Richard Feynman once said about quantum mechanics If you say that you understand quantum mechanics, and if you are NOT surprised, then you really did not understand quantum mechanics !
The reason being there are so many mysteries and puzzles in the field of quantum mechanics that otherwise would be considered super natural, unscientific, etc by a common man.
Feynman also said I think I can safely say that nobody understands Quantum Mechanics!
I will try to explain some of the quantum mechanical facts, in simple layman terms so that you understand it.
Let me give you an example. Take a quantum particle like say electron. Quite opposed to its particle nature, it has been proved that the electron moves through two openings at the same time! It is like you moving through two adjacent entrances separated by a thin wall (whose thickness is almost the same as that of your body) at the same time!
Not surprised? Ok, let me give another example. Take a quantum particle and conduct an experiment on it without looking at it, and you will get some result. Now take the same particle and conduct the same experiment on it by observing it, and you will get a different result! In other words, the particle knows that whether you are observing it or not! This has been proved in various experiments.
Is that all? Not really. Now Separate two quantum particles which had been together like twins, take them very far away from each other so that they dont see or talk to each other, now do some experiment on one of the particles and you will see the other particle which is far away reacting to this experiment on its twin immediately! This is again a proved fact!
And you thought telepathy was not science? :) In the world of quantum mechanics, there is always telepathy and it is called non-locality where two non-local i,e far away particles behave as if they are still in constant touch with each other via some phone line !!
Most quantum physicists have always been looking towards the ancient Indian vedic texts for answers to these mysteries, because they found similar explanations of scenarios as observed in quantum mechanics in these ancient texts!
To quote some of them,
I go into the Upanishads to ask questions. – Niels Bohr, Well known Quantum Physicist
This life of yours which you are living is not merely apiece of this entire existence, but in a certain sense the whole; only this whole is not so constituted that it can be surveyed in one single glance. This, as we know, is what the Brahmins express in that sacred, mystic formula which is yet really so simple and so clear; tat tvam asi, this is you. Or, again, in such words as I am in the east and the west, I am above and below, I am this entire world. – Erwin Schrodinger, Well known Quantum Physicist
Now, I shall discuss the non-locality nature of quantum particles as described in the vedas.
A quote by Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa on this subject is relevant.
The Vedas compare creation to a spider’s web, that the spider creates and then lies within. God is both the container of the universe and what is contained in it.
– Ramakrishna
In other words, as per the vedas the universe has consciousness and is aware of its existence . We however limit our consciousness to our body and think at a self level. Ancient sages who attained enlightenment realized the existence of the universal consciousness and started conversing with it, which is what gave them the amazing power of looking into the future, telepathy etc.
If we think ourselves to be I, it is like a cell in our body thinking itself to be the real body! We are simply mere cells which constitute the body of this universe and the universal consciousness. Particles on the other hand seem to have this realization of the universal consciousness and it is quite natural for them to communicate non-locally because as far as the universal consciousness is concerned, the entire universe is local!
Only we humans do experiments in quantum physics expecting the quantum particles to behave like individual particles, like how we humans think and behave at the level of a self and hence the mystery, puzzles etc in quantum mechanics.
This also indicates that even humans can possibly involve in telepathy, conversing with people very far away, etc provided we master these techniques. This is what ancient vedic Yogic exercises or Yoga is all about. It is not just about maintaining physical fitness, but also mental fitness and identification with the universal soul.
So quantum mechanics is all about identifying the awareness at the universal level which is manifested at the local level. We never ask questions like how the neuron in my left brain know what was known to the neuron in my right brain?, because we know that as far our brain is concerned, it is a single connected entity. Extend the same logic to the entire universe based on the vedic definition and probably you can understand why quantum particles behave the way they do
amazing, i want to know who wrote these vedas he must be a physist,chemist,biologist,mathematician,and a spiritualist.
