A To Z Challenge: Quantum Physics And Quandaries Of The Universe (+ A Book Release: The Other Marlowe Girl)

Quantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics, is a field of study involving physics which cannot be explained through classical methods, such as Newtonian physics. Some extremely weird phenomena occurs in quantum mechanics, including--but not limited to--things appearing and disappearing at random moments and photons being both waves and particles.

This month, some interesting findings regarding a thing called quantum entanglement have been published. Quantum entanglement's premise is as follows: When two particles (let's say photons) are entangled, it means that when one or both of the photons is observed (i.e. measured) they assume opposite positions, such as one photon being up and the other down.

The interesting thing about the interaction is that before either of the photons is observed, they are considered to be in all possible states at the same time--therefore, when one photon falls into one state (such as the down state) upon observation, the other photon will fall into the complementary state (the up state). This means information travels between the two particles faster than the speed of light, which caused Einstein to call it "spooky action at a distance". The recent report closes three loopholes in this theory that could have poked holes in quantum entanglement, which serves to shore up the theory and affirm that, indeed, particles really are communicating between themselves about their different states.

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Sources:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/quantum+mechanics
http://www.pbs.org/transistor/science/info/quantum.html
http://www.livescience.com/28808-spooky-quantum-entanglement-loophole-closed.html
http://www.livescience.com/28550-how-quantum-entanglement-works-infographic.html
http://www.itechpost.com/articles/8022/20130418/quantum-mechanics-physics-loophole-photons-experiment-lasers-einstein-theory-of-relativity.htm
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130415094839.htm

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And now, for a belated book release. In the madness of the A to Z Challenge, I thought this book release post was supposed to go up next Monday, when it was really supposed to be up last Monday. I apologize for the mistake--hope you can forgive me, Beth! And I hope this post can still do some good going up now.

Meet Beth Fred! That's me! I'm a full time ELF keeper and part time writer/blogger/writing instructor. I'm represented by Kathleen Rushall of Marsal Lyons Literary Agency. I like my tea hot, my romance sweet, and my guys chivalrous. Real men hold open doors, refer to you as ma'am, make promises they keep, and aren't afraid to profess their undying love. It's not breakfast if there aren't carbs(at least, not in the South). Fajitas, carnitas, and churros are just few of my favorite things. Bet you can't guess where I'm from ;) Wanna know more about me? You can find that here:

Email me: bethfred08(at)gmail.com
Blogger:  bethfred.com
Tweet me: bethfred08
FB Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/bethfred08

Available at: Amazon & Smashwords

When twenty-four-year-old Tiffany escapes her sister Kammy's too wild Cancun bachelorette party, she finds herself in a bar with the unwanted attention of a gorgeous local named Luke.

Luke may be charming but Tiffany is leaving in two days and doesn't need any complications. But complications are exactly what she gets when the cops show up to raid Kammy's party. When Kammy is arrested, Tiffany agrees to have dinner with Luke, so he'll help her get Kammy out of jail. Kammy's arrest forces her to spend an extra day in Cancun, meaning she'll miss a crucial meeting, and as an accountant in tax season, she is already drowning in work. Not to mention, every second she spends with Luke makes it harder to leave. With Luke, Tiffany can forget about work.

But will the airport be their final goodbye?

ebook, 42 pages
Published September 12th 2012 by Amazon
ASINB0096PWTUO
edition language: English
original title: Kismet
 

Available at: Amazon

When twenty-four-year-old dance school drop out Kammy Marlowe is evicted by her mother, she goes to her favorite bar. She finds an unlikely friend in the blunt eye candy, Enrique. But Kammy knows there is no way she and Enrique have a shot because he's her brother-in-law’s brother and has been privy to her wild past.

Enrique swears he’s only interested in the person she is today, but their relationship is tested when her ex-husband's drug dealer attacks her, looking for money. With no options and a money hungry drug dealer on her back, Kammy accepts a position as a dancer at a strip club. But when Enrique shows up at the club, their relationship is over. With no reason to stay in Texas anymore, Kammy auditions for the Bolshevik Ballet and gets the opportunity to go to Russia. Only Enrique is determined to stop her.

Will she give up the chance of a lifetime to stay with the man she still loves?


Ebook: 107 pages
Published: April 5th 2013
edition language: English

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Do you agree with Einstein's description of quantum entanglement as "spooky action at a distance"? Some scientists have accomplished minor teleportation using entanglement; would you agree to being teleported using quantum mechanics, if they succeeded at transporting things larger than individual particles?

Have you read any of Beth Fred's books?


-----The Golden Eagle

A-Z Blogging Challenge: Q Stands For: Quantum Mechanics

Ready for another science post, everyone? :)

(SOURCE)

Quantum mechanics is a branch of physics dealing with wave-particle duality. Wave-particle duality is when matter acts like both a wave (think liquid) and a particle (think atoms). Quantum mechanics describes a physical system through a wavefunction, which predicts the chances of a particle being in a certain state at a certain time. This sort of probability is called probability amplitude.

(SOURCE)

The thing about the wavefunction is that the more you try to calculate one part of the system, the less accurate your measurements will be with regards to another part of the system. This is called the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle.

(Good ol' Heisenberg. SOURCE)

The uncertainty principle brings into question the role of the observer. The Copenhagen Interpretation is the standard interpretation of measurement, the "statistical nature of reality", and the philosophical debate over what effect an observer has over a system. It says that observation causes the wavefunction to collapse; also referred to as consciousness causes collapse. One of the more famous thought-experiments to demonstrate this sort of thing is the Schroedinger's Cat experiment. (In which no live cats were harmed, by the way. Just thought-experiment ones.)

(SOURCE)

But there are other ideas on how quantum mechanics works. There's the Many Worlds Theory, Consistent Histories, Ensemble Interpretation, de Broglie-Bohm Theory, Relational Quantum Mechanics, Transactional Interpretation, Stochastic Mechanics, Objective Collapse Theories, von Neumann/Wigner Interpretation, Many Minds, Quantum Logic, Modal Interpretations, Time-Symmetric Theories, the list goes on and on.

Obviously, there's a lot of figuring out to do.

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Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_mechanics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave%E2%80%93particle_duality

http://webs.morningside.edu/slaven/physics/uncertainty/uncertainty2.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_mind%E2%80%93body_problem

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave_function

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncertainty_principle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copenhagen_Interpretation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpretation_of_quantum_mechanics

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No question this time. You have the floor on quantum mechanics!


(Also, I won't be around to your blogs today. I'll do my best to catch up with posts tomorrow, and I'll be sure to swing by anyone who comments here.)

-----The Golden Eagle