QA Terminology
As always, QA subscribes to the "KISS" principle. Therefore, this terminology page will provide simple "operational" definitions....those simple explanations that serve to put the terms into context within QA knowing that in other environments, the term may have a somewhat different "utilitarian" and/or practical meaning(s).
__________________________________________
Arrow of Time:
A point of reference...we speak of "Going BACK into time or Forward into the future." The assumption that "time" does, in fact, go forward has served as the basis for all scientific/philosophical thought about the past/present/future. This assumption was based upon rectilinear propagation (light travels in straight lines) until Einstein and his theory proved otherwise (curved space means that it may just go round and round and that if we could wait long enough.......we just might meet ourselves someday!).
Big Bang:
The most widely accepted and supported model that explains the origin and evolution of the universe. The Big Bang Theory holds that the entire Universe originated from a singularity (see below) roughly 12-15 billion years ago.
Copenhagen Interpretation:
Usually attributed to Niels Bohr i. e. basic quantum physics...objects at the quantum level do not have the same attributes as they do at the Newtonian (3 dimensional) level.
Cosmology:
Study of the origin of the Universe...or if you will.....the study of Genesis known as "cosmogony" (Ferris, 1997 from the Greek for "world-begetting."
Cosmological Paradox:
The fact that the Universe exists raises three "really tuff questions"...(1) if the Universe began at the Big Bang....what happened before that to make it "Bang?" (The paradox of first cause), (2) The Bang came from...... nothing!? (The paradox of you can't get something from nothing) and (3) This Universe must have come from "another Universe"...and that Universe came from..??? and so on...See Zeno..(The paradox of infinte regress).
Dark Matter:
Matter that cannot be observed, but can be detected by its effect on observed stuctures. For example, a galaxy's rotational velocity depends on the mass inside the orbit. Some galaxies "behave" as though there is far more mass than expected from appearance. This means that there is unobservable (dark) mattter present in the galaxy, affecting the rotational velocity.
Energy:
In classical physics, energy is considered to be a continuous force, such as a wave. In Quantum Mechanics however, energy is made up out of discrete units called Quanta (singular: quantum).
Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Paradox:
Represents a measurement on/in one part of a system while leaving other parts of the system unmeasured. Quantum theory suggests that the unmeasured part will be affected by the measured portion eventhough there is no direct connection!
Galaxy:
A large formation of matter made up of gas and many (usually a million or more) stars, spinning in orbit around a hot, massive galactic core and held together by gravity. Galaxies are typically (but not always) spiral in shape.
Heisenberg Indeterminacy Principle:
Precept indicating that the position and trajectory of a particle cannot both be known with perfect exactitude, may also allude to the existence of "stuff" we cannot see... AKA Heisenberg Potentia
Infinite Regress Paradox:
If you divide an object in half and continue to divide the remaining parts in the same manner...in theory there will always be something left to cut in half!
Matter:
The "stuff" of which everything in existence is made, from the tiniest particles to the largest structures of the Universe. Mass is a measure of the total amount of matter an object contains.
Neutrinos:
A particle produced in large quantities as a by-product of the nuclear reactions inside of stars. Neutrinos have very litle effect on matter and in fact pass right through it, therefore they are very difficult to detect.
No Boundary Proposal:
The universe has no end...it is self contained...one could start a journey out into space and in theory, would return to the same place without ever making a turn! The Hartle/Hawking wave function universe suggests no boundry and no initial signularity
Non-Boolean Logic
Computers utilize a stepwise (1-2-3 if you will) form of logic that is a means to an end...AKA "if this.... then that." Great stuff until you have a situation or dilemma that defies logic or requires the thinker to go someplace very new or unthought of. Computers do not think outside the lines (Yes, I know Big Blue beat the chess guy) in an "extrapolatory" sense (Let's make it up!). We know this is much too simple but we do not want to get into a disucssion of AI here!
Planck Epoch:
The 1st instant after the begining of universe expansion...space time foam so dense that all 4 forces were equal.
Probability:
The mathematical measure of the likelihood of an even occurring.