Sarcasm
You obviously haven’t checked out Twitter yet :-) Just kidding. I guess all I’m saying is that having a brain does not equal using it: the internet has basically given our planet artificial neurons connecting the various sentient organisms that use them: however, it is used almost 90% for porn. hehe. Sort of like how people in the south in America have brains, but choose to devote them to beer and NASCAR. hope I didn’t offend anyone, just being a smarta$$
One thing I find fascinating about Quantum Physics, or Quantum Reality depending on how you want to view it, is this: it has been proven that nothing actually exists unless there is a consciousness to observe it. Until then it exists in a “virtual state” where all possible paths available to that piece of matter, particle, wave of energy, person, etc. actually coexist and are all simultaneously real, until a consciousness comes into the picture and “collapses the waveform” into one particular possibility, which we then label “reality” when it could have just as easily been another one. This is related to or may have led to the “many worlds” theory of quantum physics that says that every event or decision, every action, makes new universes split off from the one being collapsed into a waveform by one’s consciousness, and every possible outcome that didn’t happen in our universe happens in its own, like an ever expanding tree of consequences resulting from every action. Therefore,
maybe there is a reality where Germany won WW2 or one where New Coke actually tasted good. et cetera. I wonder where God finds room for all these universes, is there another universe that contains them all? just speculatin’. Discuss. :-)
Did you hear the joke about the Hindu that walked up to the hot dog stand and asked the vendor to “make him one with everything”? sorry :-( corny I know
By the way I agree with your statement regarding Tesla. He was at least two or three hundred years ahead of his time, and if he had been successful in bringing Wardenclyffe to fruition when he wanted to, just imagine how humans would be living today! The optimist in me wants to say it’d be some sort of super-advanced global socialism where no one group controls the sole means of producing work/energy/power, and would have allowed “third world” countries to desalinize water cheaply, “converting deserts into oases” as Tesla pictured. The wireless transmission of power, and the generation of power from the conversion of cosmic rays to electricity, could have made our a planet a utopia. Let’s hope it’s not too late.
Also, final note: isn’t it sad that the true visionaries that want to change the world for the better, and actually have the creative power to realize it in a practical manner, are usually either killed outright, or threatened and made to vanish from history? Believe it or not, I actually lose sleep over that sometimes… I hope others do to. As Ghandi said: You must be the change you want to make in the world around you (paraphrasing)
“They” say that there is nothing new under the sun… I personally believe that ancient Chinese and Indians may have reached an understanding of both the inner and the greater self, or in other words consciousness and the universe/reality, and their relation to each other. I want to learn Sanscrit so I can make my own interpretation, though. I think that the conceptual thinking achieved back then was extremely advanced, at least as advanced as some of our cutting edge physics today. Picture if you will, ancient scientists who don’t have the same vocabulary as we do: what might they use for their terminology? Well, for quantum mechanics and its ilk I’d say metaphysical terminology suits it just fine (after all, advanced physics sounds like philosophy or religion i.e. nothing exists unless observed by a consciousness). Unfortunately, and I mean no offence to any Hindus, etc. in the crowd but because it used religious terms to describe reality it has since then degenerated into
mystery religion and hero/guru worship. And I realize that’s just my opinion so please no one get upset. I leave y’all with this: It is my personal belief that no one worth following wants to be followed. getting off my soapbox now, hehe
having a brain does not equal using it – I completely agree on this. While the best of Internet lies in sites like Wikipedia and sharing of human knowledge from all over the world, most of Internet searches are for porn related content. It is similar to how we use our understanding of nuclear physics, we can either create nuclear weapons using our knowledge or build nuclear reactors to light more houses.
Yes, what makes quantum physics stand apart from classical physics is the power of the observer where observer becomes a participant in an experiment. The mere observation has an impact on the end result and this links modern science to vedic science where these ancient sanskrit texts say that the universe exists because we observe it! The ancient vedic texts talk about we being bound by our sense organs and thinking that the data received by our eyes, ears etc to be the real universe and say that the real universe cannot be observed by our sense organs. They also say that time is an illusion!
I do strongly hope, both because I am positive and believe that the only way for a better future is to follow great minds like Tesla, Einstein, Gandhi to make Earth a better place to live in, as it is our only place in this amazingly vast universe. The multi national corporations of today are killing innovations that threaten their business, like the oil corporations not wanting alternate energy resources to be successful, the drug companies not wanting alternate medicines to be successful, and so on. Capitalism has created a new form of communalism which can be overcome only by true democratic systems where political decisions are not influenced by corporate interests.
And again I completely agree with you when you say that modern day hindu crowd is largely flocked behind gurus most of whom are fake. People simply believe what these self proclaimed gurus say and very few are actually doing any metaphysical/spiritual studies.
Thank you very much for your wonderful comments.
The Hindu sages are not given their dues:
The law of the conservation of energy. Energy cannot be created or destroyed just changed to other forms. Hello!! we thought of this 5000 yrs ago. Khrishna says “never was there a time when I did not exist nor you nor these kings and never will there be a time when we will cease to be.
