For our Quantum Physicists amongst us...

[Silly Sausage]

Saw QI the other day, the 'Does a falling tree in a deserted forest make a sound' question came up, which led on to when a beam of light passes in front of you, you can't see it. It's only when it hits your retina that one 'sees'.
So chatting down the pub about this (yes, not a single female in sight), we came up with the idea that everything one is not looking at, is in darkness? Which leads onto the question, if there are no observers does anything actually exist if there are no observees?

 

[snowhead]

Did someone ask a question??

 

[Bobster]

I think my response would be "fancy another beer?"

 

[topquark]

I guess it depends on what you included as allowable "observers" in the question (as phrased it sounds like you were just considering people), if you're just saying observing humans/livestock etc, then no. In the physics domain an observer would be anything capable of "interacting" with a photon. The energy from the photon being released when it "collides" with the matter it eventually illuminates (and could be recorded by a camera for example, no need for anyone to be present). It is believed that this "collision" is what changes the behaviour of the "light wave" to a particle (and releases it's energy).

As for the existance bit that's a much harder one to answer (10 dimensions, plus it's believed a multiverse). So exists where? It will definitely exist somewhere (but not necessarily in our bit of the multiverse).

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I think my response would be "fancy another beer?"

Or let's go somewhere with some women!

 

[topquark]

There's a wikipedia article here: QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Based on Feynmans lectures. There's a reference to the full book at the bottom.

 

[Silly Sausage]

Did someone ask a question??

Haha...try books, it's amazing the wonders you can find within their papery world...
The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory: Amazon.co.uk: Brian Greene: Books

 

[Silly Sausage]

Cheers TQ, I never believe Wikipedia, I'll read your previous post in a bit, too wound up at the moment, waited 3 days for a box to be collected...fuming!

 

[topquark]

Cheers TQ, I never believe Wikipedia, I'll read your previous post in a bit, too wound up at the moment, waited 3 days for a box to be collected...fuming!

Don't take anything with a double quote "" set around it literally.

 

[Kamikaze]

No such thing as quantum physics. We are all just stars in someone’s weird dream. Days are just minutes, minutes are just seconds, seconds are just blinks of the eye. Any minute now he or she will wake up, think “why couldn’t Archy find a pub with some women and what the hell was all that about. No wonder I’m knackered, in my dream I have been at work all night”.
And on a personal note to the individual having the dream; “Stop thinking about the rain. And the next time you get me drunk at least try and remember where I parked the car".

 

[topquark]

No such thing as quantum physics. We are all just stars in someone’s weird dream. Days are just minutes, minutes are just seconds, seconds are just blinks of the eye. Any minute now he or she will wake up, think “why couldn’t Archy find a pub with some women and what the hell was all that about. No wonder I’m knackered, in my dream I have been at work all night”.
And on a personal note to the individual having the dream; “Stop thinking about the rain. And the next time you get me drunk at least try and remember where I parked the car".

and where have you been hiding?