Download Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography Sigma Pi Sigma INDUCTION

Department of Physics and
Physical Oceanography
Sigma Pi Sigma INDUCTION
“Mysteries and Surprises of Quantum
Mechanics
Dr. Lea Santos
Department of Physics, Yeshiva University
In the realm of tiny objects, the laws of classical physics break down and
quantum mechanics take over. At the fundamental level, things become
fuzzy. We can no longer make predictions with certainty. Nature is
intrinsically probabilistic. Objects have no clear position unless we look
at them. Despite its strangeness, the theory of quantum mechanics has
been passing all experimental tests and has been confirming various
bizarre predictions. The laws of quantum mechanics rule over every
atom in every piece of matter, but unless we go down to the tiny scales,
we do not perceive them. So where exactly is the border between the
quantum and the classical world? How can the weird aspects of quantum
mechanics affect our daily lives? This talk will give a general view of
the main properties of quantum mechanics and will discuss how they can
be applied to the development of new technologies.
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Thursday April 10, 2014
7:00 PM
DeLoach Hall, Room 212