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. I’m sorry but I thought that was Karma. I didn’t know Newton was a hindu.
And what about entropy, the universal force of randomisation and destruction. I think we have called it Shiva for the last 10,000 years.
Hinduism is quantum physics!
Yes Uday, almost all of the famous quantum physicists were great admirers of the vedic spiritual science. But our textbooks successfully hide all such facts.
As Dr. Subhash Kak has rightly said
“Our school books talk about Socrates, Plato and Aristotle — and rightly so — but they don’t mention Yajnavalkya, Panini and Patanjali, which is a grave omission. Our grand boulevards in Delhi and other cities are named after Copernicus, Kepler and Newton, but there are no memorials to Aryabhata, Bhaskara, Madhava and Nilakantha!”
worked at mercedes benz c centurion
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John Haglein one time Presidential candidate for Natural Party is a well respected and well know physicist
Now a days he is overshadowed by Brian Green and Paul davies and others.
Again a nice writeup Ramana!! very well written..
LO, Thanks for that info, I didnt know about Hagelin :)
LO This is my comment
The subject of ?consciousness? comes in physics in the following context
David Bohm is a quantum pioneer, a prodigy of Albert Einstein was born in United states. In my view he is one of the under appreciated and under admired physicist. , He was arrested for his political activism by the country that teaches the human rights, ignored his rights and sent him packing to Great Britain,. He believes the science is the perceptual enterprise. He wrote an appendix about perception? to Special theory of relativity.
He believes that we humans and our brains are conditioned to believe in the fragmented parts
Quantum entangled particles are not two different particles but they are one and the same with two different perceptions. He believes the observer and the observed are the same. It is part of the wholeness and the flow of consciousness. He is the first one who introduced concept of consciousness in to physics through his book ?wholeness-Implicate order?.
In his quest to discover or attain the consciousness , David Bohm met an Indian spiritual leader and Philosopher through his English wife. His name is Jiddu Krishnamurthy..
Jiddu Krishna Murthy ( Now they refer him with simple abbreviation ?JK) was born into Telugu Brahmin family in India ( madanpally, AP) in 1895. By the way his home town is not far from my home town ( Bhimavaram, AP) .He was groomed to be a leader for a Theosophical Society but later he disengaged with the society and detested any kind of teaching through Gurus and Preachers.
This is the following exceprt from JK wikipeda worth mentioning here
?You may remember the story of how the devil and a friend of his were walking down the street, when they saw ahead of them a man stoop down and pick up something from the ground, look at it, and put it away in his pocket. The friend said to the devil, ?What did that man pick up?? ?He picked up a piece of the truth,? said the devil. ?That is a very bad business for you, then,? said his friend. ?Oh, not at all,? the devil replied, ?I am going to help him organize it.? I maintain that truth is a pathless land, and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect. That is my point of view, and I adhere to that absolutely and unconditionally. Truth, being limitless, unconditioned, unapproachable by any path whatsoever, cannot be organized; nor should any organization be formed to lead or coerce people along a particular path?
It struck major chord with David Bohm , ?The Truth is pathless land ? reminds the quantum mechanical behavior of particle that there is no definite path in the past or future for the particle.
A long and historical conversation was started between the two and authored couple of books together.
To go and see beyond the pathless land Jiddu Krishnamurthy (JK) introduced a technique called ?Mediation? . Mediation real meaning is to measure or reflect .
JK believes the thought process it self is corrupt and maligned , and you can only feel your self ,the realization of wholeness or flow of consciousness through the process of mediation.
This realization can not be explained or taught except feel that flow of consciousness.
David Bohm and JK believed the Reality is an undivided wholeness
Are you familiar with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and the concept that the unified field IS consciousness and that not only is meditation a means to experience the unified field but it is a technology for functioning from that level?
Quantum physicist and student of Maharishi, Dr. John Hagelin has published two papers on the relationship between physics and consciousness. These papers discuss the Vedic understanding of consciousness as a field and compare it with theories of the unified field derived by modern physics. Hagelin argues that these two fields have almost identical properties and that the most parsimonious explanation is that they are one and the same.
Part of the evidence he presents for this explanation is the body of research on the effects that practitioners of certain advanced meditation techniques claim to have on measured parameters in society. In these two papers he refers to numerous such studies, and in the summer of 1993, he himself conducted a controversial study of this type. He imported some 4,000 practitioners to the Washington D.C. area where they practiced these techniques twice daily in a group. Using data reported by the D.C. Police Department, scientists followed the changes in crime rates for the area before, during, and after the 6 weeks the group was in place. In 1999, the study was published in Social Indicators Research.
