What ’ s Going On Here?

1. What’s Going On Here? • Copenhagen Interpretation- late 1920’s- most widely accepted approach • Heisenberg, Niels Bohr, Max Born • There is no deep reality, no hidden “real” position and momentum • Bohr:“There is no quantum world. There is only an abstract quantum description.” • Heisenberg:“The ‘path’ (of a particle) comes into existence only when we observe it.” • Electrons (and other quantum particles) don’t possess all attributes innately • Static attributes- innate- mass, charge, spin • Dynamic- all others- created in part by how they’re measured • Quantum meter- observer intervenes in reality by selecting attribute to measure • No definite place or motion unless being measured, and even then, HUP • Heisenberg: “Atoms are not things.” • Measuring device described classically, but it and measurement ultimately not analyzable • Measurement- making of a record (Polaroid, Geiger counter) or conscious observation • Correspondence Principle- in the domain of classical physics, quantum predictions correspond to Newtonian • Old physics as special case in which observer effects can be neglected • Classical concepts don’t change but their application restricted • Complementarity Principle- wave-particle duality • Heisenberg:“Some physicists would prefer to come back to the idea of an objective real world whose smallest parts exist objectively in the same sense as stones or trees independently of whether we observe them. This however is impossible.”

2. A Role for Consciousness? • John von Neumann- 1932- Die Grundlagen (The Foundations) • von Neumann’s Proof- Neorealism (ordinary reality underneath quantum facts) incompatible with quantum theory • Consciousness creates reality- von Neumann, Henry Stapp, Walter Heitler • Only consciousness can solve the measurement problem • M device not special, described with proxy wave • von Neumann Chain- the wave function collapse can be located anywhere on the chain from quon gun to observer’s consciousness, but not eliminated • The only unusual feature in the chain is the point at which a physical signal in the brain becomes an experience in the mind • “Consciousness” hard to define and work with- not the mainstream physics focus

3. Neorealism • World made of ordinary objects- the atoms really are things • Einstein, Planck, Schrödinger, de Broglie • Rejected by Heisenberg, Bohr, von Neumann, most physicists • David Bohm- 1952- ordinary-object model of the electron • Real wave, real particle, definite position and momentum at all times • Pilot wave- field guiding electron’s movement • Electron’s attributes innate, but seem contextual- pilot wave responds to any change in the universe immediately, before measurement • Faster than light signaling- forbidden by special relativity • Gets around von Neumann’s proof- the electrons combine in “unreasonable ways” • Real fields moving faster than light = time travel, reversed causality

4. Many Worlds • Hugh Everett- 1957- Many worlds- reality consists of a steadily increasing number of parallel universes • For any situation in which multiple outcomes are possible, all outcomes occur,each in a parallel universe identical except for the outcome of the single measurement • Resolves quantum measurement problem- M devices and measurement not special • M devices and measurement special in Copenhagen • But can’t really be- made of same reality as everything else • von Neumann- M devices not special, but measurement is- collapses wave function • Decoherence- explanation for appearance of wave function collapse, not actual collapse- superposition still exists but is beyond measurement • Many minds- physical state continuous and causal, mental state discontinuous and probabilistic • Each observer has an infinity of minds • Strong mind-body dualism • Other quantum theories- transactional interpretation; consistent histories interpretation; ensemble interpretation; relational quantum mechanics; stochastic mechanics; objective collapse theories; modal interpretation; several more

5. The EPR Experiment • Einstein and Bohr- debate about underlying randomness and observer-created nature of reality • EPR thought experiment- 1935- Einstein, Podolsky, Rosen- originally momentum-correlated electrons, now polarization-correlated photons • Shot out from light source in “state of parallel polarization” - each photon’s phase depends on the other • Phase entanglement- twin state • Quantum vs. classical ignorance • Truly indefinite, or definite but unknown? • Locality- no action at B can affect measurement at G • Each photon should have a definite value at all angles, whether measured or not; since QT doesn’t account for this attribute, it’s incomplete • Einstein- “One can escape from this conclusion only by either assuming that the measurement of B (telepathically) changes the real situation at G, or by denying independent real situations as such to things which are spatially separated. Both alternatives appear to me entirely unacceptable.” • Newton- “That one body may act on another at a distance through a vacuum without the mediation of anything else... is so great an absurdity, that I believe no man, who has in philosophical matters a competent faculty for thinking, can ever fall into.”

