 Před 8 měsíci

      @@erikarktander2183 With the word consciousness I do not refer to self-awareness, but to the property of being conscious= having a mental experience such as sensations, emotions, thoughts, memories and even dreams. The most fundamental empirical piece of information we have is the existence of our mental experiences. Consciousness is what we experience, therefore we know exactly what consciousness is. Consciousness is what we know best because it is the only reality we directly know exactly as it is in itself, the only reality we directly experience because it is experience itself. We have then a direct empirical knowledge of consciousness and consciousness represents the necessary preliminary condition for all other knowledge, consciousness is the foundation of all knowledge.

  • @blackhogarth4049
    @blackhogarth4049 Před 4 lety +31

    I'm convinced that my cat is both a zombie and capable of generating reality.

    • @user-rp1jr2qo1k
      @user-rp1jr2qo1k Před 4 lety

      Maybe the cat is not yours... Maybe it is Schrödingers cat...

    • @markorendas1790
      @markorendas1790 Před 4 lety

      HMMM. SOUNDS A LOT LIKE THE EX...

    • @mcintoshdev
      @mcintoshdev Před 4 lety

      I am convinced my cat contacts his planet of origin every night requesting permission to take my life!

    • @DaBlondDude
      @DaBlondDude Před 4 lety

      That could explain how cats get into and out of so many weirdly impossible/improbable places

  • @6stang97
    @6stang97 Před 4 lety

    The fact that part of the explanation currently invokes statements like "it is what it is" excites me to no end! Thank u for the expertise- I'll keep saying 'it is what it is' to explain things that I don't fully understand but can accept and promise not to use it as an excuse to stop studying and learning!

  • @patmat.
    @patmat. Před 3 lety

    7:30 Thank you. I don't think I ever heard another physicist honest/clever enough to admit that, I always thought I was missing something out.

  • @wschuurmans1
    @wschuurmans1 Před 4 lety +13

    did Uli get his goodbye cake?

    • @carlstanland5333
      @carlstanland5333 Před 4 lety

      willem schuurmans Only if they picked it up at 2:30 pm.

    • @burtosis
      @burtosis Před 4 lety +2

      I'd like to know because this has bothered me since the first video. I hope we are in one of the universes where they do get the cake and it's not just a lie.

    • @frankschneider6156
      @frankschneider6156 Před 4 lety

      Depends on the universe in question. But Everett assured me, that he did get it (in 50%).

  • @jovanovicoliver
    @jovanovicoliver Před 4 lety +19

    9:30 "It's going to take a genius to move us forward."
    No.
    In this particular situation one complete idiot will suffice.

    • @j0e916
      @j0e916 Před 4 lety +3

      There are literally billions in existence today... some of them occupy high offices of power... and yet here we are. 🤷‍♂️

    • @agodfortheatheistnow
      @agodfortheatheistnow Před 4 lety

      I totally agree, we are at the tipping point.

    • @parakmi1
      @parakmi1 Před 4 lety +5

      All idiots know the answer to everything.

    • @peeyushagarwal4546
      @peeyushagarwal4546 Před 4 lety +1

      The idiot will be designated as genius in that case.

    • @agodfortheatheistnow
      @agodfortheatheistnow Před 4 lety

      Parakmi I we are not idiots or geniuses. We just are. Education can be a stumbling block and we get into wrong paradigms for centuries all because we choose to believe and TEACH OTHERS things that are wrong.
      Atheist miss out on so much like this gem. “These three remain Faith Hope and Love”
      Faith in Past
      Hope for Future
      Love for Life
      Those three are the Singularity. Because only NOW exists .. the past is over ...the futures not here.... Only now exists.. and physicists need to pay more attention to those virtual partials. The matter antimatter thoughts that recognize those QF’s and past particle and future wave to be expected from it.
      The Photon lighting the way before it fades into dark matter particles after coming from dark energy waves.. nobody will read this but ... that’s life

  • @saurabhbhargava4917
    @saurabhbhargava4917 Před 4 lety

    Thank you very much Sir I was puzzled on it since my 11th grade whole wave particle duality thing because of that I left behind from whole class as I was stuck right there ..

  • @nancymencke6980
    @nancymencke6980 Před 4 lety

    Conveying information by someone who is not egotistical is a delight. Thank you

  • @YassinElMohtadi
    @YassinElMohtadi Před 4 lety +10

    i got to here so fast that an electron had a defined position and momentum at the same time

    • @fuseteam
      @fuseteam Před 4 lety

      looks like you broke reality than
      no wonder microsoft is embracing open source

  • @TGC40401
    @TGC40401 Před 4 lety +4

    Now that you've given a surface level understanding can you melt our brains with "the delayed choice quantum eraser" ?

