by Tim James
Note: page numbers in bold refer to diagrams.
Alhazen 7–8
alpha radiation 53
amplitude (wave height) 45, 50
ancient Greek philosophers 7
Anderson, Carl 27, 140, 145, 188
Andes Mountains 146
Annalen der Physik (journal) 19
anti-colours 161
anti-electrons see positrons
anti-hydrogen 141
anti-leptons see neutrinos
anti-neutrons 140, 148
anti-particles 137
antimatter 139–41, 145–6, 161, 172
antimatter bombs 141
antimatter kworks 148
antimatter quarks 151, 172
Arabic philosophy 7–8
Aristotle 179
Asimov, Isaac 116
Aspect, Alain 91
atom bomb 34, 130
atomic clocks 87–8
atomic nucleus 24–5, 27, 39, 53, 209 and beta decay 162
energies of electrons orbiting 44
of helium 83
and quantum field theory 149–50
Schrödinger on 45, 46, 48, 197
and the strong force 177
atomic orbitals 46–7, 53, 83, 197
atoms 20, 24, 27, 43, 119, 147 and charge 26
composition 24
helium 83, 197
hydrogen 197
and Schrödinger 43–6, 197–8
silver 194
axions (particles) 149
baryons 152
Bell, John Stewart 90, 91, 189
Bennett, Charles 96, 97, 189
beta decay 162
Bieber, Justin 69
big bang 168
big quantum 102–3
biodiversity 178
biology 177–8
‘black body’ 13, 15
black holes 180, 181
Bluetooth emitters 123
Bohm, David 108–9, 112, 115–16, 188
Bohr, Niels 4, 24–7, 33–4, 43, 46, 53, 63, 68–70, 77, 83, 85, 91, 107–8, 110, 187, 189
Bohr, Tomas 110
Born, Max 48–53, 69, 85, 108, 188
Born-Oppenheimer approximation 197
bosons 163–73, 178, 193 Goldstone 166–71, 169
Higgs 159, 171–2, 178
W (weak) 163–7, 170, 172, 178
Z 165–6, 168–70, 169, 170, 172, 178
see also gluons; photons
broken symmetry 160, 180
Brout, Robert 166, 167, 171, 189
Brout-Englert-Higgs field (Higgs field) 166–72, 169
Burns, Robbie 145
Bush, John 110
calcium 177
carbon 177
cause and effect 135, 161
CBC news 159
cells 119
Chadwick, James 188
charge see electric charge
Châtelet, Émilie du 135, 161
chemistry 46, 53, 147, 177
Cherenkov radiation 209
chirality 167–71, 172
chlorine 177
Chlorobaculum tepidum 103
Clarke, Arthur C., Rendezvous with Rama (1973) 155
classical physics 68, 69, 75, 100, 109, 177
classical world 101, 107, 124
Clay Mathematics Institute 129
cloud chambers 140–1, 145
CNOT gates 96
cobalt atoms 167–8
coin tossing 49, 101
colour 8–9, 150–2, 151, 167, 172, 209
consciousness as collapser of wavefunctions 77–9
and eigenstates 77, 79–80
and reality 79–80
conservation 161–5, 164, 168, 170
Copenhagen Institute, Denmark 33, 63
Copenhagen interpretation 67, 68–72, 75, 77, 80, 91, 100, 101, 107, 108–10, 112, 114–16
corpuscles 27
corpuscular light theory 8, 15
cosmic rays 140, 162, 163, 178 particles 146
Couder, Yves 109–10, 189
coupling constants 133, 134, 137, 164
Cramer, John 110–11, 189
Cranston, Bryan 33
Curie, Madame 108, 162
de Broghie, Louis 31–3, 35, 53, 67, 85, 107–9, 115–16, 162, 188
Debye, Paul 108
delayed choice quantum eraser 98–100, 111
deltas (particles) 148
density functional theory (DFT) 198
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) 177–8
Descartes, René 8, 12, 48, 123, 187
determinism 35
diffraction 9–11, 28, 32–3
Dirac, Paul 124, 126, 129, 131, 136, 161, 167, 173, 188
Disney 75
DNA see deoxyribonucleic acid
double-slit experiments 9–11, 21–3, 23, 27–8, 32–3, 53, 62, 109–10, 205 filming 62–3
and the multiverse 113
and randomness 49–50
and time travel 98–9
and the transactional interpretation 111
von Neumann’s breakdown of 76–7
down-spin 60–1, 84–5, 90–1, 95, 100, 112, 114
Dyson, Freeman 136
Earth 78, 96, 98, 162, 177–8, 182
earth (element) 7
Ehrenfest, Paul 13
Eibenberger, Sandra 33
eigenstates 68–9, 72, 77–9, 85, 95–6, 100–1
Einstein, Albert 19–21, 24, 32–4, 49, 53, 67, 77, 108, 114, 124, 130, 160, 182, 187–8 attack on quantum mechanics 83, 109, 139
and the Copenhagen interpretation 69–71
Einstein’s bicycle 201
and gravity 179
and spooky action at a distance 88–9, 90, 91
and the theory of general relativity 181
and the theory of special relativity 85–7, 90
tribute to Noether 161
Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) paradox 83, 85, 86, 90, 91, 114
elasticity, theory of 9