6. Bell’s Theorem • J.S. Bell 1964- Either the statistical predictions of quantum theory or the principle of local causes must be false • Clauser 1972- skeptical, but verified quantum predictions experimentally • Any system which obeys quantum predictions cannot be explained by a local reality • Phase entanglement- all quons connected once they interact • Interconnection- since all connected at Big Bang, entire universe still connected • Locality- physical mediation through matter or fields • Gravity and all four forces local • Wavicle mediation • Diminish in strength with distance • Velocity of field deformation no greater than c • Nonlocality • Unmediatedaction at a distance- no physical fields necessary • Unmitigated- does not diminish with distance • Immediate- instantaneous, not limited by c • Quantum fact now- any model of reality whatsoever must be nonlocal • Universe of local phenomena built on non-local reality consistent with Bell • And quantum irrationality macroscopic • Criticism- deals with reality, not phenomena • Stapp: “Bell’s Theorem is the most profound discovery of science.”

7. Zero-Point Field • Zero-point field- ground state energy underlying subatomic matter • Einstein and Stern 1913- Nullpunktsenergie- to correct a Planck equation • A universal field- no such thing as a vacuum or nothingness • Repository of all fields and all ground energy states and all virtual particles- “field of fields” • Accounts for nonlocality- every part of the universe instantaneously in touch with every other part • Total energy greater than all the energy in matter • A single cubic meter could boil all the oceans in the world • Casimir effect- two perfectly conducting parallel plates • Quantum fluctuations- wavelengths comparable to the plate separation distance are excluded from between the plates • The resulting zero-point radiation overpressure pushes the plates together • Zitterbewegung-“jitter motion”- random, speed-of-light fluctuations of point particles • Scatters particles to Compton radius, explaining how point particles can behave as though having volume • Probability density of electron • Typical atomic vibration rate 1013 Hz • HUP- at absolute zero, if momentum were zero, position would be too, and both could be known at once • Virtual particle exchange even at absolute zero • No subatomic particle can ever be brought completely to rest • Random noise in microwave receivers and electronic circuits • Keeps helium from freezing at atmospheric pressure at any temperature • Stability of matter depends on dynamic particle interactions with ZPF • Every particle exchange radiates energy- virtual particles too • Electrons lose and gain energy from ZPF in dynamic equilibrium to maintain orbit

8. Zero-Point Field • Dark energy- resurrection of Einstein’s cosmological constant (Λ, energy density in otherwise empty space) • ZPF constant in a given volume- more created as universe expands- not diluted • Theory- zero-point energy driving acceleration of universal expansion • Dark energy as low-frequency, gravitationally active component of ZPE • Haisch-Rueda-Puthoff- inertia is resistance to being accelerated through the ZPF • Mass is an illusion explained by ZPF “grabbing onto” subatomic particles • Matter is not a fundamental property of physics • E=mc2 not changing between two distinct, fundamental physical entities • Just a recipe for amount of energy necessary to create the appearance of mass • There is no mass; there is only charge • Mass is energy, not just equivalent to it • Not two, matter and immaterial- just one, energy