    • @pXnTilde
      @pXnTilde Před 4 lety

      Scientists: It just be like that, bruh

    • @kylebowles9820
      @kylebowles9820 Před 4 lety

      The Science Asylum did a good video on that one! I re-watch it every so often

  • @zeyh98
    @zeyh98 Před 3 lety

    Wow glad I found this video, explains a lot of misconceptions

  • @adrianvelez7323
    @adrianvelez7323 Před 4 lety +2

    Thanks, excellent vídeo,greetings from México

  • @rkpetry
    @rkpetry Před 4 lety +4

    *_...square [_**_04:56_**_]-that's not square of sin(x)..._*

    • @TK0_23_
      @TK0_23_ Před 4 lety +1

      Correct. But... he said the wave function is a mathematical function that describes what is going on. It is "like" a sine wave. Not it "is" a sine wave. It can take on other forms. His graph is to illustrate a point, not give an exact example of a sine wave, since it's not a sine wave.

  • @ViRiXDreamcore
    @ViRiXDreamcore Před 4 lety +2

    So a universe where the sun is a giant hotdog bun probably isn’t a thing in any version of reality... darn.

    • @Soupy_loopy
      @Soupy_loopy Před 4 lety +3

      Hold on now, let's not jump to conclusions.

    • @ViRiXDreamcore
      @ViRiXDreamcore Před 4 lety

      @@Soupy_loopy So hotdog-verse still has a chance. YES! As long as we believe, it exists somewhere.

  • @Valdagast
    @Valdagast Před 4 lety

    Please make videos on each of the various interpretations - pilot waves, many-worlds, spontaneous collapse...

  • @DarrenLinc
    @DarrenLinc Před 4 lety

    Love your videos. I am also a Lincoln. Curious where our family lines meet up. Have you ever traced your Lincoln line?

  • @varuntulsyan2558
    @varuntulsyan2558 Před 4 lety +6

    To quantum or to classical, that's the question.

    • @tonytomov4553
      @tonytomov4553 Před 4 lety

      for smart ones, classical give all answers. according to science Logic and scientific method for achievement of knowledge quantum mechanics is nonsense :)))

    • @tonytomov4553
      @tonytomov4553 Před 4 lety

      @Emmett Brown two contradictory statements can't be both true - second law of science Logic :)

    • @tonytomov4553
      @tonytomov4553 Před 4 lety

      ​@Emmett Brown my respect for ​ Emmett Brown :)
      rules/laws of Universe are the same at all level of organization of matter. anything can be explained by "normal-classical" physics, without relativistic and quantum fantasies /unreal models/

  • @boudicawasnotreallyallthat1020

    Don Lincoln looks like a composite of Disney monsters

  • @theophilus749
    @theophilus749 Před 4 lety

    This is a very honest, down to earth, no-nonsense exposition and I love these Fermilab videos. Compliment over because, as a philosopher myself, I have an aggravating niggle against this one. Any practitioner of a discipline that uses words like 'eigenvalue' has no business wriggling up their nose at practitioners of a subject that use words like 'ontological'.

  • @NeonsStyleHD
    @NeonsStyleHD Před 4 lety

    Beautiful explaination of QM. Thanks. I have so many people that ask me about this, and I can never give them an answer that satisfies them. Now I can. Liked and Shared. :)

  • @atimholt
    @atimholt Před 4 lety +3

    I feel like the “shut up and calculate” school of thought makes the most sense. The problem that arises is when people mistake it for an ignoring of the problem instead of a flat rejection of the value of human macro-scale intuition and valuation. If your intuition is wrong, build yourself a new one out of facts.

  • @martypoll
    @martypoll Před 4 lety +4

    I’ve been in the “shut up and calculate” community since my first encounter with quantum mechanics.

  • @Ppuffdiddleydangdoof
    @Ppuffdiddleydangdoof Před rokem

    Dr. Lincoln thank you for a superb video. You present the information in such a clear way. And your diction gives your topic greater heft and impact. I want to incorporate these in my own speaking style. Precise communication is a gift to the listener. And this video was a gift to my brain. Thank you.

  • @pinboru_
    @pinboru_ Před 4 lety +1

    My favorite channel.

  • @totalfreedom45
    @totalfreedom45 Před 4 lety +19

    _I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics._ -Richard Feynman, _The Character of Physical Law,_ 1965
    💕 ☮ 🌎 🌌

    • @whocareswho
      @whocareswho Před 4 lety +8

      Feynman was wrong. I'm a nobody and I don't understand quantum mechanics.

