Quantum mechanics

[WindirBear]

I'm watching videos on YouTube about quantum theories, computer's, physics and my mind is blown.

 

Please tell me quantum mechanics isn't just all theories and can actually be implicated in real life.

 

I just spent one day looking at videos, so I'm not completely informed.

[Volbet]

I think you should look up what ´theory´ means in a scientific context: http://www.livescience.com/21491-what-is-a-scientific-theory-definition-of-theory.html

[WindirBear]

16 minutes ago, Volbet said:

I think you should look up what ´theory´ means in a scientific context: http://www.livescience.com/21491-what-is-a-scientific-theory-definition-of-theory.html

Please

Spoiler

 

 

 

[Volbet]

2 hours ago, WindirBear said:

Please

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Bascially, when ´theory´ is used in a scientific context it means ´well establised system´. 

So a theory will not be simple guess work. A scientiifc theory is a well founded model for calculating past events and predicting future events.

This is why we have the theory of gravity, germ theory of disease, evolutionary theory, and, yes, the theory of quantum mechanics.

All of those theories explain something about the world we inhabit and allows us to make predictions about the behavior of said world. 

[WindirBear]

1 minute ago, Volbet said:

Bascially, when ´theory´ is used in a scientific context it means ´well establised system´. 

So a theory will not be simple guess work. A scientiifc theory is a well founded model for caluculating past events and predicting future events.

This is why we have the theory of gravity, germ theory of disease, evolutionary theory, and, yes, the theory of quantum mechanics.

All of those theories explain something about the world we inhabit and allows us to make predictions about the behavior of said world. 

Where did I go wrong?

[Volbet]

Just now, WindirBear said:

Where did I go wrong?

Exactly here

 

31 minutes ago, WindirBear said:

Please tell me quantum mechanics isn't just all theories and can actually be implicated in real life.

A scientific theory will by definition be implicated in the cause of the universe and thereby in real life. 

[WindirBear]

10 minutes ago, Volbet said:

A scientific theory will by definition be implicated in the cause of the universe and thereby in real life. 

So theoretically speaking, the theory of quantum mechanics will be used in real life, making it a fact? 

 

............... I need to process this

 

Edit: I just wanted to include the phrase "theoretically speaking" pay no attention to that >.>

[Volbet]

Just now, WindirBear said:

So theoretically speaking, the theory of quantum mechanics will be used in real life, making it a fact? 

 

............... I need to process this

It's not whether or not it will be used. It's whether or not it's happening. 

And yes, behavior that is contrary to Newtonian physics is happening on the sub-molekular level. 

Whether or not humans can make use of it is a different debate. 

 

Also, scientific theories are facts. Atleast as factual as you can get outside of math and logic. 

[Bsmith]

well it's a theory, which means that it's open for changes based on calculations and experimental outcome.
But QM is definitely real, without none of our modern computer systems would work properly.

 

That being said there is also some controversial bits, like Quantum field theory in which there is only a single electron in the whole universe instead of billions, strange thing it works, but not so much when you throw electronics into the mix(according to my knowledge)

 

but yes, QM, is definitely real and has real world applications, we just know very little about it as "normal" consumers because it's so complicated in the mathematical aspect.

[ObscureMammal]

I heard this from Lawrence Krauss:

Science proves absolutely what is false, it doesn't prove what absolutely is true. Science presents models of reality and those models get better. While we tend to equate the model with reality, it's dangerous to do so because there's no scientific theory that's absolutely true. Our best theory of nature right now is Quantum Electrodynamics, but this theory only apply's over a limited scale of length and time in nature and then it breaks down and has to be replaced by another theory.