9. Quantum Physiology • Pribram- memory distributed throughout brain as quantum waveforms • Holography- each part mirrors the whole • Wave resonance /interference to recall memories • DeValois and DeValois 1979- converted plaid and checkerboard patterns into Fourier waves (representing function/pattern as superposition of waves) • Brain cells of cats and monkeys respond to the interference patterns of the component waves, not the patterns • We sense quantum information and construct out of it our image of the world • Yasue- brain processes occurring at quantum level • Dendritic networks in brain operating through quantum coherence • Pyramidal networks in neocortex crystallize and transform signals between the cortices and the rest of the CNS • Waveform broadcasting necesary for vision- neurons of visual cortex don’t pick up the full spectrum of frequencies needed to form image • TV, movies- still pictures, mind makes illusion of movement • Ishizaki and Fleming 2009- quantum coherence in light energy transport in photosynthetic green sulfur bacteria under physiological conditions • Nonclassical, simultaneous exploration of many paths of energy flow through chromophores of a light-harvesting complex • Theory- more efficient energy capture process, helping bacteria survive in low light • Quantum tunneling • Radioactive decay- particle tunneling out of nucleus • Lowdin 1963- proton tunneling as a source of DNA mutations • Base pairs in DNA connected by 2 or 3 hydrogen bonds • Double-well potential separated by a potential energy barrier • Asymmetric- protons jumping from deeper to shallower well can create mutations- aging and cancer • Kohen 1999- excited states of enzymes can reduce the proton potential barriers between reactants • Mayborov- DNA replication- efficiency comes from proton tunneling between nucleotide (ATCG) and DNA polymerase • Nucleotides- different rates of proton tunneling, different binding to DNA-pol • Other quantum-related effects- conversion of chemical energy in ATP into motion; magnetoreception in animals

10. Quantum Microtubules • Hameroff, Pribram, Yasue, Hagan- microtubules and dendritic membranes as the body’s internet • Every neuron can communicate with every other simultaneously • Microtubules- scaffolding of cell, 13 tubulin filaments around hollow core • Radiate outward from center of cell to membrane • Tracks to transport products, pull chromosomes apart during cell division • Constantly assembling and disassembling • MT’s as network for subtle waveform biocommunication-“light pipes”conducting EM pulses • Self-induced transparency- photons can travel along hollow core without becoming entangled • Coherent quantum waves would be 15nm in diameter, just like MT core • Coherence among neighboring tubules- vibration in one resonates in unison through others • Waveforms of NS action potentials and other info creates high-frequency, complex interference patterns, which are transmitted through MT’s • Holographic wave patterns reflected onto “screens” in cortices • Holograms then interact to create picture of body/world • “Each neuron is constructed with the appropriate crystal DNA structure, ion channel system, and microtubules giving it the ability to join with others to relay multiple waveform interference patterns simultaneously.” • Paramecia, slime molds, plants able to respond to environment, learn, and remember without CNS • Also explains brain functioning at 1/1000 of a second • Consciousness as coherent light? • MT’s mirroring nadis, meridians?

11. “The observer appears, as a necessary part of the whole structure, and in his full capacity as a conscious being. The separation of the world into an ‘objective outside reality’ and ‘us,’ the self-conscious onlookers, can no longer be maintained. Object and subject have become inseparable from each other.” -Walter Heitler • “What we observe as material bodies and forces are nothing but shapes and variations in the structure of space. Particles are just schaumkommen (appearances). The world is given to me only once, not one existing and one perceived. Subject and object are only one. The barrier between them cannot be said to have broken down as a result of recent experience in the physical sciences, for this barrier does not exist.” -Erwin Schrödinger • “If we ask, for instance, whether the position of the electron remains the same, we must say ‘no’; if we ask whether the electron’s position changes with time, we must say ‘no’; if we ask whether the electron is at rest, we must say ‘no’; if we ask whether it is in motion, we must say ‘no.’” -J. Robert Oppenheimer • “The fundamental idea of Buddhism is to pass beyond the world of opposites, … and to realize the spiritual world of non-distinction.” -D.T. Suzuki • “It moves. It moves not./ It is far, and It is near./ It is within all this,/ And It is outside of all this.” -The Upanishads • “Suchness is neither that which is existence, nor that which is non-existence, nor that which is at once existence and non-existence, nor that which is not at once existence and non-existence.” -Ashvaghosha

