The Physicists’ View of Nature: Part 2: The Quantum Revolution

332 Pages·2001·25.55 MB·English

by  Amit Goswami (auth.)

The Physicists' View of Nature
Part 2
OTHER BOOKS BYAMIT GOSWAMI
Quantum Mechanics
The SelfAware Universe: How Consciousness Creates the Material World
with Maggie Goswami and Richard Reed
Quantum Creativity
with Maggie Goswami
The Visionary Window: A Quantum Physicist)s Guide to Enlightenment
The Physicists) View ofNature) Part1:From Newton to Einstein
The Physicists' View of Nature
Part 2
The Quantum Revolution
Amit Goswami
Institute of Noetic Sciences
Petaluma, California
and
University of Oregon
Eugene,Oregon
Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
ISBN 978-1-4613-5118-4 ISBN 978-1-4615-0527-3 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4615-0527-3
© 2001 Springer Science+Business Media New York
Originally published by Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York in 2001
Softcovcr rcprint of thc hardcovcr 1s t cdition 2001
http://www.wkap.nl
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
A C.I.P. record for this book is available fi-om the Library of Congress
Ali rights reserved
No part of this book may bc reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the
Publisher.
To
my wife Uma
with love
Preface and Acknowledgments
F?,
""book, fot non«;,nt;"',mn today, ,ddom add"" qum,o",
thatareofrelevance tononscientists,suchasquestionsofmeaning,values,creativity,and
spirituality. This is in spite ofthe fact that the theory ofrelativity and quantum physics
have made majorimpactson suchquestionsofphilosophy.
Severalyearsago, I initiatedthe teachingofacourseentitled "The Physicists'Viewof
Nature," under the auspices ofthe UniversityofOregon Physics Department,to specifi
cally introduce questions ofmeaning in our presenting ofbasicphysics to nonscientists.
Thecoursehasbeenhighlysuccessfulandeventuallyledtothewritingatwo-volumebook
bythesamename.Thefirstvolume,subtitledFrom Newtonto Einstein,dealswithclassi
calphysicsandhasalreadybeenpublished.ThisisVolumeIIofthebookanditdealswith
thequantumrevolution.
Besides covering the standard material, I have extensively discussed questions that
intriguethenonscientist:Whatistherelationofphysicsand biology?Whyismathematics
important to physics? Does physics have something to say about consciousness, about
values,about meaning? Can one integratetheworldviewsofscientistsand nonscientists?
Can we ask the question ofthe existence ofGod within physics? What is the nature of
creativity, scientific or otherwise? I hope the answers are stimulating and will even be
satisfyingto moststudents.
Iwouldliketoacknowledgethemanydiscussionswithmynonscientiststudentswho
took the courseatthe UniversityofOregon. Many thanksaredue to Eve Brantwho has
donepracticallyeverythingtobringthebooktoprint. Finally,Iwouldliketogivesincere
thanks to SidneySolomon and Raymond Solomon,without whose encouragement the
bookwouldneverhave beenwritten. I thankyou all.
-A.G.
May,2001
vii
Contents
PARTONE
INTRODUCTION 1
Chapter 1
FromClassicalPhysicstoQuantum Physics:AStillAborning ParadigmShift 3
Anomalous Data 4
WhatIsQuantum Physics? 5
TheSubmicroscopicWorld 5
TheRadicalnessofQuantum Physics 6
Paradigmsand ParadigmShifts 8
Chapter2
CanWe Determinethe MetaphysicsUnderlyingReality? 11
Dualism 12
Holism 12
MonisticIdealism 13
BridgingScience,theArtsand the Humanities,andSpirit 14
ExperimentalMetaphysics 15
InSummary 17
PARTTWO
THE BEGINNINGS OFQUANTUM PHYSICS 19
Chapter3
PlanckTakesaQuantumLeap 21
The EnergyQuantaofMax Planck 24
Chapter4
EInstein'sPhotons 29
Wave-Particle DualityofLight 24
Chapter5
The BohrAtom 35
Atomsand Philosophy 39
Chapter6
