This comment by <a href="http://digg.com/users/onezerozeroone" title="digg / onezerozeroone / dugg">onezerozeroone</a> on Digg is worth noting regarding this video: "The video did a poor job of explaining the "observer" of the electron. The observer isn't a giant eye, and merely looking at an electron (with your eyes) isn't going to do anything. By observer, the video means an instrument used to detect the position of the electron. Any instrument that you can use to detect the position of a particle must interact with it. Think of a table in the middle of a dark room. You reach out and feel around for it with your hands until you bump into it, slightly moving the table. Or you bounce sound waves off of it like a bat to locate it, again slightly moving it. Before an electron or photon is interacted with in such a way, it is in a super position of states, like the video says. This can be represented by a wave where the peaks and valleys indicate the probability that the particle is in a certain position. Once you interact with the particle, this wave "collapses" and assumes a single state. The state it goes into is based on the probabilities. In the case of the slit experiment, 50% goes thru slit A, 50% thru slit B. On average, the same number of electrons collapse and go through each slit, creating the two bands. If the electron isn't interacted with, the wave function never collapses. Just like a water wave, the "probability wave" representing the state of the electron gets squeased through both slits and the two resulting waves interfere with each other. Just like with water, certain parts of the interference pattern are augmented and some are attenuated. But remember, they're still probabilities. The electron will have a higher chance of of hitting the wall where the peaks are strongest."

Nigel: It really puts perspective on things, though, doesn't it? David: Too much, there's too much fucking perspective now.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/elegant/program.html is much better and equally as engaging

Thank you sickmachine for this excellent link.

I saw the movie, it's great. Peace Brothers.

Indeed. Thanks, sickmachine. :)

Physics is cool, but the movie this clip is from was total junk. Yes, it borrowed some nice science, but used it to try to legitimize total new-age bullshit. Words effecting ice crystals? Talking to dead Atlantean gods? What a load of crap.

WTF is Darwin talking about, he didn't say any of that mess....

To thewhiterhino: Darwin isn't talking about the clip, he's talking about the entire film it is pulled from. The film, to put it nicely, is bullshit. It tries to legitimize New Age crap by picking and choosing bits and pieces of information from physics. For a good look at how quantum physics really works, see sickmachine's post.

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