Probability Signature:
Possibilities existing in space time foam (i. e. the Planck Epoch) within infinite recipricol transactions. All probabilities exist simultaneously and when "transacting", effect and/or change the physical properties of matter.
Quantum Foam:
(aka: Probabilistic Froth, Space Time Foam)The basic "stuff." All matter may be broken down into the stuff it is made of and in this sense, everything is made (or can be broken down at the quantum level to something that might resemble the frothy, bubbly head of a fermented beverage!) of quantum foam (the sub-particle level). For QA, this is where the "probability signatures" exist.
Quantum Potential:
All infinite recipricol transaction possibilities.
Quantum Observership:
Quantum folks subscribe to the following belief..."There exists no objective reality independent of an observer." The traditional double-slit experiment gave rise to the understanding that a particle can sometimes act like a wave, giving rise to the question, "How can a particle (electron) possess the attributes of both a particle and a wave yet behave like neither?" Simply stated, the particles that make up matter (which makes us, pizza and other good stuff) may exist in two states: particle or wave. Let's use pizza as an example. Prior to becoming a pizza, said pizza "exists" in the form of its component ingredients (QA sez...."Nothing like the good ol' probabilistic pizza!"). When the proper ingredients are mixed, rolled, tossed and baked properly, the pizza appears. So it is with particles and the things they come to be. The "wave" function precedes the existing particle, the particle precedes the stuff it becomes when it mixes with other particles. Ok, now the "observer" part. Quantum theory tells us that this changeover (AKA...collapse of the wave function) requires an observer or a "measurement" by an observer. This suggests that nothing exists without an observation! Question is..."By whom or what?" The guess here is that this measurement is actually a transactional event (See the PS page). The collapse of the wave function into particle form is "transacted" within the Spacetime Foam resulting in Super String formation.
Quantum Theory:
Quantum theory holds that there is a dual nature to both waves and particles. This is based on the knowledge that in certain situations waves can act like particles, and in other situations particles can act like waves. This theory has been instrumental in helping explain the nature of many phenomena far better than conventional (classical) physics.
Schrödinger Equations:
representative of the wave functions of all basic atomic systems.
Singularity:
a single point, smaller than a proton, into which ALL the matter and energy in the universe would be compacted.
Spacetime:
four dimensional space; the three we know so well with the fourth dimension of time added.
Superspace:
not spacetime but a combination of superspace plenum (all possible 3 dimensional geometries associated with matter) and all possible scalar fields...all possible dimensions, all dualities at the quantum level...a totally open universe.
Superstring:
theory suggesting that all particles consist of hyperdimensional space (Probabilities in the QA paradigm...the string being the signatures created by the linkage of two or more of those probabilities).
Supersymmetry:
(SUSY) particle spin theory....making up a methematical group with a common property (QA's probability signatures).
Transaction: (Cramer Interpretation)
A connection between an event in the present and in the future.
Transactional Interpretation:
Developed by John G. Cramer...suggests that quantum waves travel forward and backward in time and any physical event(s) require a "transaction" between waves.
Transaction: (QA Interpretation)
A "possible" connection (infinite possibilities exist) (Read transaction) between mathematical probabilities that result in the creation of the physical properties of matter. Differs from the Cramer view in that the "transaction" is predicated upon wave functions existing (traveling forward and backward?) in the past, present and future!. The inference here is the the forward-backward transaction travels forward in time from the past, backward in future "potential" time and meets in the present to create the physical properties of matter. The "backward in potential time" is related to the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Paradox.
Wave function:
a quantum mechanical equation that describes all revelent properties of a quantum system.
Wave/particle Symmetry:
a duality where a particle shows the properties of both wave and particle.
Wheeler-Dewitt Equations:
Schrodinger equations except that they are applied at the level of the universe.
Zeno:
Zeno of Elea, philosopher and mathematician...constructed paradox sets in order to argue for the interconnectedness of all "things" [aka "thing"] and against the Pythagoran "many-things" Universe.
The Quantum Amature trademark and content copyright QuantumAmature 1999.
Home | Intro | PS Paradigm | Limitations | Summary | QA Terms | Contact Us | Webrings | D-Board