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100th Anniversary of Quantum Physics

Posted by michael on from the quanta-is-a-pretty-good-editor-too dept.

EricR writes "On December 14, 1900, Max Planck presented experimental results in front of the German Physical Society and announced that they could best be explained if energy exists in discrete packets, which he called "quanta." Today is the 100th birthday of Quantum Physics."

5 of 260 comments (clear)

  1. Richard P. Feynman said... by bartash · · Score: 5, Interesting

    "I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics."

    --
    Read Epic the first RPG novel.
    1. Re:Richard P. Feynman said... by DrLudicrous · · Score: 4, Interesting
      Einstein didn't have a problem with the discreteness of quantum mechanics. As a matter of fact, any halfway decent mathematician (physicists included) would disagree with this property- it is the result of systems that are represented with certain differential equations PLUS boundary conditions which limit the solutions to said equations. These types of systems and equations have existed for over a hundred years longer than quantum mechanics.

      What Einstein disagreed with were things like the Uncertainty Principle, the EPR paradox (If he had lived to see it), and most likely even Schrodinger's Cat. He disagreed with the assumptions that led to these conclusions. So Einstein was most definitely NOT a supporter of quantum mechanics as we now know it. Even the greatest can be mistaken.

  2. Basis of all science by mnmn · · Score: 4, Interesting


    Through the wave of all the 2002-1900=100 jokes here, I would like to salute Mankinds greatest discovery, Qauntum Physics. This shows teh flexibility of the human brain, able to work with 4 dimensions (Relativity) to now (26 dimensions), and even something as strange as Quantum Mechanics, that defies our imagination and relies purely on reasoning, yet so powerful, it gave us the best of the last century's inventions, including the device you're staring at.

    Quantum Mechanics is more than the kind of Physics that allows engineers to make locomotives. Its even more than what allowed us to land on the moon. As a warmer, we get nukes and the mighty computer. This physics promises us glimpses of the time the Universe was born, the quantum computer, time travel, teleportation, and many other things we have'nt imagined yet.

    Physics has always been the foundation of knowledge, and it was replaced 100 years ago (+- 2 years). I think we're in for much bigger surprises this century.

    --
    "Give orange me give eat orange me eat orange give me eat orange give me you." -Nim Chimpsky
  3. And he hated it by teece · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Whats ironic is that Boltzmann first came up with this idea, and Planck was one of his primary detractors. Boltzmann, despondent that nobody found his description of a probabilistic interpretation of things interesting, killed himself.

    Not long after, Planck came forward using Boltzmann's ideas. There is some evidence to show that Planck's true hope was that he would be proved wrong -- he didn't like the quanta or probability interpretation at all.

    Tim

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    -- Hello_World.c: 17 Errors, 31 Warnings
  4. Chunk physics by Black+Copter+Control · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Back in the late '80s John Wheeler was at the University of Alberta. As luck would have it I was the Tech at the student Radio station who got to edit his interview. I remember two things from him. One was the quote he found in a bathroom:
    Time is nature's way of keeping everything from happening all at once.
    The other was his discription of the etymology of "quantum". Essentially it's just German for "unit" or "chunk". He figured that if Plank had been a native English speaker, we'd probably be dealing with "chunk" physics instead of "quantum" physics.
    .. Just had to share that.
    --
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