sudoreboot
@sudoreboot@slrpnk.net
- Comment on Physics 2 weeks ago:
Maybe what they’re trying to describe is a torus
- Comment on double slit 1 month ago:
The interference disappearing from measurement is not really because the instrument alters the state. Or, at least, putting it like that occludes the more fundamental reason.
Fundamentally, measurements are subject to the uncertainty principle, which dictates that one can not define precisely the values of two complementary observables at the same time. Position and momentum of any quantum object are such complementary observables, so measuring one – for example position – requires that the other (momentum) becomes less defined.
When the position of a particle is narrowed down to a pixel on a detector screen, its momentum becomes very uncertain and we must talk about all the possible paths it might have been on in order for it to have arrived at that point.
The probability of a particle being measured at any given pixel is given by the probability of all possible paths combined, but with an important quirk: when combining each possible quantum state, they interfere with each other such that they may cancel out. It’s sort of like adding together vectors on the unit circle - usually the result is a shorter vector. Repeated measurements of positions give you what appears to be wave-like interference due to the way the probabilities of all paths interfere.
By checking which slit a particle passes through, you exclude all the possible paths through the other slit and end up not observing the same pattern because the two slits simply do not interfere.
- Comment on double slit 1 month ago:
I have no idea what that is so I’ll just go with yes, probably!
- Comment on double slit 1 month ago:
It isn’t “looking” that is meant by “observation”. “Observation” is meant to convey the idea that something (not necessarily sentient) is in some way interacting with an object in question such that the state(s) of the object affects the state(s) of the “observer” (and vice versa).
The word is rather misleading in that it might give the impression of a unidirectional type of interaction when it really is the establishment of a bidirectional relationship. The reason one says “I observe the electron” rather than “I am observed by the electron” is that we don’t typically attribute agency to electrons the way we do humans (for good reasons), but they are equally true.
- Comment on brilliant as silver 2 months ago:
Is no one going to comment on the font rendering
- Comment on [Kind of weekly thread] What have you been watching? 3 months ago:
The Untamed, a Chinese series based on a manhua called Modao Zushi. It’s about a quasi-delinquent cultivator going against the grain, using “wicked magic” to get things done and everyone close to him has a shit time and/or ends up dying, and he gets blamed for everything that is bad.
I saw the donghua first, and while I enjoyed it a lot, it was difficult to keep up with all that was happening. The live action felt better paced, partly because it’s just longer and gives more room to digest and get used to the characters and names. I was a little unsure about it at first - it seemed a little silly, but after a few episodes I grew really attached to the characters as they were acted and portrayed. For me, the occasional silliness became endearing and didn’t detract from the overall serious, melancholic atmosphere.
I’m binging Chinese productions these days because I’m really bored and sick of Hollywood (and my part of the world sucks at quality TV fiction), and I feel seriously uncomfortable with how underexposed I’ve been to non-western cultures (aside from Japanese). SEA is massively diverse and populated but virtually all I ever see originates from within the Anglosphere or northern/central Europe, and I’m discovering that that’s not for a lack of quality content elsewhere. But I digress.
Basically, 10/10 recommend escaping the Anglo-trap.
- Comment on the best feeling 5 months ago:
One of the last things I remember is Oberyn getting his mind blown
- Comment on aLiEnS!!1 5 months ago:
I was thinking “three ridges” first 😅 (I imagined the sand running between the four fingers of my semi-closed fist)
- Comment on What does this icon mean? 8 months ago:
Could it be to identify you as OP?