12. Emptiness and Form • In Chinese philosophy, the idea of the field is implicit in the notion of the Tao as empty and formless, yet producing all forms,but also explicit in the idea of ch’i • Ch’i as life energy, a form of matterpresent throughout space which can condense into solid objects • “When the ch’i condenses, its visibility becomes apparent so that there are then the shapes (of individual things). When it disperses, its visibility is no longer apparent and there are no shapes.” • Chang Tsai • “The relationship of form and emptiness cannot be conceived as a state of mutually exclusive opposites, but only as two aspects of the same reality, which exist and are in continual co-operation.” • Lama Govinda • “Form is emptiness, and emptiness is indeed form. Emptiness is not different from form, form is not different from emptiness. What is form, that is emptiness; what is emptiness, that is form.” • Prajna-paramita-hridaya Sutra • “When one knows that the Great Void is full of ch’i, one realizes that there is no such thing as nothingness.” • Chang Tsai • Particles spontaneously appear and disappear from and into the void • “According to the (field theory of matter), a material particle such as an electron is merely a small domain of the electrical field within which the field strength assumes enormously high values, indicating that a comparatively huge field energy is concentrated in a very small space. Such an energy knot (is) by no means clearly delineated against the remaining field” • Hermann Weyl • “Modern theoretical physics… has put our thinking about the essence of matter in a different context. It has taken our gaze from the visible- the particles- to the underlying entity, the field. …The field exists always and everywhere; it can never be removed. It is the carrier of all material phenomena. It is the ‘void”…Being and fading are merely forms of motions of the field.” • Walter Thirring

13. Eastern mysticism- the universe as an interconnected cosmic web • “The material object becomes… something different from what we now see, not a separate object on the background or in the environment of the rest of nature but an indivisible part and even in a subtle way an expression of the unity of all that we see.” • -Sri Aurobindo • “Things derive their being and nature by mutual dependence and are nothing in themselves.” • -Nagarjuna • “The external world and (the) inner world are … only two sides of the same fabric, in which the threads of all forces and of all events, of all forms of consciousness and their objects, are woven into an inseparable net of endless, mutually conditioned relations.” • -Lama Anagarika Govinda • A particle can only be understood in terms of its interaction with the environment- not isolated but an integrated part of the whole • “One is led to a new notion of unbroken wholeness … inseparable quantum interconnectedness of the whole universe is the fundamental reality, and that relatively independently behaving parts are merely particular and contingent forms within this whole.” -David Bohm

14. What Have We Learned? • Werner Heisenberg: “What we learn about is not nature itself, • but nature exposed to our method of questioning.” • Lao Tsu: “Ever desireless, one can see the mystery. Ever desiring, one sees the manifestations.” • Blaise Pascal: “The endpoint of rationality is to demonstrate the limits of rationality.” • Ken Wilber: “When the universe is severed into a subject vs. an object, into one state which sees vs. one state which is seen, something always gets left out. In this condition, the universe ‘will always partially elude itself.’ No observing system can observe itself observing. The seer cannot see itself seeing. Every eye has a blind spot. And it is for precisely this reason that at the basis of all such dualistic attempts we find only: Uncertainty, Incompleteness!” • David Bohm:“The notion that all these fragments are separately existent is evidently an illusion, and this illusion cannot do other than lead to endless conflict and confusion. Indeed, the attempt to live according to the notion that the fragments really are separate is, in essence, what has led to the growing series of extremely urgent crises that is confronting us today. Thus, as is now well known, this way of life has brought about pollution, destruction of the balance of nature, over-population, world-wide economic and political disorder and the creation of an overall environment that is neither physically nor mentally healthy for most of the people who live in it. Individually there has developed a widespread feeling of helplessness and despair, in the face of what seems to be an overwhelming mass of disparate social forces, going beyond the control and even the comprehension of the human beings who are caught up in it.” • Albert Einstein: “A human being is part of the whole, called by us ‘Universe’; a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest – a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely but the striving for such achievement is, in itself, a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security.”