How Big Do You Have to Be To See Both Classical and Quantum Worlds?

"On what scale do the quantum world and the classical world begin to cross into each other? How big does an "observer" have to be? It's a long-argued question of fundamental scientific interest and practical importance as well, with significant implications for attempts to build solid-state quantum computers.

The big world of classical physics mostly seems sensible: waves are waves and particles are particles, and the moon rises whether anyone watches or not. The tiny quantum world is different: particles are waves (and vice versa), and quantum systems remain in a state of multiple possibilities until they are measured — which amounts to an intrusion by an observer from the big world — and forced to choose: the exact position or momentum of an electron, say.

Researchers at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and their collaborators at the University of Frankfurt, Germany; Kansas State University; and Auburn University have now established that quantum particles start behaving in a classical way on a scale as small as a single hydrogen molecule. They reached this conclusion after performing what they call the world's simplest — and certainly its smallest — double slit experiment, using as their two "slits" the two proton nuclei of a hydrogen molecule, only 1.4 atomic units apart (a few ten-billionths of a meter). Their results appear in the November 9, 2007 issue of Science."

Read more here: Science Daily Article

What does this mean to you and me? That scientists are getting closer all the time to proving that we do indeed create our world with our thoughts, beliefs and expectations. Get imagining today! Decide to choose your beliefs, thoughts and expectations according to what you would like be, do and have.