Mind and Matter III

Quantum Physics IIMind over Matter II

If you haven't found something strange during the day, it hasn't been much of a day.

John Archibald Wheeler

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Topics for today

• Quantum Physics II– Schrödinger’s wave equation (1926)– Trapping wave functions

• Mind over Matter II – Meditation and cancer– Religious involvement in healing

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Topics for today

• Quantum Physics II– Schrödinger’s wave equation (1926)– Trapping wave functions

• Mind over Matter II – Meditation and cancer– Religious involvement in healing

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Comment on the birth of quantum physics – 1900

“… Planck’s magic formula … succeeded in explaining the heretofore unexplained behavior of light. And it did more. For the first time in the history of science, no one was able to really picture what was going on. The mathematical formula had replaced any visual experience. It worked, but it hardly made any sense.”

Fred Alan Wolf Taking the Quantum Leap (1981:67)

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Quanta of electromagnetic radiation

– Proposed by Einstein in 1905– Name: “photon” – came into use during the 1920’s– 1923: Scattering of photons by electrons – Compton

• Experimental results confirming Einstein’s proposal

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Early history of quantum physics

• 1803 – Wave theory of light – Thomas Young• 1865 – Electromagnetic waves – James Maxwell• 1896 – Discovery of the electron – J. J. Thomson• 1900 – Quanta of energy – Max Planck• 1905 – Quanta of light (later: “photons”) – Einstein• 1905 – Special theory of relativity – Einstein• 1911 – Model of the atom with orbiting electrons – Rutherford• 1913: Model of the atom with quantum orbits

– Niels Bohr (1885-1962)

• 1923 – Scattering of photons by electrons– Arthur Holly Compton (1892-1962)

• 1923 – Wave nature of electrons – Louis de Broglie (1892-1987)

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Electrons and light

• Generation of light Electron jumps from higher-energy state to lower-

energy state

- a sudden, quantum jump Result: one quantum of light emitted

Later, called “photon”

• The photoelectric effect: Light acting on electrons

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Particle-Wave DualityThe first great mystery of quantum mechanics

• Photons, electrons, atoms: Particles or waves?– The double slit experiment– Same results not only for photons and electrons but

also for atoms

Quantum Mechanics (QM) is an enduring source of entertainingly intractable philosophical puzzles. After nearly a hundred years of pondering, the reality of QM seems more and more like a magic trick that stubbornly resists all attempts at common-sense explanation.

Ron Garret (2001/08:1)

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More early history of quantum physics

• 1905 – Quanta of light (later: “photons”) – Einstein• 1911 – Model of the atom with orbiting electrons – Rutherford• 1913 – Model of atom with quantum orbits – Bohr• 1923 – Scattering of electrons by photons– Arthur Holly Compton (1892-1962)

• 1924 – Wave nature of electrons – Louis de Broglie (1892-1987)

• 1926 – The wavefunction – Erwin Schrödinger (1887-1961)

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Erwin Schrödinger (1887-1961)

“If we are still going to put up with these damn quantum jumps, I am sorry that I ever had anything to do with quantum theory.”

“… the whole idea of quantum jumps necessarily leads to nonsense”

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Schrödinger’s Wavefunction

• A new universal law of motion• Describes a moving object as a moving wave packet• Replaces Newton’s law of motion• Works for both very small objects (electrons, atoms)

and large objects• Newton’s law still works well as an approximation

for large things• At first, Schrödinger thought that he had gotten rid

of quantum jumps– It turned out not to be so

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Schrödinger’s wave equation

• For a single particle moving in three dimensions• Ψ is the wave function

– It is a function of x, y, z, and t

• h is Planck’s constant• V is the potential energy of the particle

From http://plus.maths.org/content/schrodinger-1

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Wavefunction

From Kuttner & Rosenblum, Quantum Engma (2011)

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Waviness

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Separating a wave

• A wave function

• In the two-slit experiment, a barrier with two slits separates waves into pairs of waves

• Another way to do it:– Use a semi-transparent reflecting surface

» Rosenblum & Kuttner, Quantum Enigma (2011), p. 96

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A variation on the Two-Slit Experiment

• Another way to do it:– Use a semi-transparent reflecting surface

– Splits an atom’s wave function into two wave packets– One packet goes through and the other is reflected

» Rosenblum & Kuttner, Quantum Enigma (2011), p. 96

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Wave function trapped in two boxes

Rosenblum & Kuttner, Quantum Enigma (2011), p. 96

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Open both boxes

• Open doors of both boxes at the same time

• Results after many atoms, one at a time

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Differing interferencepatterns

• Open doors of both boxes at the same time

• Results after many atoms, one at a time

• Different interference patterns for different spacings of the two boxes

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What if we choose to open just one box

• Either – A whole atom hits the screen– Or nothing

• Until we open the other box

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Quotes

• … the structure of the theory describes a world where (apparently) physical entities literally do not have physical properties until those properties are measured.

—Ron Garret (2001/08)

• I have thought a hundred times as much about the quantum problem as I have about general relativity theory.

