By Mutiah Fauzan
Last night when I was reading random things I stumble upon Quantum Physics. Usually for my night reading, I tend to skip this topic because I feel like it is a subject that people tend to shy away from. The last thing I need before I go to bed is thinking about the parallel universe. My evil twin is probably doing stuff that is causing other people pain (I dread to think).
Those who know me know that I like to have random and long conversation about various subjects. Still, I never had this conversation regarding this subject with anyone as far as I remember. Maybe I should; no one should avoid topics, especially if it helps us grow.
Is quantum physics closer to us than we realize? And you do not need to be Einstein or Schrödinger to understand a little of quantum physics. To start, let’s observe these everyday objects. Toaster, fluorescent light, computer, mobile phone, biological compass, transistors, laser, microscopy, a global positioning system (GPS), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and telecommunication. All these objects, believe it or not, depend on quantum physics for their operation.
So, what exactly is Quantum Physics? It’s a branch of physics that deals with tiny things, even as small as or maybe even smaller than atoms. Many marvels that happen at this tiny size sometimes make absolutely no sense even to the most brilliant scientist. However, many experiments repeatedly confirmed that these things happen. But we understand how a toaster works, right? Or even a mobile phone.
Now, if I ask you to explain how your voice got to the other side of the world? Can you explain that? Not so easy, right? Or how can MRI scan things inside our body? Funny how simple things can be so hard to explain.
One of my students asked me one time, can Quantum Physics explain spirit? And how does a human with perfectly functional organs be declared dead? It baffles me! We did some research, and we bumped into so many theories from Jung to Decorates to Isaac newton.
We, humans, are long-life learners; in my country, we said we have to study until our body is inside the cradle of the grave. I have no shame in admitting that I am still learning and reading on this matter. Why? It’s because education, good books, and good conversations are nutrition to our brain and our souls, no matter how difficult the subjects are, we as humans, should pursue them.