From: Keith Henson (hkhenson@rogers.com)
Date: Tue Apr 13 2004 - 17:28:43 MDT
At 11:05 PM 12/04/04 -0400, Calvin wrote:
Erik Aronesty wrote:
> > People don't want to learn about quantum physics because they
> > don't see the money/reward in it. It's not that hard. Half the crap
> > quantum physicists dream up is more like collaborative theatre
> > than physics. Nearly any theory that fits the data and is capable
> > of predicting possible futures has, likely, some predictive merit.
> > The only reason "vortex theory" hasn't taken off is because it
> > doesn't have the funding.
>Considering my friends who've taken Quantum, who I've oftentimes seen
>ambling about in an incoherent or half-asleep state, I have some small
>reservations regarding the line "It's not that hard."
About 35 years ago I took quantum mechanics from a decently rated school.
One of the problems we had for homework was the one dimention non-infinite
potential square well.
That's a hard problem to integrate even *after* you recognize that the form
of the equation that emerges from the geometry is a Bessel function.
>While it may seem like collaborative theatre in what can be theorized, the
>actual practice of quantum mechanics tends to heavily involve calculating
>integrals and solving PDE's relating to wave functions.
Yep. Worse yet non-linear partial differential equations. There is an
amusing thing about non-linear PDEs. If you solve one, they name it after you.
>I'll agree that people don't see money or reward in it, and that's often
>times a very rational judgement, since in order to make worthwhile usage of
>Quantum Mechanics, it takes a rather significant endeavor to understand the
>important parts of the theory.
That's true. But you have to have QM for the language and concepts before
you can take and understand solid state physics. I think QM and solid
state are required for electrical engineers everywhere since solid state is
the required background to understanding silicon (semiconductor) circuits.
Keith Henson
>IMHO, it does pay off to understand the basic gist and implications of the
>theory (the collaborative theatre bits), though.
>
>Just wanted to add...
>-Calvin
>
>---
>To unsubscribe from the Virus list go to
><http://www.lucifer.com/cgi-bin/virus-l>
--- To unsubscribe from the Virus list go to <http://www.lucifer.com/cgi-bin/virus-l>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Tue Apr 13 2004 - 17:27:12 MDT