Recap of Modern Physics

Dahil ang post serye sa Particles at Pakikipag-ugnayan ay naging isang bit mas mahaba kaysa sa nais ko, Akala ko Gusto ko break ito. Magsimula tayo sa isang pagbabalik-tanaw ng mga modernong physics na kailangan mong maunawaan ang mga istraktura ng matter Hayaan.

Interpretation of Special Relativity

When we looked at Quantum Mechanics, we talked about its various interpretations. The reason we have such interpretations, Sinabi ko, is that QM deals with a reality that we have no access to, through our sensory and perceptual apparatuses. Sa kabilang banda, Special Relativity is about macro objects in motion, and we have no problem imagining such things. So why would we need to have an interpretation? The answer is a subtle one.
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The speed of light being a constant sounds like a simple statement. But there is more to it, quite a bit more. Let’s look at what this constancy really means. Sa unang tingin, it says that if you are standing somewhere, and there is a ray of light going from your right to left, it has a speed c. And another ray of light going from left to right also has a speed c. So far, so good. Now let’s say you are in a rocket ship, tulad ng ipinapakita sa figure sa ibaba, moving from right to left.

Special Theory of Relativity

Kapag marinig namin ang tungkol Einstein at ang mga espesyal na kapamanggitan (o ang espesyal na teorya ng kapamanggitan, upang gamitin ang mga tunay na pangalan), sa tingin namin ng sikat na $E = mc^2$ ekwasyon, at kakaiba mga bagay tulad ng mga twin kabalintunaan. Habang ang mga bagay na ito ay ang lahat ng tunay at mahalagang, ang problema SR sumusubok upang malutas ay isang ganap na iba't ibang mga isa. Ito ay isang pagtatangka upang ipagtanggol ang isang pangunahing prinsipyo sa physics.
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Quantum Mechanics – Interpretations

Whenever we talk about Quantum Mechanics, one of the first questions would be, “What about the cat?” This question, talaga, is about the interpretations of Quantum Mechanics. The standard interpretation, the so-called Copenhagen interpretation, leads to the famous Schrodinger’s cat.
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Quantum Field Theory

In this post on Quantum Mechanics (QM), we will go a bit beyond it and touch upon Quantum Field Theory – the way it is used in particle physics. In the last couple of posts, I outlined a philosophical introduction to QM, as well as its historical origin – how it came about as an ad-hoc explanation of the blackbody radiation, and a brilliant description of the photoelectric effect.
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Historical Origin of Quantum Mechanics

Sa seksyong ito, we will try to look at the historical origin of Quantum Mechanics, which is usually presented succinctly using scary looking mathematical formulas. The role of mathematics in physics, as Richard Feynman explains (in his lectures on QED given in Auckland, New Zealand in 1979, available on YouTube, but as poor quality recordings) is purely utilitarian.
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Quantum Mechanics

Quantum Mechanics (QM) is the physics of small things. How do they behave and how do they interact with each other? Conspicuously absent from this framework of QM is why. Why small things do what they do is a question QM leaves alone. At, if you are to make any headway into this subject, your best bet is to curb your urge to ask why. Nature is what she is. Our job is to understand the rules by which she plays the game of reality, and do our best to make use of those rules to our advantage in experiments and technologies. Ours is not to reason why. Talaga.

Classical Physics

The main difficulty in describing particle physics to general public is the fact that it is built on modern physics. Even if you are physics aficionado and did extremely well in your high school physics, what you have learned and loved is classical physics. The difference between classical physics and modern physics is not just more physics, but a completely new way of looking at the reality around us.
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