Quantum Coherence at the Boundary of Neural and Photosynthetic Timescales — E8 Intelligence Research

Andrew Stewart Caldin

Published Nov 1, 2026• 0 citations

Abstract

FINDING: Quantum-coherence lifetimes in neural microtubules and photosynthetic complexes sit at the boundary where decoherence timescales (~10⁻¹³–10⁻³ s) overlap biological timescales — the brain may exploit quantum effects, but evidence is indirect and contested. | MATH: Decoherence time τ_d ≈ ℏ/(k_B T) · (λ_dB²/…) ; thermal de Broglie λ_dB = h/√(2πmk_BT); Fröhlich condensate frequency ~10¹¹–10¹² Hz; tubulin dipole ~10⁻²⁹ C·m; energy gap ΔE ~ k_BT at 310 K → ΔE ≈ 4.3×10⁻²¹ J ≈ 0.027 eV. | CONNECTION: No confirmed 0.618/1.618 ratios in cited sources; microtubule lattice is hexagonal (6-fold, base-60 compatible) with 13-protofilament B-lattice (13 = Fibonacci F₇, adjacent to φ-scaling), but this is structural, not derived from the quantum claims. | DEPTH: 3 FINDING: Penrose–Hameroff Orch-OR remains unfalsified but unsupported by direct measurement; recent tubulin superradiance/anesthetic-binding studies are suggestive, not conclusive. | MATH: Objective reduction time τ ≈ ℏ/E_G, with E_ Author: Andrew Stewart Caldin, Independent Researcher, UK. Part of the E8 Intelligence Research series. Platform: e8intelligence.com

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23853599

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