tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148573551417578681.post2863007259380280560..comments2024-03-27T19:47:13.475-07:00Comments on Dark Buzz: Latest quantum spookiness experimentRogerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03474078324293158376noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148573551417578681.post-44601835075183045712015-08-31T00:15:39.262-07:002015-08-31T00:15:39.262-07:00A racy recipe for mystification:
1. Take the Newt...A racy recipe for mystification:<br /><br />1. Take the Newton craddle. Pull away a ball from one of the extreme ends. Release that ball. It is seen to swing towards the cradle. And, come to a stop. Suddenly. The ball at the other end is seen to swing out. However, all the other balls in the middle are seen to remain stationary. <br /><br />After a brief while, now it is this second ball which is seen to swing backwards, towards the cradle, and come to a stop. The first ball is seen to swing out.<br /><br />The cycle repeats. Tock. Tock. Tock. Tock. ... <br /><br />2. Explain that all it involved was just the classical mechanics, that the momentum propagation involved a small but finite duration. Convince the skeptic. Use a lot of funds by actually conducting a very sophisticated experiment. Demonstrate that a finite time period elapses (after factoring in the instrumentation errors) between the swinging in of the first ball and the swinging out of the second ball. And, vice versa.<br /><br />3. Throw a black cloth over the the cradle. Repeat the experiment. Measure the time lag. Show that it is finite (even after factoring in the instrumentation errors).<br /><br />4. Return the next day. Write the date on the blackboard: 1900--1930. Repeat the experiment. Measure the time lag. Show that it is nearly zero, within the experimental errors. <br /><br />5. Announce that this is mysterious. Write paperbacks.<br /><br />6. If someone proposes a theory that in the second instance all the balls were swinging with the same frequency behind the black cloth at all times, declare this hypothesis to involve hidden variables. Use the most effective means of sarcasm possible. Hurriedly point to the dates.<br /><br />7. The mystification is complete. Relax. ``Enjoy'' the fruits of your ``labour.''<br /><br />--Ajit<br />[E&OE]<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148573551417578681.post-73060592662847260752015-08-30T14:05:24.175-07:002015-08-30T14:05:24.175-07:00They're a kit of clay pigeons. Agreed.They're a kit of clay pigeons. Agreed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8148573551417578681.post-20703027119633128202015-08-29T09:15:56.613-07:002015-08-29T09:15:56.613-07:00The mathematicians are even crazier. What do any ...The mathematicians are even crazier. What do any of the millennium problems have to do with the real world? And all the mathematicians care about is consistency, not truth.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com