Wednesday: Quantum Physics 123
Tuesday, September 13th, 2005 12:25 am[A tallish man in a brown pinstriped suit is in a small classroom on the second floor of Fandom High. The room is set up with your standard high school deskchairs. As people come in, he looks up, sets down his notes on the podium, and nervously brushes his hands off on his jacket.]
Welcome to Quantum Physics 123. As you may have gathered, I'm the Doctor. [smiles]
Today we're going to be discussing the very basics of quantum physics--the concepts that make time travel work, as it were. On Earth, which I assume is where many of you originated, the idea of quantum physics or quantum mechanics was theorised first in the 19th and 20th centuries.
[opens notes]
Quantum physics states that a particle (or any group of particles) can be located anywhere as long as it/they are not observed by any being. The probability of the particle being at a certain place occurs in predictable waves. Once the particle is observed, that probability wave collapses, causing a more definite surety of the particle's location.
So, in essence, the fact that we can know a particle only when we observe it means that it can be almost anywhere, at any point in time, when NOT observed. There are many different interpretations of how this can be applied. Bearing that in mind, please write 100 words on one way you think this could be physically used by sentient beings (i.e. humans). Responses should be left here by class time on Monday.
((OOC: Note: This class takes place chronofluidly, at any particular point during the day. If you don't have the time to write, leave a comment about your character's theoretical essay and whether or not it was worth a damn. Wikipedia, incidentally, was also a ridiculouslycomplicated good help in writing this. And ohmygod, I am such a dork.))
Welcome to Quantum Physics 123. As you may have gathered, I'm the Doctor. [smiles]
Today we're going to be discussing the very basics of quantum physics--the concepts that make time travel work, as it were. On Earth, which I assume is where many of you originated, the idea of quantum physics or quantum mechanics was theorised first in the 19th and 20th centuries.
[opens notes]
Quantum physics states that a particle (or any group of particles) can be located anywhere as long as it/they are not observed by any being. The probability of the particle being at a certain place occurs in predictable waves. Once the particle is observed, that probability wave collapses, causing a more definite surety of the particle's location.
So, in essence, the fact that we can know a particle only when we observe it means that it can be almost anywhere, at any point in time, when NOT observed. There are many different interpretations of how this can be applied. Bearing that in mind, please write 100 words on one way you think this could be physically used by sentient beings (i.e. humans). Responses should be left here by class time on Monday.
((OOC: Note: This class takes place chronofluidly, at any particular point during the day. If you don't have the time to write, leave a comment about your character's theoretical essay and whether or not it was worth a damn. Wikipedia, incidentally, was also a ridiculously