Quantum physics

"'Cogitus, ergo, sum,' I think, therefore, I am." [Renee Descartes] "The first step to understanding everything is to admit that you know nothing." [Albert Einstein] "I yam what I yam [this makes sense in context.]" [Ralph Waldo Emerson, The Invisible Man

Quantum Physics is the most surreal form of science. Ideas, in increasing order of weirdness:

Many Worlds Theory and Quantum Suicide:

A theory that states each object and creature exist in one of an infinite number of events. A universe exists that contains each state, thus, everything, regardless of plausibility, happens somewhere. An insane variation of the theory says that any point without consciousness, such as R.E.M. sleep and death, allows perception to travel betweeen universes. This would require many violations of physics, even Quantum Physics, thus, the idea is silly.

Matter as vacuum:

Everything that we perceive as solid matter contains thousands of times more vacuum than matter. Electrons orbit atoms through empty space that dwarfs both. Smell, sound and taste are illusions created by our perceptions of electrical pulses; could sight and touch be the same

Time versus space:

Time travels at the speed of light, yet we can see objects that are astronomical distances away. We can conclude, therefore, that different points in space are, also, separate points in time. A related theory states that since galaxies deveoped in different ways, whie the speed of light remaied constant, other galaxies must have different laws of physics.

Double slit experiment and the nature of perception:

Imagine a wall, penetrated by two holes. Tennis balls, fired through these holes, will travel in predictable arcs. Eectrons, hoowever, violate ideas lie standard physics and cause and effect: They fire in random directions and patterns, and will, sometimes, split into two and exist in both holes at the same time, acting as both energy and matter. These electrons will behave stragely, even, if observed through cameras or measurig devices. These are not the strage aspects of this experiment.

Electrons, when observed by humans, act in the same way as tennis balls. This has lead to a theory: Our minds create the matter that we perceive as solid. Many scientists believe that things such as matter, energy and time are illusions created to simplify a chaotic universe.

This needs an examination by someone who understands more about these theories.

Further Reading:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_mechanics http://library.thinkquest.org/3487/qp.html http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/qm/