Has this experiment of "detecting" the quantum foam been conducted?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the feasibility and implications of conducting an experiment aimed at detecting quantum foam, a concept in quantum gravity. Participants explore the theoretical underpinnings, practical challenges, and the significance of such an experiment within the context of modern physics.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants argue that the proposed experiment will be dominated by noise and other physical effects, questioning its viability as described.
  • Concerns are raised about the prioritization of the experiment, with one participant suggesting that its importance should compel researchers to undertake it more urgently.
  • Another participant challenges the logic of the experiment, specifically regarding the conservation of momentum and the absorption of photons, suggesting that the argument may not hold when considering many-body interactions.
  • A reference is made to Matvei Bronstein's work on quantum foam, with a suggestion that important formulas may not be publicly shared, indicating a potential gap in available knowledge.
  • One participant expresses intent to publish a paper related to perturbation analysis in general relativity, indicating ongoing research in the area.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the feasibility and importance of the experiment, with no consensus reached on whether it should be prioritized or how the theoretical arguments hold up under scrutiny.

Contextual Notes

There are unresolved questions regarding the assumptions made in the proposed experiment, particularly related to noise reduction and the interpretation of many-body interactions in the context of quantum gravity.

DyerMaker
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Has the J. Bekenstein's experiment of "detecting" the quantum foam [for its description please, click the link below] ever been tried to be conducted? If the answer is "no", why not?
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Two answers:

(1) It won't work as described. It will be dominated by noise and possibly other physical effects, i.e. when you place on a stand, you place it on a spring, because everything is a spring.

(2) People who have the expertise to reduce this noise and make this a practical experiment - if that is even possible - have their own research programs and no not need more work on their plates. They have plenty.
 
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Vanadium 50 said:
Two answers:

(1) It won't work as described. It will be dominated by noise and possibly other physical effects, i.e. when you place on a stand, you place it on a spring, because everything is a spring.

(2) People who have the expertise to reduce this noise and make this a practical experiment - if that is even possible - have their own research programs and no not need more work on their plates. They have plenty.
Thank you for the answer.
But aren't the results of this experiment so important for the modern physicians that it has a higher priority and should be conducted more rapidly?
 
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If you think it's that important, why don't you do it? Otherwise, the argument is "this is so important other people should drop everything and do it."
 
DyerMaker said:
Thank you for the answer.
But aren't the results of this experiment so important for the modern physicians that it has a higher priority and should be conducted more rapidly?
The logic of the experiment seems dubious to me. He's arguing via conservation of momentum, that when the photon is absorbed by the block, the center of mass of the block will undergo a Planck-scale displacement (before the photon is re-emitted), and so this is an opportunity for quantum-gravitational modifications of usual laws of motion to manifest. But in reality, the photon is not absorbed by "the block", it's absorbed by an individual particle within the block.

It reminds me a bit of the debate over how to think about many-body interactions in MOND, another kind of modified gravity. At the very least, there needs to be much more clarity about how and why the process that Bekenstein proposes would show any effect at all, when analyzed from a many-body perspective.
 
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Matvei Bronstein has discovered important formulas related to the 'quantum foam' of spacetime. It is possible that he does not want to share the exact formulas, but see his paper 'Quantum theory of weak gravitational fields'

Matvei Bronstein, Quantentheorie schwacher Gravitationsfelder, Physikalische Zeitschriftder Sowjetunion, Band 9, Heft 2–3, pp. 140–157 (1936)

I should add that this should not be taken as a remark on loop quantum gravity. I am intending to publish a paper on 'Perturbation analysis of general relativity' which is the reason why I am aware of this paper.
 
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