Third place Winner Quantum Physics: Is it the Wave of the Future?
Third place Winner
Quantum Physics: Is it the Wave of the Future?
Noble Prize in Physics
The winners of the 2012 Nobel Prize were Serge Heroche and David J. Wineland. Serge Heroche attended college De France, while David J. Wineland attended the US National Institute for Standards and Technology. They developed solutions to pick, manipulate and measure photons and ions individually, allowing an insight into a microscopic world that was once just the province of scientific theory. They were awarded $1.2 million to be split between the two. They were awarded for their work with light and matter at the most fundamental level. Their study had the potential to lead to advanced models of communication and computation “for ground breaking experimental methods that enable measuring and manipulation of individual quantum systems.†(BBC, 2012, para. 4) They are set to receive their award on December 10, 2012.
What is Quantum Physics?
Quantum Physics is the science of things so small that the quantum nature of reality has an effect. Quantum means 'discrete amount' or 'portion'. It has to do with atoms, neutrons, electrons, and photons.
Sahih International
Until, when they came upon the valley of the ants, an ant said, "O ants, enter your dwellings that you not be crushed by Solomon and his soldiers while they perceive not." (27:18)
Sahih International
So [Solomon] smiled, amused at her speech, and said, "My Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favor which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents and to do righteousness of which You approve. And admit me by Your mercy into [the ranks of] Your righteous servants." (27:19)
I placed these 2 ayyas specifically to show that something tiny (such as the ant) can affect something giant (such as nature and the environment). The significance that these ayyas hold may have much deeper meaning than is understood when examining them superficially. Essentially, they can relate to new studies that have just been found and provide a means of encouraging ourselves to continue discovering and learning more about the universe at large, and at the quantum level. What makes this so incredible is that the Quran was written thousands of years ago. One of Allah (SWT) 99 names is Al-Alim (which means All-Knowing)
Einstein and Bohr
Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr were two of the founders of quantum mechanics. They had many differences in their views of quantum mechanics. Their differences in their views of the subject were later known as the Bohr-Einstein debates. Bohr proposed that wave equations described where entities like electrons could be, but, the entities didn't actually exist as particles until someone went looking for them. The act of observation caused existence. Einstein disagreed saying that electrons are electrons and just because someone wasn’t looking at it, it was still there. Bohr and Einstein were friends and had great respect for one another but they were stubborn with their views.
Entanglement
Entanglement is the phenomenon in which Albert Einstein was quoted as describing “spooky action.†The idea is that when two atoms, or objects for that matter, are entangled, any disturbance to one atom will result in the same reaction in the other object despite the apparent distance between the two atoms. Essentially what this means is that everything in the world is connected in some way. Upon two particles interacting in a way in which is not fully clear as of yet, but could be through collision or some other forces, they can become entangled. The theory of entanglement is one that is receiving much research and investigation because of all of the possible consequences and applications of this theory in our world. Einstein’s theory of relativity and the speed of light may possibly come into question. Perhaps it could lead to very distant communication from other parts of the universe. Maybe it allows us to develop insights into the galaxies as to how they will react based on what we know occurs in our own galaxy, The Milky Way.
Teleportation
Quantum teleportation is unrelated to the common term teleportation- it does not transport the system itself, and does not concern rearranging particles to copy the form of an object. Quantum teleportation is a process by which a qubit (the basic unit of quantum information) can be transmitted exactly (in principle) from one location to another, without the qubit being transmitted through the intervening space.
Super Computers
The winners of the Nobel Prize for physics 2012 (Serge Haroche and David J. Wineland) could make it possible to build a new kind of computer far more powerful than any ever seen before.
"Most science progresses very slowly," Wineland told AFP. "On the computing side, we are able to think about applying these quantum systems to solve other problems that we try to do on computer now but our computers are limited. “It has not happened yet and I am not even sure it will happen in the next decade, but I think it will eventually happen using quantum principles to make a quantum computer that will actually have applications."
References
Physics Nobel goes to Serge Haroche and David Wineland (9 October, 2012). BBC News Science and Environment. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19879890
A Lazy Layman’s Guide to Quantum Physics James Higgo 1999
http://www.higgo.com/quantum/laymans.htm
Bohr-Einstein Debates http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohr%E2%80%93Einstein_debates
Engines of our Ingenuity No. 2627 The Bohr-Einstein debates By: Andrew Boyd http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi2627.htm
Entanglement http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1rHcreF6ko
Quantum Teleportation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_teleportation
Quantam research will yield 'super-computers': Nobel winner By: Jean-Louis Santini http://phys.org/news/2012-10-quantam-yield-super-computers-nobel-winner.html