Recent content by wawens

Visualizations Yes, the visualization of principles, laws and theories is accomplished with diagrams, graphs where necessary, but the visualization of small entities such as photons is not possible at present. One could for example put a story to a photon, saying "If you were a photon...

Isn't there a difference between a behaviour, a theorum, a computer program and an object in the Universe? An object has a size and a time associated with it, but a math theorum or behaviour does not. A 3D program can mimic a real 3D world but has no weight, size or time and thus is not the...

I believe its time to re-examine why we are having problems visualizing photons. Its kind of crucial in my opinion. Penrose says that when the Universe exands and expands until matter has turned to light (protons radiate decaying), then there is no matter to 'make a clock' and the Universe loses...

Zapper - Regarding the 'The Least Action Theory'. I am afraid I don't see how it relates to our inability to visualize. It is a smart way of arriving at formulae. Also, I would not expect the Universe to do anything else but take the least action, why would it? But, please spend some time and...

Watch this very clever physicist skirt round the lack of ability to visualize and then carry on as if nothing important happened! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbiQ61NScU0&feature=related

Yes (in my opinion), its impossible to visually model a single photon of fixed momentum (hence frequency) that starts off from a point and spreads into a 3D space (just ONE example among millions). Its impossible because there is no 'dimension' associated with the photon therefore there is no...

Thanks PF Mentor for valuable input. I appear a dot from a distance? Yes but that begs the question because you use the term 'distance' - space-time again. Photons only interact and have no appearance at all. Also, we speak about elementary particles - as if they are tiny balls. A...

Some are missing the point... I believe many of us are 'explaining away' a fundamental brick wall in understanding. One 'particle' going through two 'apertures' at once -Youngs slits, for example- is not 'understandable' because we live in space-time. A tiny ball cannot go through two...

'Spacetime is everywhere' is odd logic, because everywhere implies a place in space time - it beggars the question. 'Where was the big bang' is an illogical question as there was no 'where' or 'was'. So was a point floating around in nothingness that decided to explode forming a Universe...

Trying to 'visualize' phenomena at sub atomic sizes is imposssible because our idea of visualization relies on space time and light. Its similar to trying to put real meaning to imaginery numbers. Does 'i' exist or not. What does a photon 'look like' - has no meaning because we cannot bounce a...

Single Photon Detector You mentioned single photon detectors are readily available. I am not in a School/University scene at present, so where can I get them privately? I suppose one that would go with a red laser?

'Electric charge is the conserved quantity associated (via Noether's Theorem) with the local U(1) gauge symmetry that the universe apparently has' Thanks PF Mentor, this answer is the best I have ever seen.

I have tried to write a Homer Simpson's guide to Bell's Inequality at: http://www.ronsit.co.uk/weird_at_Heart.asp D'oh...

Delayed Choice Thanks Demystifier, I will have a look at the DCE again with what you said in mind. Your explanation seems much better on first reading.

What is a positive charge The question was 'what are negative and positive charges' and we have got back obfuscationary answers that 'sound' cool but avoid the question much like a politician would. Or shall we leave it to the 'religeous experts' as 'physics cannot answer that'? Can someone...