J. Robert England II HON 212 Section 007 Edith Elwood Paper One Tuesday, April 24, 2007 Imagining Reality There are two very important, yet very separate, ways to describe the universe. Each is very important, and even necessary to a point, to explain various natural and unnatural phenomena, but the leaders and many of the followers of each looks upon the other often with disgust, claiming that the other is full of lies and deceptions. These are the areas of science and religion, still very strong, still often strongly against each other. Many believe that these two areas can never be reconciled without some massive change in one of the two; I believe that this massive change has already occurred. This change is the new area of quantum mechanics, which threw a heavy wrench into almost every area of classical science, and left problems in the classical ways of scientific thought. It wrecked almost all preconceived notions of the world, and caused both scientists and philosophers to rethink their views on the world. I think that this change, along with shaking up the entire scientific world, allows for some reconciliation between the two "opposites," and some interesting connections can be made between quantum mechanics and religion. Quantum mechanics is primarily a study of the minuscule particles that make up our universe. Scientists have discovered that particles on the subatomic level act very unlike any observable macroscopic object, but instead act entirely on discreet levels known as quanta. A particle may have value A or value B for an attribute, but it is impossible for the particle to have any value between A and B. Therefore, particles must
instantaneously "jump" from one state into another, without reaching any states in between. However, as Richard Feynman pointed out in Six Easy Pieces, the end distribution is smooth, while we should expect discreet points where the particles arrive. This leads to possibly the most unique aspect of quantum mechanics there is no way to tell exactly which state the particle will be in at a future time, even as soon as a nanosecond later. While the probability that a particle will be in a particular state can be calculated precisely, there is no definite way to tell which state will occur without letting the system continue and finding the state later. Science can no longer exactly determine the future as it could classically. It is even impossible to fully understand the present state of a system in quantum mechanics. Observation of an object requires a signal to be sent to and returned from the object, usually a signal such as a light or motion wave. As quantum particles are the smallest particles in existence, any available way to make an observation would require a signal the same or greater size as the particles, and thus a signal that would significantly affect the particle. The famous Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle states that every attribute of a state cannot be simultaneously measured precisely; and when one measurement is made very accurately, all other measurements lose significant amounts of precision. As Feynman described it, "If an apparatus is capable of determining" a pattern, "it cannot be so delicate that it does not disturb the pattern in an essential way." (Six Easy Pieces, page 10) A truly natural system can therefore never be observed, as the observation itself destroys the natural quality of the system. There is no way to know what happens in a system without directly observing that system, and any observation changes the system. How, then, can a system's state truly be
understood? The closest we have to an understanding of the system was theorized by Erwin Schrdinger, in his famous cat thought experiment. The cat is placed in a box with a system giving a totally random chance of either killing the cat or allowing it to live. Some time is allowed to pass, and then the box is opened and the cat is observed. Schrdinger theorized that, just before the box is opened, the cat is neither directly alive nor directly dead, but in a combination ("superposition") of the two states. It is the actual opening of the box and observation of the cat that causes the system to become clearly defined as specifically one state or another. It appears that only under conscious observation do the probabilities of the system collapse into one specific state, thus implying that we ourselves must enter the system to observe it. Quantum mechanics throws complications into all areas of science, not just classical physics. Peter Atkins, in Galileo's Finger, called it a virus, claiming that "not only did [it] eliminate some of the most cherished concepts of classical physics ... but it also tore to shreds our established understanding of the fabric of reality." (page 201) A primary area of such problems is in history-based sciences, such as geology and evolutionary studies, which focus primarily on past events and how they result in present states. These sciences attempt to discover what likely happened in the very distant past, long before any history was ever written down. Quantum Mechanics, on the other hand, has proven that it is impossible to identify a past state from a present one; even if an earlier state is known, the states between them are ambiguous. Quantum Mechanics thus claims that no amount of modern science can reveal the past; and although theories are possible, any theory is as good as the other. The present is no longer the key to the past, nor the past to the present; and the future depends only little on either one. Perhaps, even
