Quantum mechanics: How the future might influence the past

 In 2022, the physics Nobel prize was awarded for experimental work showing that the quantum world must break some of our fundamental intuitions about how the universe works.

Many look at those experiments and conclude that they challenge “locality” — the intuition that distant objects need a physical mediator to interact. And indeed, a mysterious connection between distant particles would be one way to explain these experimental results....<<<Read More>>>...

Quantum Experiment Uncovers Evidence of ‘Negative Time’

 Quantum mechanics is a field where normal rules don’t apply, and reality behaves in strange ways. Recently, quantum physicists made a new discovery that adds to the confusion: “negative time.”

In a study, not yet peer-reviewed, researchers say they observed photons (particles of light) behaving in a way that suggests time can move backward under certain conditions.

Here’s what happened: when photons were sent into a cloud of atoms, they seemed to leave the cloud before they even entered. It’s a puzzling phenomenon.

As explained by Josiah Sinclair from the University of Toronto, a “negative time delay” means that if you used a quantum clock to measure how long atoms stayed excited (a higher energy state), the clock would, in some cases, run backward. Sinclair wasn’t directly involved in the new study but contributed to earlier research.....<<<Read More>>>...

"Consciousness Creates Reality" - Is This An Accurate Interpretation of What Quantum Mechanics is Revealing?

 The fascinating connection between mind and matter has given birth to a saying used by many, from quantum physicists and academics to ancient and “new age” philosophers. The saying goes, “Consciousness creates reality.”

The question is, where did this saying come from? What does it mean? And how should we interpret it?

In the 17th century, the ideas of philosopher Rene Descartes played a significant role in shaping what science would one day become. Among his influential contributions, Descartes brought to light the characteristics of mind and matter, identifying them as the two primary ingredients of reality.

These views, originating largely from Aristotle and Plato, have made their way throughout the ages to the present day and have been further validated by quantum mechanics (QM).

It’s always fascinating when ancient ideas, which seemed to have originated from one’s own heart/mind, are validated by modern-day experiments, technology and science. It truly makes one ponder whether or not the burning questions of existence and the mysteries regarding the true nature of reality are somehow accessible somewhere inside all of us in some extraordinary way.

Do we have all of the answers inside of us? Perhaps...<<<Read More>>>...

Quantum mechanics: How the future might influence the past

 In 2022, the physics Nobel prize was awarded for experimental work showing that the quantum world must break some of our fundamental intuitions about how the universe works.

Many look at those experiments and conclude that they challenge “locality” — the intuition that distant objects need a physical mediator to interact. And indeed, a mysterious connection between distant particles would be one way to explain these experimental results.

Others instead think the experiments challenge “realism” — the intuition that there’s an objective state of affairs underlying our experience. After all, the experiments are only difficult to explain if our measurements are thought to correspond to something real. Either way, many physicists agree about what’s been called “the death by experiment” of local realism.

But what if both of these intuitions can be saved, at the expense of a third? A growing group of experts think that we should abandon instead the assumption that present actions can’t affect past events. Called “retrocausality”, this option claims to rescue both locality and realism....<<<Read More>>>...

'Spooky action at a distance' can lead to a multiverse

 Some interpretations of quantum mechanics propose that our entire universe is described by a single universal wave function that constantly splits and multiplies, producing a new reality for every possible quantum interaction. That's quite a bold statement. So how do we get there?

One of the earliest realizations in the history of quantum mechanics is that matter has a wave-like property. The first to propose this was French physicist Louis de Broglie, who argued that every subatomic particle has a wave associated with it, just like light can behave like both a particle and a wave.

Other physicists soon confirmed this radical idea, especially in experiments where electrons scattered off a thin foil before landing on a target. The way the electrons scattered was more characteristic of a wave than a particle. But then, a question came up: What, exactly, is a wave of matter? What does it look like?...<<<Read More>>>...

The Limitations From Accepting Things As ‘Normal’

 Quantum mechanics suggests us that at the core of our reality there is energy – every potential existing at one time. It’s only when we begin to observe, or better yet define those potentials, that we start to see that energy take shape into what we know and experience every day.

Within the wondrous creations we have on this earth that are solid foundations for experiencing life i.e. the planet, our bodies etc, we also have limitations that we create within our psyche and consciousness. One limitation we deal with almost every day of our lives – one that creates a great deal of drama, un-ease, worry, guilt and fear – is the core underlying idea of ‘what life is.’

We are born, we go to school, we graduate, we go to university or college (or straight to work), we get a ‘good’ job, we get married, have kids, buy a house, work for 30 years, retire, do whatever, and check out… seems a little robotic perhaps? This is sold as a dream in many ways, and at its core it’s something we joke about but don’t really question. It’s just normal.

When we join this mysterious experience we call life, not only are we taught how things are by our parents, but we are also greatly influenced by what can be called the collective matrix.

You can imagine this ‘matrix’ as a depository of thoughts, ideas and experiences that we are uploading to and downloading from constantly. A collective consciousness of sorts. In simple terms, it’s the automatic responses that are subconsciously fed into almost every one of us when it comes to societal ideas that are widely accepted. Deep ideas of how things “should be.” Ideas that are believed so widely and deeply that an energy of acceptance begins to create and holds quantum potentials in place as a definition that make up these norms. Thus, we have an acceptance of what is.

Being connected to this collective consciousness means we play into these “norms,” we feel them and we think they are real – even when we are not sure where they come from or how they got there. The only real thing keeping any of these ideals in place is the fact that we are all invested in them....<<<Read More>>>...