Scientists question nature's fundamental laws

Luc M. J. Florack

Duality is a well-established concept in quantum physics. It formalises the fact that what one observes is not nature in itself, but---in Heisenberg's words---"nature exposed to our method of questioning". In the context of image analysis "question" pertains to some task while "nature" (empirical facts and natural laws) could be taken as the totality of image data supplemented with relevant external factors (knowledge or hypotheses). However, the analogy with quantum physics falls short in at least one fundamental aspect. Whereas the physicist studies nature for nature's sake, endeavouring to reveal natural laws, the image scientist pursues a certain task. This implies a shift of paradigm from the retrospect to the prospect. It will be argued that this leads to a subtle but important difference in the role duality plays in image processing and analysis as compared to the technically similar "bracket" formalism in quantum physics. Duality in the context of image processing and analysis ...

AUGUST STERN

Eugene Paul Wigner

L I Ponomarev

The more scientists learned about the atom, the less categorical became the questions they put to nature. The uncertainty relation is a strict law of nature, which is in no way related to some imperfections of our devices. The uncertainty relation is directly opposed to intuition and everyday experience. Heisenberg explained the matter by discarding still another idealization of classical physics — the concept of observation. It turned out that in quantum mechanics it had to be revised, along with the concept of motion. The concepts of “phenomenon”, “measurement”, and “observation” are closely related to one another but they are by no means identical. Any measurement is essentially interaction between the instrument and the object to be studied. The principle that Bohr named complementarity is one of the most fundamental philosophical and scientific ideas of our time, which can only be compared to the principle of relativity and the concept of a physical field.

Melinda Baldwin

Narendra D. Sharma

What is 'the nature of reality’? This thought has occupied the minds of scientists and philosophers since time immemorial. This issue is examined scientifically, that, how the views of scientists and western philosophers have undergone a dramatic change over a period of time. This may then answer whether spacetime is a reality of nature or if it is just a figment of our imagination in which to view this cosmos! The article begins with the thoughts of Democritus, and the other Greek philosophers, continuing with the ideas of Copernicus, Galileo and Kepler. With the thoughts of Bacon, Descartes and Isaac Newton, the rise of the ‘mechanical world view’ later the decline of this view is discussed when the phenomenon in optics, electricity and magnetism could not be explained. Then the concept of ‘field’ was evolved, culminating in ‘Maxwell’s equations of electromagnetic fields’.The beginning of twentieth century saw the evolution of the concepts of ‘relativity’, by Einstein, and the birth of ‘quantum theory’, starting with the idea of ‘quanta’, originated by Planck in 1900. The first three decades of the 20th century saw great breakthroughs in the world of theoretical physics - totally new ideas on ‘the nature of reality’ were being conceived. Large numbers of fundamental particles were discovered in the ensuing years. However, not much progress indeed was made in answering some of the most fundamental questions about the existence of human life and the nature of reality. Some interesting ideas on ‘biocentrism’ have now evolved. Biocentrism, along with the ideas of quantum theory and the concept of consciousness, may answer some of the intricate questions about the nature of reality; these will be discussed at length. These concepts will then be viewed from the perspective of Indic thoughts. The ‘Vedic’ and ‘Upanishadic’ knowledge from Indian scriptures may probably answer even more clearly some of the most intriguing questions about the existence of life and the ‘nature of reality’ itself.Beginning of twentieth century saw the evolution of the concepts of ‘Relativity’, by Einstein, and the birth of ‘Quantum Theory’, starting with the idea of ‘Quanta’, originated by Planck in 1900. The first three decades of 20th century saw the great breakthroughs in the world of theoretical physics. Absolutely new ideas on ‘The Nature of Reality’ were being conceived. Large number of fundamental particles was discovered in the ensuing years. But not much progress indeed took place in answering some of the most fundamental questions on existence of human life and the nature of reality. Some interesting ideas on ‘Biocentrism’ have now evolved. Biocentrism along with the ideas of Quantum Theory and the concept of Consciousness may answer some of the intricate questions on nature of reality; these will be discussed at length. These concepts will then be viewed from perspective of Indic thoughts. The ‘Vedic’ and ‘Upanishadic’ knowledge from Indian scriptures may probably answer even more clearly some of the most intriguing questions on the existence of life and the ‘Nature of Reality’ itself.