Inside the Atom
If, in some cataclysm, all of
scientific knowledge were to be
destroyed, and only one
sentence passed on to the next
generations of creatures, what
statement would contain the
most information in the fewest
words?
All things are made of atoms—
• little particles that move
around in perpetual motion,
• attracting each other when
they are a little distance
apart,
• but repelling upon being
squeezed into one another.
A Single Drop of Seawater, Magnified 25 Times
Kepler’s three laws of planetary motion
• Johannes Kepler (1571-1630)
• Three laws of planetary motion:
1. Orbits are ellipses (not circles)
2. The area swept out by a planet in a given period of time is the same at all
times
3. The square of the period (the time it takes to complete one revolution)
divided by the cube of the planet’s distance to the sun is the same for all
planets
Newton’s laws of motion
• Isaac Newton (1642-1727)
• Three laws of motion
1. An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced
force. An object in motion continues in motion with the same speed and
in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.
2. Acceleration is produced when a force acts on a mass. The greater the
mass (of the object being accelerated) the greater the amount of force
needed .
3. For every action there is an equal and opposite re-action
From THE HITCHHIKERS GUIDE TO THE GALAXY
Erwin Schrodinger 1887 - 1961
Complete
description of how
atoms change
between
measurements.
Erwin Schrodinger 1887 - 1961
Complete
description of how
atoms change
between
measurements.
Classical physics
Hamilton-Jacobi Equation
Erwin Schrodinger 1887 - 1961
Complete
description of how
atoms change
between
measurements.
Erwin Schrodinger 1887 - 1961
Complete
description of how
atoms change
between
measurements.
Determines the
probability of values
at a measurement
Erwin Schrodinger 1887 - 1961
Complete
description of how
atoms change
between encounters
with large objects.
Determines the
probability of values
at an encounter with
a large object.
Experiment with bullets
Experiment with waves
Experiment with waves
Experiment with electrons
Two slits open
One slit open
Comparison of two slits open and one slit open
Bulb
Bulb
Quantum Theory Myths & Misconceptions
• Quantum theory is all about uncertainty
Experiment with electrons
Quantum Theory Myths & Misconceptions
• Quantum theory is all about uncertainty
• Quantum theory can’t be visualized – it can only be
understood through complex mathematics
Quantum Theory Myths & Misconceptions
• Quantum theory is all about uncertainty
• Quantum theory can’t be visualized – it can only be
understood through complex mathematics
• Even scientists don’t understand quantum theory
Quantum Theory Myths & Misconceptions
• Quantum theory is all about uncertainty
• Quantum theory can’t be visualized – it can only be
understood through complex mathematics
• Even scientists don’t understand quantum theory
• Quantum theory is inconsistent with relativity theory
Quantum
Theory
Quantum Field Theory
Special
Relativity
Theory
Quantum Theory Myths & Misconceptions
• Quantum theory is all about uncertainty
• Quantum theory can’t be visualized – it can only be
understood through complex mathematics
• Even scientists don’t understand quantum theory
• Quantum theory is inconsistent with relativity theory
• Even after 100 years, scientists can’t agree what
quantum theory says