TheDiscoveryofQuantum Mechanics 41
Wave-Particle DualityofMatter 43
ix
x Contents
Heisenberg's Discovery 45
TheSchrodingerEquation 45
Chapter7
PossibilityWaves. Uncertainty.andComplementarity 47
Probabilityand Uncertainty 52
Probability,Indeterminacy,andAcausality 54
Moreon Uncertainty S6
Wave-Particle DualityandQuantum Measurement S9
TheCorrespondence Principle 61
Chapter8
TheCopenhagen Interpretation 65
CuttingThrough Classical Prejudices 66
The DancingWu Li Masters 68
PARTTHREE
QUANTUMPHYSICS COMES OFAGE 71
Chapter9
Atomsand Light 73
AbsorptionSpectra 76
Fluorescence 76
Do Blondes HaveMore Fun? 77
The Laser 77
Chapter 10
AtomsandChemistry 85
TheQuantum Explanationofthe PeriodicTable 87
Pauli Principlein theStars 91
Chapter 11
TheWorldofNuclei 93
NuclearStability 97
NuclearFission 99
NuclearStructure 100
AnApplicationofNuclearPhysics:ARevolutioninGeologyandArcheology 103
Chapter 12
ElementaryParticlePhysics:TheQuestforElementarlty 107
The Particlesand Their Interactions 110
TheQuarks:The EndoftheQuest? 111
A New Pictureofthe Forces 113
Chapter 13
MoreQuantumTechnology: SolidState Physics 119
TheCarriersofElectricity 119
EnergyBandsinSolids 120
TheSolid-State Rectifier 123
TheSolarCell 125
TheTransistor 125
QuantumWorldataGlance 126
Contents xi
PARTFOUR
THE PARADOX OF THE QUANTUM 129
Chapter 14
QuantumNonlocality 131
Singlet Bohm,Singlet Bell 133
Chapter 15
TheParadoxofSchrodinger'sCat 139
Bohm'sHiddenVariables 141
TheCopenhagen Interpretation,
theClassical/Quantum Dichotomy,and Macrorealism 142
TheManyWorldsTheory 143
TransactionalInterpretation 145
InSummary 146
Chapter 16
SpeculationsAboutthe Brain:ConsciousnessWithintheQuantum 147
Consciousnessand Interconnectedness 149
AboutNeurons 151
DoesSelf-ConsciousnessArisefrom Quantum Coherenceofthe Brain? 153
QuantumGravityin the Brain? 155
PARTFIVE
QUANTUM WITHIN CONSCIOUSNESS 159
Chapter 17
ConsciousnessEntersPhysics 161
WhoorWhatCollapsestheWave Function? 162
The ParadoxofDualism 164
Who IsCorrect-BohrorVon Neumann? 166
Chapter 18
The IdealistInterpretation 167
MonisticIdealism 169
QuantumMeasurementand the NatureofConsciousness 171
Dualism 172
TheApparentSubject-Object Duality 172
TheEpistemological Question 174
Chapter 19
ASummaryTourofQuantumland 177
Uncertaintyand Potentia 178
ConsciousnessandtheQuantum 179
TheDouble-Slit Experiment 181
Schrodinger'sCat 183
How Doesthe One BecomeMany? 188
Chapter20
From DeeptoDeepertoDeepestEcology 189
xii Contents
Chapter21
Thereconciliation with DavidBohm'sPhysics 193
Implicateand ExplicateOrder 195
Chapter22
TheGiftsofQuantum Physics 197
The DiscontinuityofCreativity 198
Nonlocality 199
DownwardCausation 204
Tangled Hierarchy 205
Chapter23
QuantumCreativity 207
Situational,Fundamental,Inner,andOuterCreativity 207
TheQuantum NatureofCreativity 208
TheCreative Processandthe ImportanceofUnconscious Processing 210
Creative EncounterWith theQuantumSelfand the Flow Experience 211
Creativityand Development 213
The Roleofthe Unconscious 214
InnerCreativity 214
Chapter24
IntegratingDualities 219
QuantumMeasurementTheory 221
Life-Nonlife Duality 222
TheMind-Brain Problem:ANew Psychophysical Parallelism 222
Conclusions 226
Chapter25
QuantumCosmologyandConsciousness 227
Self-Referenceand the OriginofLife 228
The Delayed-Choice Experiment 229
TheStrongAnthropic Principle 231
TheArrowofTime 232
PARTSIX
QUANTUMBIOLOGY-
HOW CONSCIOUSNESS CREATES BIOLOGICAL ORDER 235
Chapter26
AnomaliesInBiologyandthe NeedforaParadigmShift 237
The Needfor BiologyWithinConsciousness 241
Chapter27
TowardaParadigm ShiftInBiology 245
InsideaLivingCell 247
Neo-Darwinism 248
Reductionismand Holism 248
Self-ReproducingAutomataandtheGameofLife 250
ChaosTheory 252
Chapter28
WhatIsLife? 255