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A “Quiet” Measurement of a Quantum Drum

Anonymous

PhysicsOct 30, 20190 citations

Experimental noise filtering by quantum control

Alexander Soare, Harrison Ball, David Hayes +6 more

arXiv:1404.0820Nature PhysicsOct 19, 2014143 citations

Musical Example To Visualize Abstract Quantum Mechanical Ideas

Forrest W. Eagle, Kyser D. Seaney, Michael P. Grubb

Quantum mechanics is a notoriously difficult subject to learn, due to a lack of real-world analogies that might help provide an intuitive grasp of the underlying ideas. Discrete energy levels and absorption and emission wavelengths in atoms are sometimes described as uniquely quantum phenomena, but are actually general to spatially confined waves of any sort. Here, we provide an experiment demonstrating the acoustic spectroscopy of a drum. We show that a struck drum emits sounds of discrete frequencies (tones), and that the lifetime of each emitted tone is directly related by Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle to its line width in the drum’s frequency spectrum. We also show that a still drum absorbs only those same frequencies when exposed to monochromatic sound from an audio speaker. The resonant motion of the drum membrane is too fast to see by eye (>60 Hz), but can be observed with the aid of a strobe light. The observed resonant modes of the drum are the eigenfunctions of a particle trapped in an infinite circular well, and analogous to the shapes of atomic orbitals (1s, 2p, 3d, 2s, etc.). This experiment can be built for under $50, and is an excellent demo or lab exercise for general and physical chemistry courses to provide a visual example of abstract quantum mechanical ideas.Quantum mechanics is a notoriously difficult subject to learn, due to a lack of real-world analogies that might help provide an intuitive grasp of the underlying ideas. Discrete energy levels and absorption and emission wavelengths in atoms are sometimes described as uniquely quantum phenomena, but are actually general to spatially confined waves of any sort. Here, we provide an experiment demonstrating the acoustic spectroscopy of a drum. We show that a struck drum emits sounds of discrete frequencies (tones), and that the lifetime of each emitted tone is directly related by Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle to its line width in the drum’s frequency spectrum. We also show that a still drum absorbs only those same frequencies when exposed to monochromatic sound from an audio speaker. The resonant motion of the drum membrane is too fast to see by eye (>60 Hz), but can be observed with the aid of a strobe light. The observed resonant modes of the drum are the eigenfunctions of a particle trapped in an infinite circular well, and analogous to the shapes of atomic orbitals (1s, 2p, 3d, 2s, etc.). This experiment can be built for under $50, and is an excellent demo or lab exercise for general and physical chemistry courses to provide a visual example of abstract quantum mechanical ideas.

Journal of Chemical EducationOct 24, 20178 citations

The Special Theory of Relativity

David Böhm

In these inspiring lectures David Bohm explores Albert Einstein‘s celebrated Theory of Relativity that transformed forever the way we think about time and space. Yet for Bohm the implications of the theory were far more revolutionary both in scope and impact even than this. Stepping back from dense theoretical and scientific detail in this eye

Routledge eBooksMar 14, 201428 citations

Quantum Limits on Measurement and Control of a Mechanical Oscillator

Vivishek Sudhir

Springer thesesNov 22, 20172 citations

Relativistic Quantum Becoming

Wayne C. Myrvold

In a recent paper, David Albert has suggested that no quantum theory can yield a description of the world unfolding in Minkowski spacetime. This conclusion is premature; a natural extension of Stein's notion of becoming in Minkowski spacetime to accommodate the demands of quantum nonseparability yields such an account, an account that is in accord with a proposal which was made by Aharonov and Albert but which is dismissed by Albert as a ‘mere trick’. The nature of such an account is clarified by an extension to a relativistic quantum context of David Lewis' picture of objective chances evolving in time. 1Introduction 2Classical relativistic becoming 3Relativistic quantum becoming, without collapse 4Relativistic quantum becoming, with collapse 5Objective chance, conditional probability, and definite properties 6The nature of the wave function 7ConclusionIn a recent paper, David Albert has suggested that no quantum theory can yield a description of the world unfolding in Minkowski spacetime. This conclusion is premature; a natural extension of Stein's notion of becoming in Minkowski spacetime to accommodate the demands of quantum nonseparability yields such an account, an account that is in accord with a proposal which was made by Aharonov and Albert but which is dismissed by Albert as a ‘mere trick’. The nature of such an account is clarified by an extension to a relativistic quantum context of David Lewis' picture of objective chances evolving in time. 1Introduction 2Classical relativistic becoming 3Relativistic quantum becoming, without collapse 4Relativistic quantum becoming, with collapse 5Objective chance, conditional probability, and definite properties 6The nature of the wave function 7Conclusion

The British Journal for the Philosophy of ScienceSep 1, 200334 citations

Silencing a quantum drum

Abstract

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Silencing a quantum drum

Abstract

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