electric charge 26, 133–5, 150–2, 167 of anti-electrons 139
and charge repulsion 149, 177
conservation 161, 163–5, 164
and kworks 148
and the law of charge attraction 26
and magnetism 57, 140, 193, 194
and neutrinos 163, 164
and photons 151, 152, 161
and quarks 149, 163
and the weak field 165
electric charge fields 120–2, 121, 182
electric currents 57, 58
electric-field vector 122
electricity 14–15, 182 arcs 27
mass 27
electromagnetic fields 121–6, 179 and colour 209
and neutrinos 163
quanta of 125
and virtual photons 134
and the weak field 165–6
electromagnetic forces 166–8, 177, 179–80, 182 attraction and repulsion of 151
and the Large Hadron Collider 172
and the strong force 150
electromagnetic waves 121–3, 121
electron clouds 198
electron energies 24–6, 44
electron fields 126
electron membranes 44
electron shells 24–6, 27, 40, 45, 46, 53
electron spin 59–61, 59, 84–5, 88–91, 95, 100, 109, 112, 114
electron-Volts (eV) 20, 25
electrons 24–8, 109, 124, 147, 177 backward-time 139
charge 26, 48, 57, 139–40
and Cherenkov radiation 209
chirality 170
and colour 209
and conservation 161
emission 19–20
entangled 95
fundamental nature 119
and gravity 179
harmonics 45–6, 46
of helium 83
and the Large Hadron Collider 172
location 51–2, 52, 133
and magnetism 57–61, 58
momentum 39, 133
and muons 145
orbitals 46–7, 53, 83
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and parallel universes 113–14
and particle self-interaction 205
as particles 27, 28, 31, 39, 62, 108
positively charged 139–40
properties 45, 48
and quantum field theory 129, 131–40, 132, 134, 138–9, 145–6, 150–1
and quantum leaps 25–6
Schrödinger on 44–6, 197–8
speed 45
and tauons 146
vibration 123
wave properties 27–8, 31, 32, 39, 44, 47, 50–2, 108
wavefunctions 83–4
see also positrons (anti-electrons)
electroweak theory 165–6, 178, 182–3
elements 147, 177
Empedocles 7, 62
energy 20, 31–2, 126 and electron shells 46
and the general theory of relativity 181
and gravity 179
kinetic 160
light 13–15, 20–1, 24
of matter-antimatter collisions 141
in the muon field 145
as never created or destroyed 135, 161
and Planck’s constant 193
potential 160
quantum 20, 26
and quantum field theory 124, 135–6
and relativity 182
in the vacuum of empty space 180–1
of waves 9, 31
energy quantisation 46
Englert, François 166, 167, 171, 189 see also Brout-Englert-Higgs field (Higgs field)
entanglement 84, 88–9, 90–2, 95, 96–103, 113–14 between past, present and future 111
and time travel 98–9
triple 96–7
entangling machines 90, 91, 98
EPR (Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen) paradox 83, 85, 86, 90, 91, 114
eta (particles) 146
eV see electron-Volts
Everett, Hugh, III 112–15, 130, 188
experiments 7–8, 8–9, 21–3 mismatch with theory 13–14
see also double-slit experiments
Explorer II satellite 130
eyes 7–9, 209
Faraday, Michael 119–23, 182, 187
Fermi, Enrico 147, 162, 188
fermions 165, 173, 181, 193 see also electrons; neutrinos; quarks
Feynman, Richard 3, 110, 115, 129–40, 147, 150, 152, 153, 161, 173, 188, 205
Feynman diagrams 131–9, 132, 135, 138, 139, 151, 164, 169, 169
fields 120–6, 129, 131–41, 145–55, 166–7, 172 electric charge 120–2, 121, 182
gluon 150–2, 163
gravitational 120, 179
Higgs 166–72, 169
muon 145
neutrino 163
photon 126, 150, 166, 177
positron 163
strong 179
weak 163–8
see also electromagnetic fields; quantum field theories
fire 7
four elements 7
Franklin, Benjamin 26
free will 111
future, prediction 38, 39, 50
future particles 111
gamma waves 123, 209
Gargamelle detector, Switzerland 165
gas-heat phenomenon 15
Gell-Mann, Murray 147–54, 161, 173, 189
general theory of relativity 86, 181–2, 183
genetic mutation 177–8
Gerlach, Walther 59–60, 61–2, 85 see also Stern-Gerlach gateway
German Bureau of Standards 14
Germany 14
Glashow, Sheldon 154, 165, 173, 189
glueball particles 153
gluon field 150–2, 163
gluons 150–3, 151, 153, 155, 178 colour 152
and the Large Hadron Collider 172
and the strong force 177
virtual 152
God 69, 78–9
Goldstone, Jeffrey 166
Goldstone bosons 166–71, 169
Gomez, Selena 69
grand unified theory (GUT) 183
