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Did you know there's a cheshire cat principle in quantum mechanics?

Just as she says "I've seen a cat without a grin but never a grin without a cat!" there are commonly particles without a spin, but we've had spins without an associated particle. QM IS WEIRD AND AWESOME

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Brontide

I completely agree. Though... how do you have a spin without a particle? Enlighten us.

TetrisGuy · 26-30, M

I'm a little too loopy to explain right now (I'm VERY sleepdrunk and am rambling) but there are some great YouTube videos on it. AFAIK we're not 100% sure how it happens, but we know it does happen because we've done experiments demonstrating it. The explanation I had heard explained it with penguins and hats o.O

Brontide

so we can detect a spin... but not the thing that's spinning?

TetrisGuy · 26-30, M

We CAN detect the thing that's "spinning". But in some instances, we find the thing that's supposed to have the spin in one place, and the actual spin parameter in another. I think this is just more evidence that the universe is purely mathematical.

Brontide

huh. i like how you think. i completely agree. "...I'm arguing that our physical world doesn't just have SOME mathematical properties, but it has ONLY mathematical properties." - Max Tegmark

TetrisGuy · 26-30, M

IFL Tegmark. I'm yet to read his book, but I actually thought of a purely mathematical universe before I even heard of him and his book. I'll eventually read his book. :D