by attempting to observe and interpret the past, today's scientists collapse the probabilities and change the past permanently. Also interesting is the fact that such pastoriented sciences are generally the sciences most active against religion; if they have been so wrong, perhaps religion should be given another chance. However, quantum mechanics seems to be closely related to a mysterious area of modern biology. Currently scientists mostly understand every part of the human body except one the brain. How people, and most animals, think is one of the greatest mysteries of science, one that has therefore been given much thought itself. Psychologists and sociologists have been able to do excellent and impressive jobs of understanding and classifying various thought processes, whether from an individual or collective standpoint, but the actual biological process of thinking is almost totally unknown. What little is known involves the fact that, while there are large groups of similar thought processes, there is no real way to tell if any particular person is going to think or react in a particular way the best we can get is, interestingly enough, a probability. What actually happens in an individual's mind appears to me to be related to the randomness of quantum mechanics, and as we know little about either topic, they may just be strongly connected. It is in the speculative ideas of quantum mechanics that possible religious connections arise. There is no physical way to precisely determine exactly what will happen in two seconds or two centuries; the world becomes unknown and uncontrollable. The possibilities of the future are endless, yet it seems that we have little effect on any of them. The natural world becomes almost totally powerless, as there would be no natural way to influence future events. We humans may therefore want to look up to a
supernatural God or other deity, who would be the only beings with the power to actually have a definite affect on what would happen in the future. The supernatural entity would have the ability not only to change things, but to know what we mortals could not know, allowing it to protect us from the uncertainties that otherwise seem to plague our futures. However, how can such miracles occur? How would a universe that classically observes a strict set of laws allow for something breaking these laws? Quantum mechanics, in discarding these laws, is effectively the mechanics of miracles. We know that we cannot determine the position of a particle in some point in the future; it may be anywhere. Assume for a moment that one particle in a sea moves directly to one side. This is a normal occurrence, and the sheer number of water particles in a sea and the forces between them make this perfectly plausible. Now assume by chance that the particle adjacent to the first moves in the same direction. Again, this is not a stretch by any means; although it is not completely as likely as the single particle moving, it still has a very good chance of happening. Any number of particles may suddenly veer to one side; the more particles there are, the less likely the occurrence may be, but there is still a possibility. It is even possible that billions of particles in a sea, forming very large masses of water, may move to one side, and another set of billions of particles may suddenly move to the other. Then the sea would allow an entire nation of people escaping from Egypt to cross to the Promised Land. The extraordinary becomes the ordinary; the miracle becomes the possible. Why exactly are things so random? Is this randomness real, or is there some other property that we have not yet found that truly governs the behavior of particles? We know from quantum mechanics that when we do not observe something it may be doing
anything. Furthermore, when we actually observe that something, the observation itself changes the state of the system. As any observation prevents true knowledge of the system, I would argue that there are more particles in existence that cannot be observed; not just by the available equipment, but by any form of observation whatsoever. It actually makes some sense that such particles would completely disappear upon any attempt to observe some them; could be so fragile that whatever signal was sent to observe them would shatter them and never return for an observation. While science cannot observe them directly, it does have the power to note the effects of such particles, leading to the probabilities currently present in quantum mechanics. Hilary Putnam noted that everything appears to have properties that reach into an "abstract mathematical realm" that doesn't exist, yet still has strong influence. Using Putnam's idea of the "abstract mathematical realm," a theory can be made that there are objects that exist only in this realm. General relativity may, to some extent, support the idea of such unobservable objects. As an object reaches high speeds, approaching the speed of light, it appears to outside observers to shorten in length, and time in the object's frame is slower than in the observer's frame. The Lorentz transformations are used to find the new values of space and time in the object's frame. As the object's velocity reaches that of light, these transformations approach the value of zero, resulting in the contraction of the entire frame of reference, both spatially and chronologically. Due to the fact that, when the speed of the object is faster than that of light, the reference frame becomes mathematically imaginary (defined here as simply "not real"), scientists concluded that no physical object can travel faster than light. If this conclusion is not made, however,
we can "imagine" another set of dimensions into which the object enters. It has already been commonly theorized that there are up to eleven different dimensions in the quantum world; an imaginary set of dimensions would bring the total up to only eight, so the result is actually feasible to quantum mechanics. Objects within the imaginary dimensions would be totally unable to be observed from the real dimensions, but would still "exist." Such "imaginary" particles would have very interesting properties. As they exist in a different set of dimensions than objects which we can observe, space and time would have different definitions to them; particles could travel through real time and real space at different rates than real objects, resulting in what a real observer would refer to as time travel and teleportation. As time and space are different, velocity and acceleration, the relationships between time and space, would be different as well. However, forces would still be similar, and could exist in both real and imaginary dimensions, so imaginary particles would have affects on real objects. These effects would manifest themselves in the seemingly random motions of particles that we commonly associate with quantum mechanics, and some attempt to measure a system (such as Feynman's bullet interference pattern) would alter the imaginary effects and thus the real results. While we could not observe these particles in any possible way, they would still hold a large influence on what happens in the real world, just as imaginary numbers are very often used to represent real properties. The "imaginary" dimensions are the part of quantum mechanics that would come into play with religion. If such dimensions and particles exist, then it stands to reason that objects in the imaginary dimensions could observe and affect their own imaginary surroundings. We already know that if enough particles act in particular unlikely-but-