In essence, modern science has only just beginning its exploration of a field of knowledge which the vedic scholars mastered through their own experiences 5000 years ago. Objectivity can only take us to a certain point and then we must be it to know it, and in being the unified field, we know everything.
Its actually more than that.. we all are one and the same!
by this theory we all seem to be quantum brothers and sisters…i mean even with other species
Hi Gurudev
Youngman like you think this far is really commendable.
Do not feel shy even if you are wring.That is the best way of learning.
You ae doing great job!!!!
ramana
gurudev,
you are saying at quantum level, but i was saying at human level or the GUI :) …..i dont think there will be trillions of same human gui …or are they ??
now i also wonder of things we used to see in serials that a person could create an army out of him just by a blood drop or sweat and is the incarnation of Ganesha relatedto this or so….and even due to this 10 or 11 existent planes…i wonder Ravana having 10 heads is related to this quantum level ……huffffffffff …but in old age they had mastered all these things…… #:-S
Thare are not many books I know conects them togther. I am puting togther a book explaining these connections.
I hope I Succeed!
ramana
Hi ramana,
I went thru your blog “”KRISHNA -LORD OF GRAVITY “”
amzingly put…can you suggest some books to read which are simple to understand :)
Thanks
I just started writing about the connections between Hindu scripts and quantum mechanics.
visit my blog
http://ramana-rishi.blogspot.com/
http://groups.google.com/group/Quantum-Theory/
Thanks for that correction ramna :)
What Robert Fenyman said “” If you understand quantum mechanics ( Q.M) if you are NOT surprised then you really did not understand quantum mechanics
quantumfoam
Thanks for your comments.
since I have not mentioned the names of double slit and EPR people new to qmech will wonder as to where have I talked about these things ;)
yes, you are right, sainath might get confused by my reply.. My reply was for the same universe where there will be multiple look alikes of the same person. But as you said parallel universes and hyperspace are more clear examples.
Sure will write more as more thoughts pour in..
gurudev:
thanks for ur nice post , iam a great fan of physics and specially the weirdness of quantum mechanics. I like ur way of describing EPR parodox and double slit experiment ,
ur answer to sainath is nice but i think the last sentence might confusing for him , u might told him to go for parallel universe concept and the hyperspace.
by the way i can say that ancient hindu (better say vedic ) concepts are very much related to the modern physics like like extra dimensions , parallel universes , big bang theory (concept of om) , time dilation etc
hope u will keep the nice work in future
Yes Trond
As you rightly said, we recognize the world using the tools we have.
I had pondered over these thoughts sometime back and wrote this
http://hitxp.wordpress.com/2007/06/02/brains-and-branes/
and
http://hitxp.wordpress.com/2007/05/15/what-we-see-aint-what-it-is/
Sainath, in the world of quantum mechanics there are trillions of look alikes. For instance, there is no way that we can differentiate between two free electrons :)
AK thanks for your comments and yes will keep posting more.
Even I have read a lot about Tesla on this , and this is where we should take things forward and bring the hidden news to the masses. No news can be hidden on the internet. Thanks to the internet, the entire planet is a intelligent, thinking, connected being today :)
gurudev i have sometime back heard or read somewhere that it is said that for every person here there are 6 other persons who look like and behave similar to us around the world or universe (i dont remember)…i guess this is also related to quantum theory it looks like….
Gurudev, one of the nice explanations that i have read on this.
Also, nice blog.
Keep posting more on the Indian ancient scripts.
Even Nikola Tesla, who did not gain that much accreditation, because he did not want the American hype machinery to get to him, was a believer in the ancient texts.
Though, he discovered so many things, he is still not treated with the amount of sensibility that he should be.
I liked the way you put this:
“”Only we humans do experiments in quantum physics expecting the quantum particles to behave like individual particles, like how we humans think and behave at the level of a ?self? and hence the mystery, puzzles etc in quantum mechanics.””, and think it may be very right that our attempts to understand quantum physics through our 3 dimensional space-time concepts, is the reason it seems so contradictory and puzzling. But then, those are the tools of reason we have. Presently (I think the concepts of quantum physics are slowly replacing, some of the ways we have been used to think about “”reality”” – but it’s a slow process, naturally)