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Quantum and classical physics from "summary" of The Magic of Reality by Richard Dawkins
Quantum physics is the branch of physics that deals with the behavior of very small things, like atoms and subatomic particles. Classical physics, on the other hand, deals with the behavior of larger things, like planets and baseballs. One of the key differences between the two is that classical physics is deterministic, meaning that if you know the starting conditions of a system, you can predict its future behavior with certainty. In contrast, quantum physics is probabilistic, meaning that you can only predict the likelihood of different outcomes. This probabilistic nature of quantum physics is a source of much confusion and mystery for many people, as it seems to go against our everyday experience of the world. In the classical world, things follow predictable, cause-and-effect patterns. In the quantum world, things can be in multiple states at once, and the act of observing a system can change its behavior. One of the most famous examples of this is the double-slit experiment, where particles like photons or electrons are fired at a barrier with two slits. In the classical world, we would expect the particles to pass through one slit or the other and create two distinct bands on the other side. However, in the quantum world, the particles can behave like waves, passing through both slits simultaneously and creating an interference pattern on the other side. This strange behavior is not just limited to subatomic particles – even large objects like buckyballs (molecules made up of 60 carbon atoms) have been shown to exhibit quantum properties. This blurring of the line between the quantum and classical worlds challenges our intuitions about how the universe operates and forces us to rethink our understanding of reality. Despite the weirdness of quantum physics, it has been incredibly successful in explaining a wide range of phenomena, from the behavior of atoms to the properties of materials. Quantum mechanics has led to the development of technologies like lasers, transistors, and MRI machines that have revolutionized our world. While the quantum world may be strange and counterintuitive, it is also rich with possibilities and has fundamentally changed the way we view the universe.
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