    • @totherarf
      @totherarf Před 4 lety +2

      @@whocareswho If you are a nobody, the implication is that there are other nobodies. If there are an infinite number of nobodies at least one does understand it ;0)

    • @gmhelwig
      @gmhelwig Před 4 lety

      @@whocareswho ha

    • @kpunkt.klaviermusik
      @kpunkt.klaviermusik Před 3 lety

      The more you understand QM
      the less you understand QM.

    • @davidwalker5054
      @davidwalker5054 Před 3 lety +1

      I like the thought that i have something in common with these theoretical physicists i dont understand quantum physics

  • @hamentaschen
    @hamentaschen Před 4 lety +3

    I am literally afraid of my cat!

    • @1pcfred
      @1pcfred Před 4 lety

      @Star Trek Theory my cat is a little feral and he has sharp claws. I mean he could take your eye out.

  • @RosecityPortland503
    @RosecityPortland503 Před 3 lety

    Thank you. Very helpful

  • @dennistucker1153
    @dennistucker1153 Před 4 lety +1

    Love this video. I recognize the need to explain things logically and mathematically. I do understand that the attempt to explain the behavior of very small particles leads some to believe in things like wave functions, superposition, wave collapse and probabilities. These things do yield mathematically correct predictions. However, I do not believe that having a mathematically correct prediction is the same as understanding the true nature of what is happening.

  • @lohphat
    @lohphat Před 4 lety +3

    Isn't there a "t" in "quantum"?
    Is quannum mechanics a thing?

    • @LuisAldamiz
      @LuisAldamiz Před 4 lety +3

      Depends on your accent, same as "twenny".

    • @TheSilentWhales
      @TheSilentWhales Před 4 lety +3

      @@LuisAldamiz tree fiddy

    • @lohphat
      @lohphat Před 4 lety

      @@LuisAldamiz czcams.com/video/X5Jp-j2PeO8/video.html

    • @LuisAldamiz
      @LuisAldamiz Před 4 lety

      @@lohphat - Not the same thing at all. Your link is about vowels, not consonant clusters. Also nt>nn is extremely common, at least in the USA.

    • @lohphat
      @lohphat Před 4 lety

      Luis Aldamiz I CAN’T STANNEM.

  • @Ambienfinity
    @Ambienfinity Před 4 lety +5

    I tried to measure the position of the video on my computer, but it affected the outcome. I ended up in a weird nightmarish alternative universe where Donald Trump was US President and Boris Johnson Prime Minister of Great Britain .....

    • @Ambienfinity
      @Ambienfinity Před 4 lety

      @MomoTheBellyDancer I know, right? Quantum physics gave me the munchies.

  • @onargaroberts
    @onargaroberts Před 4 lety

    Don, I'm not a physicist and I enjoy your videos very much. I don't fully understand them, but each viewing makes me incrementally more intimate with our universe, and that is appreciated. Locating the exact position of an electron is interesting, but I don't know why this is important. Seems to me that knowing an electron is either, bound to a nucleus or free and available, would tell you everything you need to know. How does knowing precisely where an electron is located help us explain/understand our world?

  • @tunnsie
    @tunnsie Před 4 lety

    Leonard Susskind was being interviewed regarding quantum physics basics and the interviewer stated “Ah, now I understand”. Susskind quite angrily replied “No you don’t. Nobody does”. The interviewer was visibly taken aback and stumbled into the next question.
    These videos are excellent, please keep them coming.

  • @kibromamaniel4662
    @kibromamaniel4662 Před 4 lety +3

    Quantum mechanics is weird.

    • @TosiakiS
      @TosiakiS Před 4 lety

      In both the pilot wave theory and many worlds interpretation, it's pretty straightforward. It's just that the average person does not have a grasp of the idea of distributions and function spaces, which is what qm is all about, which seem complicated at first but turn out to be simple in practice.
      People say it's weird because it involves math and serious thinking, and when some people turn out incapable of doing so, they end just resenting it in a "the grapes are sour" kind of thinking. I've seen some people dismiss machine learning as "impractical" just because their brains can't handle the relatively simple math involved in it. Same story here.

  • @IPabloneCabrone
    @IPabloneCabrone Před 4 lety

    Great explanation!!!

  • @rakibrownaq6855
    @rakibrownaq6855 Před 4 lety

    Very well explained.. Want more of quantum mechanics

  • @stigj942
    @stigj942 Před 2 lety

    Great stuff and great presenter! Appreciate it.