—Albert Einstein

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When Data Meets Theory (I)

1 If new data fits in with existing theory No problem

2 If new data does not fit existing theory, two options1 Reject the data – pretend it doesn’t exist Not the way scientists operate2 Conclude that the theory requires revision

1 Revise the theory, or2 Look for a new theory3 At least, pending construction of new theory, recognize that

there is a problem, and stop believing in the old theory

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When Data Meets Theory (II)Two major areas of Data-Theory Conflict

• Quantum Mechanics– Many theories have been proposed, none widely accepted

"Anyone not shocked by quantum mechanics has not yet understood it." Niels Bohr"Nobody understands quantum mechanics."

Richard Feynman

• Mind in Health and Disease– The data are in conflict with the theory that disease and

healing are physical processes

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Topics for today

• Quantum Physics II– Schrödinger’s wave equation (1926)– Trapping wave functions

• Mind over Matter II – Meditation and cancer– Religious involvement in healing

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Meditation and cancerA. Meares 1977, 1979, 1980

• Meares worked with advanced and terminal cancer patients• Intensive program of meditation• 73 patients treated (all terminal or with advanced cancer)• Results (for these 73):

– Nearly all got relief from pain and anxiety– In about 10%, the growth of the tumor was slowed– Another 10% “far outlived” the prognosis of the oncologists– Five had complete regression “in the absence of any organic

treatment which could possibly account for it”– Five more were “well on their way” to similar regression

• Proposed mechanism– Meditation lowers stress level, cortisone production, adrenaline– Result: Boosting the function of the immune system

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Religious involvement in Healing 1300 studies up to 2001

• Epidemiological and prospective cohort studies• Religious involvement correlates with..

– Improved immune system function– Lower risk of cardiovascular disease– Lower risk of hypertension– Lower risk of stroke– Lower risk of pain– Lower risk of mortality in general

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Faith healing I: the case of John FaganA.P. Curran, Cure and Canonisation. The Month 237 (1976)

• Invasive cancer of the stomach• Surgery, 1965• Slowly deteriorated for next two years• Weekend of 4-5 March 1967, doctor said death was imminent• The “treatment”:

– Family appealed “to the intercession of the Blessed John Ogilvie [a 17th-century Scottish Reformation martyr]”

– Prayers and novenas by local parishioners

• On March 6th he roused and asked to eat• Then made an uninterrupted recovery• Many medical witnesses• Clinical and x-ray exams in 1971 detected no signs of cancer

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Faith Healing II: An infant with advanced fibrosing alveolitis (R. Gardner 1983, in the British Medical Journal )

• Advanced fibrosing alveolitis “is almost uniformly fatal” in such a young child

• Failed to respond to treatment• After 3 months in the hospital was discharged with

“hopeless” prognosis, with maintenance medication only• Was taken to a local prayer service• Began a rapid recovery• Recovery was complete• “no doubt as to the accuracy of the diagnosis or clinical

details”: Gardner (1983, p. 1928)

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Faith Healing III: 10 other Cases (Casdorph, 1976)

• Serious and longstanding illnesses– Rheumatoid arthritis– Multiple sclerosis– Bone cancer– Brain cancer– Kidney cancer– Other diseases

• Unhelped by conventional medical treatment• Attended a public service with “healer” Katherine Kuhlman• Rapid and complete healing• All cases extensively documented with medical records, and

testimony from the physicians involved

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Faith Healing IV: The shrine at Lourdes I

• In 1858 a young girl, Bernadette, claimed to see an apparition of the Virgin Mary at a spring

• Since then, millions have gone in hopes of being cured• Numerous cures have been reported• Example, reported by a Nobel laureate in medicine:

– A woman dear death from tubercular peritonitis– Sudden and (in his experience) unprecedented recovery– A. Carrel, The Voyage to Lourdes, New York: Harper, 1950

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Faith Healing V: The shrine at Lourdes IIThe case of Vittorio Micheli (Garner 1974)

• Sarcoma in left pelvis– X-rays showed “almost complete destruction of left pelvis”

• Visited Lourdes in May 1963• Felt immediate disappearance of long-standing pain• Felt subjective sense of being cured• One month later, was walking• 3 months later, x-rays “showed that the sarcoma had

regressed and the bone…was recuperating”

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Faith Healing VI: The shrine at Lourdes III

• Since 1954, significant cases have been examined by an international body of physicians, who examine whether..– Correct diagnosis was made– Disease was both organic and serious– There was a possibility of recovery from medical treatment– There was a possibility of spontaneous recovery– Symptoms disappeared

• 38 dossiers were sent to the committee from 1954 to 1984– 19 were judged “medically and scientifically inexplicable”

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When Data Meets Theory (I)

1 If new data fits in with existing theory No problem

2 If new data does not fit existing theory, two options1 Reject the data – pretend it doesn’t exist Not the way scientists operate2 Conclude that the theory requires revision

1 Revise the theory, or2 Look for a new theory3 At least, pending construction of new theory, recognize that

there is a problem, and stop believing in the old theory

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T h a n k s f o r y o u r a t t e n t i o n !