Saturday 15 July 2017

Pina Coladas, Dusty Basements, And Signals from Stars


Okay, I said not so much of the space stuff, but I got a tiny murmur of excitement with news that a mysterious signal has been heard from a star
Cue eyes rolling heavenwards , mutterings of: 'Not that old chestnut, again...'
'Lets pray it's not the microwave this time', etc
Okay, this time, the intrepid astronomers are determinedly downplaying the signal , saying that it is probably interference from an overhead satellite
But !
I'm interested because
A) they are so keen to dismiss it, and B)
They're checking again today
and C)
 Professor Abel Mendez has a Pina Colada waiting for a positive result...

In Other News...

They recently found some old nasa computers in a basement in Pittsburgh.
As you do
NASA
The engineer concerned obviously thought they were worthwhile mementos
Nasa were underwhelmed
The only other connection which I know with Pittsburgh is that George Romero* made his first zombie film there (in which the undead were infected by some weird virus from space)...

George. A. Romeros first 'zombie' film 1968
Last week, I posted a piece entitled 'Retro-Causality, Foreshadowing and Entanglement' - which was essentially about the weirdness of quantum science
Within days of my post , there was news of an experiment involving entanglement by China, and the transporting of information to space.
I suddenly felt vindicated.
' ...Foreshadowing, and Entanglement'
I rest my case.

I find the world of quantum to be fascinating, but challenging- this link is for an excellent piece by Dr James Wootton, a scientist who wants to simplify quantum principles, without 'dumbing down ' .
I'm very pleased that there is such a thing as ' Quantum Error Correction ' .


Meanwhile, back in space...

I recently heard that there is renewed interest in ' Tabbys' star - remember the colossal mega- structure in space that almost certainly isn't ?
Turns out the dimming is happening again, albeit less dramatically.
Some twelve observatories have been taking measurements- whatever it is, it's not a regular thing...

...and on that vague and unscientific note, I shall take my leave...

Have a good week !

G


* I learned of the passing of director George A Romero the day after publishing this post. R.I.P. - and thanks for virtually creating the whole zombie film genre
G. 17 . 07. 17.

Sunday 9 July 2017

Retro-Causality , Foreshadowing, and Entanglement

I decided that I wanted to move away from the 'space-centric' stuff,
and return to what this blog used to be, which was more of a general reaction to events.
Then I learned of a new theory that supports retro causality: the idea that an event could generate its own cause .
I got excited.
Sadly my attempts to further research this became quickly enmeshed in fringe theories, with psychokinesis and parapsychology looming large-like ominous foresight.


Foreshadowing occurs frequently in visual media, comics,  films and t.v. - an event or image which alludes to future developments.
This is commonly accepted as a plot device.
Almost as though we want to learn precognition.
I'd go further and say it's accepted as normal.
Are we learning to harness pre-cogniton ?

The Phantom Menace

Which brings me back to retro - causality.
The only way that an event could create its own cause would require the ability to transcend time.
Then I got excited again, because Tachyon particles travel faster than light , therefore they travel through time.
I had to remind myself that Tachyons are hypothetical particles - after all, they contradict accepted notions of physics.
Which is my problem really; who gets to define what is accepted ?
The more I pondered this, the more I realised that quantum mechanics subvert accepted models, but they are already in use.

MRI machines operate on quantum principles*

MRI machines involve quantum ideals , affecting the spin of protons in the body to allow for precise imaging at a microscopic scale.
And flash cards used for storage on our phones / laptops etc
The most obvious application utilising quantum knowledge is the silicon chip - found in every computer.
From computers, we get the internet - which, to my mind, is a good example of quantum tunnelling.
I'm using the term loosely of course - but it is surely true that miniature particles breach physical barriers...
In terms of quantum computing, using qbits and computing on a tiny, atomic scale is a little beyond us, even now.
The largest quantum calculation yet managed is 3x5 =15
Which sounds underwhelming , until you realise that this calculation was done using  five atoms.

Quantum even allows for storage and retrieval of info from a single atom.
The difficulty is with the interference from the outside world.
Maintaining the equilibrium of fragile quantum systems is hugely problematic.
For this reason, alternatives are already in development- we may well be using molecular computing before quantum systems exist.

Despite the obvious problems, quantum mechanics exist and function .
A dramatic example would be touch screen technology - which allows us to alter 2d to 3d...
Perhaps the most dramatic effect that exists is the process of fusion on the sun.




Meanwhile, back online...

I mentioned the internet as an example of quantum tunnelling - it allows us to transcend physical and spatial boundaries.
Its normal state is passive-aggressive, with content jostling for position and preferential treatment - mostly memes , cats and trolls.
However, it is also a place where ideas are exchanged at lightning speed, and language is constantly (d)evolving, being refined / reduced to acronyms and symbols, which are more immediate and easily understood.
It seems obvious that the online world is a new paradigm with its own behaviours and mores
Sure there's the hive - mind that seems to drive things, especially on 'social media ' - it's almost frightening to go against the grain of popular opinion at times.
'Social media', however, is only one aspect of the online universe.
Away from the surface world of emojis and trolls, the internet is more like a neural network.
I view it as a series of islands linked by cables carrying power.
Being quantum, however, the cables are switching constantly with connections being made and broken.
the 'information islands' are always there, like little libraries or archives.

I could reduce this to the political , because the constant efforts to restrain and undermine the online world by the ' old guard '** are there for all to see.
Demonise and marginalise are very obvious tactics used by the powerful against their enemies.
Knowledge is power, after all
It wouldn't do to have it just being given away...








G.



* My personal experience with MRI machines led to my being diagnosed with P.P.M.S. , so I reluctantly thank quantum mechanics for that.
**'old guard'/ status quo / establishment