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Observer (lemmy.zip)
submitted 12 hours ago by Morph9@lemmy.zip to c/science_memes@mander.xyz
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[-] cynar@lemmy.world 45 points 9 hours ago

This sort of comic always bugs me. Observation in QM is not the same as observation in layman terms.

Best think of it as hit it and watch the pieces fly. When you get small enough, you can't approximate out the impacts. It's akin to studying road traffic by sending an overloaded freight truck the wrong way and counting tires that hit the verge. It might also affect the current traffic's motion.

[-] jol@discuss.tchncs.de 25 points 7 hours ago

This is something that I noticed is hard to understand to most people. My SO got served a video of the double slit experiment and thought it was like magic, until I tried to explain to him that at this scale, "observing" doesn't just mean looking at it. Observation makes you part of the system and causes the system to change.

[-] cynar@lemmy.world 6 points 5 hours ago

That is part of what bugs me.

Quantum mechanics isn't magical or unknowable. It's just an area of physics where some of our base assumptions/approximations break down. It's not even that hard to wrap your head around, it just seems most people don't want to try.

[-] jol@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 4 hours ago

Magic is just stuff we don't know but don't care to know :)

[-] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 1 points 1 hour ago

No, it's not. Magic isn't real.

[-] systemglitch@lemmy.world 2 points 6 hours ago

There is a magic to perception nothing else can replicate. I'm pretty sure awareness is existence, so it's attention has to change reality.

[-] cynar@lemmy.world 4 points 5 hours ago

Perception and observation are different things. Air molecules can be "observers" when looking at electrons etc.

[-] Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafe 2 points 5 hours ago

Which is what's so "magical" about it - Newtonian rules seem to break down at the quantum level.

It was an incredible discovery, and for practically anyone not a physicist, it's incredibly hard to comprehend. I say this as a not-a-physicist who struggled to comprehend it decades ago, and read several books on the subject to finally get my head around it (as much as a non-physicist can).

Also, it's just a meme mate.

[-] cynar@lemmy.world 6 points 5 hours ago

I disagree with it being hard to comprehend. The maths is an absolute bitch, but the basic premise is fairly simple. Everything is (quantised) waves. The rest clicks, once you get your brain to accept this. Everything else is a consequence. Those consequences can lead you down deep dark tunnels, filled with evil maths and mind bending results, but the basic idea is simple.

I have a bit of an issue with memes that are actively misleading.

[-] stebo02@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 6 hours ago

psssst, it's just a meme

[-] Ephera@lemmy.ml 12 points 6 hours ago

Lots of folks get their superficial education from memes and will be mislead by this...

[-] stebo02@lemmy.dbzer0.com -2 points 5 hours ago

well that's their own fault, and it's not like stuff like this is vital information for the average person

[-] Ephera@lemmy.ml 3 points 4 hours ago

Specifically, because it's non-vital information for the average person, I really do not think you can blame anyone for merely learning about it through memes. But I do also think this problem is much greater than just memes. I did not receive a better explanation during high school, despite opting for more advanced physics classes and us repeatedly telling our teacher that it makes no sense to us. I have to assume that our teacher did not know either. As such, I got the impression that more advanced physics is just devoid of any actual logic, which was a major factor why I decided against pursuing it further in college. Reading a proper explanation under a stupid meme, could've made the difference for me.

[-] cynar@lemmy.world 5 points 5 hours ago

So why are you so upset with us trying to fix it?

I personally find the anti science, anti learning crowd has gone from amusing, to annoying, to terrifying.

[-] stebo02@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 5 hours ago

I'm not upset

[-] DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social 1 points 1 hour ago

Calmly arguing for misinformation and anti-science rhetoric isn't better.

[-] cynar@lemmy.world 1 points 5 hours ago

So was "Donald Trump for president" and look at the damage that has caused.

[-] Kaput@lemmy.world 3 points 5 hours ago

I have been tryin to find an actual demostration of this experiement and it seem impossible to find. can someone sow me this experiment done on a single setup. where you have a light source, two slits a screen and an ''observer''. That swithes from interference pattern to two lines, by switching the observer on and off. I am convinced that the science is solid, in its theoric and applied aspect. but that this interpretation of it is complete bullcrap. And i am annoyed by the ''believe this cheap explanation''that is repeated and nauseam. What is the actual equipment required, wave lenghts, slit sizes. I know This is science meme sub, where is the sub where i can find an actual two slit operator?

[-] VoterFrog@lemmy.world 1 points 16 minutes ago

What are you trying to see exactly? There's this video done with polarizers: https://youtu.be/unCXuRXpEhs Of course, it's not an instant on/off but having an instant on/off doesn't really change anything.

[-] Gladaed@feddit.org 7 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-slit_experiment

Put a filter on one slit to measure the beams. Done.

Edit: this thinks about a related experiment, where you build an interferometer instead of a double slit. Now rephrase the experiment s.t. you have to beams serviced from a singular beam. interfere the two beams with each other. If you measure on one beam path (e.g. Pol filter) you destroy the interference pattern.

[-] x00z@lemmy.world 2 points 5 hours ago

You don't really need an on/off switch.

By default you are not observing what slit it goes trough so you should always see the wave pattern.

[-] kubica@fedia.io 41 points 11 hours ago

Can't blame them I also try to act normal when people is watching.

[-] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 10 points 11 hours ago

I'm not weird. I act perfectly normal when no one is watching. honest.

[-] vane@lemmy.world 1 points 6 hours ago

Attractor

[-] Tar_alcaran@sh.itjust.works 4 points 9 hours ago

This makes me pretty annoyed, mostly because I get flashbacks to assholes pushing The Secret

[-] LifeLemons@lemmy.ml 0 points 6 hours ago

Thanks lemmy user!

this post was submitted on 23 Feb 2025
537 points (98.4% liked)

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