In December 1926, when Einstein declared, 'God does not play dice,' he was challenging the very essence of quantum physics, a field that continues to rewrite the rules of reality. Fast forward to today, we are talking about electron interacting with its own reflection over liquid helium. Physics, and science has taken leaps so large that anything that stands firm over the fundamentals of classical physics wouldn’t be surprised to be ridiculed in some future. The ever-expanding dynamism is what drives enthusiasts to ponder over this language of nature.
Yet to be explored under its deepest of trenches, then Quantum Mechanics came as a distraction on Einstein’s pursuit of unified laws of gravity and electricity. The Father of the Modern Physics preferred Schrodinger’s wave approach to Quantum Mechanics over Heisenberg’s statistical methods on particle physics, particularly because of his disdain for mathematics(Heisenberg had used matrices and statistics in particulate nature of electrons). Today quantum mechanics has paved the path for physical theories, that echo the cosmos. However, since its inception, quantum mechanics has been playing the act of duality, the very principle that gave birth to it.
When we talk about duality, the uncertainty principle and entanglement shouldn’t be left unspoken off. While talking about them, the concept of quantum non-locality rather explains or further provokes the question surrounding them. Perhaps that is why Einstein called it, “spooky action at distance”. But why wonder so much on the realms of quantum mechanics when we are using a device, merely fitting our laps. What’s so quantum about that? Not exactly.
What we have got our hands on is perhaps one of the most powerful computing engines to have ever existed. Had anyone thought about their existence a hundred years back? Definitely not, but here we are, holding them ever so closely. Comprised of over billions of transistors, these “devices merely fitting our laps” are getting closer and closer to the realms of quantum mechanics. “How?”, you might ask. Well, the answer lies somewhere between two electrons that passed through those very transistors, this very second inside your phone, even though you are not using it.
Amid technological advancements, we are getting closer to a very interesting phenomenon, famously known as “Quantum Tunneling”. This poses a significant obstacle in our aim to develop compact, yet powerful devices in the future. In the relentless race for achievements, where everyday science itself contradicts our belief in it, quantum physics remains a conundrum. In this realm of imperceptible, the laws of classical physics bow to the dance of the quantum particles.
Einstein, the face of 20th century science, was both fascinated and troubled by this new reality, where certainty was uncertain, something that he always despised. He yearned for a deterministic physics, governed by precision, not with uncertainty. Perhaps which is why, his famous assertion, “God doesn’t play dice”, painted his discomfort with quantum physics’ probabilistic nature. Upon cerebration, Einstein leaned over towards Schrodinger’s wave equation rather than Heisenberg’s abstract implementation of matrix-based formulation.
Despite that, quantum physics continues to find its relevance in the universe of particles. Confusing as it may seem, this poses questions of the past and answers to the future. It has evolved as a tool, so powerful, that it will shape the future of mankind, and more definitely the future of computing. The world is at the dawn of quantum supremacy, for its light can brighten up murky corners of science. The march of the particles has just begun, where the timeless conquer the unseen dimensions of existence. The universe is unraveling its script, perhaps the one which Einstein never wanted to act with.
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