gravitational fields 120, 179
graviton particles 180, 181
gravity 24, 178–83
guide-wave theory 109–10, 112
Guth, Alan 149
gyromagnetic ratio 193
Hadamard gates 96
hadrons 172
Hafele, Joseph 87–8, 189
harmonics 45–6, 46
Hawking, Stephen 115
heat energy 13
heat-absorbers 13
heat-light conversion process 13–15, 24
Heisenberg, Werner 33–40, 53, 57, 60, 63, 67, 68, 77, 85, 91, 108, 140, 188
Heisenberg cut 100
Heisenberg uncertainty principle 35–9, 49–50, 61, 76, 133, 135–6, 149, 181
helium atoms 83, 197
Heron of Alexandria 48
hieroglyphics 8
Higgs bosons 159, 171–2, 178
Higgs, Peter 166–73, 169, 189 see also Brout-Englert-Higgs field (Higgs field)
Hilbert, David 160
Himmler, Heinrich 34
Hitachi 22
hosepipe analogy 12–13
human body 32–3, 119
hunter-gatherers 70
hydrogen 27, 177, 197 see also anti-hydrogen
imaginary numbers (i) 47–8
Independent (newspaper) 159
infinity 205–6
inflatons (particles) 149
infrared light 13, 123
interference patterns 109, 113
iron 24, 177
Jianwei, Pan 96, 189
Jolly, P. von 14
Josephson junction 52
Joyce, James, Finnegans Wake 148
kaons (particles) 146, 153
Keating, Richard 87–8, 189
Kim, Yoon-Ho 99, 189
kinetic energy 160
Knox, Ronald 78–9
Kobayashi, Makoto 155, 189
Kohn, Walter 198
kworks 148
Lagrangian 160
lambda (particles) 146
Landé, Alfred 33
Large Hadron Collider 159, 171–2, 173
laws of physics 160, 161, 162, 182
Lederman, Leon 171
lepton number 162–3
leptons 146, 149, 150, 155, 164, 166, 178 see also electrons; muons; neutrinos (anti-leptons); positrons (anti-electrons); tauons
Lewis, Gilbert 21
Lidzey, David 103, 189
life on Earth 177–8
light 7–15, 19–25, 177, 182 and the general theory of relativity 181
and gravity 179
heat-light conversion process 13–15, 24
infrared 13, 123
interaction with a hot object 12–13
movement through glass 86
as particles 8, 12, 15, 16, 20–4, 27
quanta 15, 19, 20–1
quantum theory of 20, 21
splitting of 33, 124
wave properties 8–12, 15, 21–4, 27, 28, 122–3 see also photons
light bulbs 14–15, 63, 145 filaments 15
light energy 13–15, 20–1, 24 as gas 15
types 13, 20–1
light speed 193 and the cessation of time 88, 140–1
as constant 86–7
and electromagnetic waves 122–3
permanence of 201
speeds faster than 92, 95
speeds near to 172
and the theory of special relativity 86–8
lightning-kite experiments 26
Los Alamos National Laboratory 130
luminiferous aether 12, 15
magnetic charge 193
magnetic fields 57–9, 58, 120–2, 121, 152, 182, 193
magnetic moments 193–4
magnetic poles 57–8, 58
magnetism 57–61, 120–1, 182 and electric charge 57, 140, 193, 194
and gravity 180
Manhattan project 109
many worlds interpretation 113–15, 116, 130
Marletto, Chiara 103
mass 32, 35, 166, 168, 170–2, 178–9, 181, 193–4
mathematics 129, 131, 133, 205–6
matter-antimatter collisions 141
Maxwell, James Clerk 122, 123, 187
measurement, process of 100
measurement problem 63, 70, 76–8, 112–13
mesons 152
metals 19–20
microwaves 123
Micus (satellite) 96
mind effect on particles 78
sentient 77–8
supreme 78
minus numbers 47–8
mobile phones 123
molecules 119, 198
momentum 35–9, 36–8, 49, 63, 133, 135, 160–1 angular 193–4
conservation 161
moon 70, 78
muon field 145
muons 145–6, 153, 170, 172
musical instruments, stringed 45
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) 130
nature 3, 154, 155, 179 effects of measurement of 68
existence in a plurality of states when unmeasured 68, 84–5
randomness 69
Naturwissenschaft 71
Nazis 34, 161
negatrons 27
neutrino fields 163
neutrinos (anti-leptons) 162–5, 178 electron-neutrinos 163
interactions with electrons 163
and the Large Hadron Collider 172
and magnetism 194
muon-neutrinos 163
and quarks 163–4, 164
solar-produced 162
tauon-neutrinos 163
neutrons 24, 119, 147–8, 178, 209 and alpha radiation 53
and beta decay 162
charge 48
diffraction 32
as not fundamental 147–8
and quantum field theory 149, 150
and quarks 149
reverse-charged 140, 148
wavefunctions 83
as waves 32
New Age movement 79
New York Times (newspaper) 83, 159, 161
Newton, Isaac 8, 12, 15, 24, 26–7, 35, 38–9, 49, 100, 178–9, 182, 187
Newton-John, Olivia 51