possible ways, very odd, almost miraculous events may occur. Some being in the imaginary dimensions may have the ability to influence these particles to perform these great feats by simply directing specific particles to make the correct motion at the correct time. Due to the timelessness of the imaginary dimensions, beings there could also have the ability to know all, see all, and be present in all by simply manipulating the particles. From a Christian perspective, the full ability to manipulate these particles would thus be present in a God, and slightly lessened abilities would be granted to His angels for the ability to serve Him. Other religions may place other deities and beings in this realm, but the meaning to quantum mechanics is the same. This also places an interesting aspect on the human mind and soul. Most religions believe that there is some nonphysical part of a person that remains in existence after death, such as the spirit or soul. This part of the human is connected to the physical body, but the body is not necessary to keep the spirit alive. Most believe that the soul is connected to the physical body through the brain, but otherwise not directly connected to the body. As such a thing as a soul or spirit would be impossible to be observed by science, science tends to claim that it does not exist at all. However, if there really are more dimensions, then it is reasonable that the soul would exist in the other, unobservable dimensions, where it cannot be scientifically observed but would still affect the real dimensions. As such, every human has a link between both real and imaginary dimensions, just as the rational and creative sides of the brain are connected. The interactions between the real and the supernatural, while difficult or impossible to scientifically observe and document, do seem to occur rather frequently. For example, many people claim to have seen such "imaginary" things as angels or
ghosts; science cannot explain their existence, but some insist that they are too commonly "seen" to be figments of someone's imagination. Another example exists in the common dream; some dreams are so real, the dreamer truly believes they are true, but they are entirely in the head of the dreamer. "Near death" experiences may also be considered here; people who have these experiences claim to have momentarily left their own body, and could retell events that they could not possibly have witnessed. People have even had visions of the future before (mostly in religious texts, but it still happens today); with the multidimensional model detailed here, this would suggest some mental travel through the "imaginary" dimensions to a different time and place. It has also been noted that the spirit can have some effect on the real world. The above-mentioned case of ghosts actually applies to both the sight of an apparition and some unexplainable motion, such as a vase being knocked over without being touched. Although most of these unnatural occurrences have rational explanations, the occasional event cannot be explained. Furthermore, many believe that the normal thoughts of human beings, when concentrated enough, may make physical changes in the world. The Holy Bible claims that anyone with "faith as small as a mustard seed, (a very small amount) you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move." (Matthew 17:20) Many people think that prayer is the ultimate answer to any problem, as God will answer by making the end result the best possible. While these are actually cases of a supernatural answer to a real request, they show that the real beings with "imaginary" spirits can still influence the world in some way. However, the most stunning case of how human thoughts can influence the end result of the real world lies within the Schrdinger's Cat experiment. As far as any
evidence has proven, only when the state is observed and the result enters into an observer's conscious mind do the probabilities collapse into a single state. Why would a conscious be so important? If there really is a supernatural set of dimensions in which human spirits exist, then the knowledge of a state would enter the spirit and affect it. The affect on the conscious would thus affect the imaginary dimensions, which in turn could affect the real world to the point of collapsing the probabilities. As is, Hilary Putnam pointed out that the probabilities of a state occurring must involve complex waveforms, which cannot be directly observed and must be calculated with imaginary mathematics. If these waveforms are the true physical representations of the particles, which some current quantum mechanics interpretations claim, then the collapse truly must occur by an imaginary influence, such as the conscious. Everything connects back to everything else, and quantum mechanics becomes the lines that make the connections. Albert Einstein, the best-known figure in modern physics and the creator of the special and general relativity theories, was very outspoken against the theories of quantum mechanics, shunning it for its implications of a random universe. He is famous for saying, in a letter to quantum mechanics founder Maxwell Born, "The theory (quantum mechanics) says a lot, but does not really bring us any closer to the secret of the Old One. I, at any rate, am convinced that He does not throw dice." According to some interpretations of quantum mechanics, including the one that I detailed here, God would not have to play dice; it simply appears to us that he does. It would simply be God's way of keeping us from His secrets until He wants us to find them out. Quantum mechanics and all its applications make large changes to science of all fields, removing any existing certainty and replacing it with a set of probabilities. In the process, new doors open for
more religious views of the universe, as anything becomes possible. The implications are both real and surreal in nature, and both fact and thought play important roles. Quantum mechanics allows for some reconciliation between science and religion by drastically changing the face of science in all areas. One thing is for sure with all the possibilities for this universe, and the unpredictability of the future, quantum mechanics certainly makes the universe much more interesting.