BREAKING NEWS
Tweets by @FQXi
Einstein Prize
Oct 23, 2018
FQXi’s Abhay Ashtekar has been awarded the American Physical Society’s 2018 Einstein Prize, for outstanding achievements in the field of gravitational physics. Congratulations!
Front Page News
Oct 19, 2018
How does objectivity arise from the quantum world? The FQXi-funded answer, provided by Paul A. Knott, Tommaso Tufarelli, Marco Piani, and Gerardo Adesso has made the cover of Physical Review Letters.
Knight of the Realm
Oct 16, 2018
Huge congratulations to FQXi’s Catalina Curceanu, who has been awarded the 'Order of Cultural Merit' of the rank of knight, by the president of Romania. The honor is given for her significant contribution to the exact sciences.
NEW IN BLOGS
If the world ended tomorrow, would we notice?
By ANTHONY AGUIRRE
In recognition of FQXi of Doomsday week, suppose the world ended tomorrow. In particular, suppose that, as discussed in Kate Becker's fun article, we live in a 'false vacuum', that can decay to a lower energy state. The decay would take the form of...
Neutrino mysteries, fuzzballs, almost quantum...
By ZEEYA MERALI
Neutrinos have been helping physicists solve some long-standing puzzles, over the past couple of months, while raising whole new ones. On the latest edition of the podcast, we chat with astrophysicist Azadeh Keivani, of Columbia University, in New...
Superhuman: Book Review and Special Podcast
By ZEEYA MERALI
In the quantum realm, the act of observing something—a photon, or an electron, say—can disturb or change its properties. In a very real, physical sense, we construct reality just by looking it.
This quantum quirk came to mind while I was...
FORUM UPDATES
Ultimate Reality
Alternative Models of Reality
By ZEEYA MERALI
If you have an unconventional, alternative model of reality, then this is the place to discuss it. (This is for contributors who have preliminary ideas and would like feedback, but do not have an academic paper or arXiv preprint and have not given a...
Technology
Manipulating the Quantum Vacuum
By ZEEYA MERALI
New research on manipulating the quantum vacuum has been published in Nature.
This work has been described by Fiona MacDonald, writing for Science Alert:
"According to quantum mechanics, a vacuum isn't empty at all. It's...
Cosmology
Time in Physics & Entropy and the Universe
By BRENDAN FOSTER
Thanks to FQXi Member and expert on the nature of time Julian Barbour for pointing out the online videos of talks of the recent Workshop on Time in Physics at the ETH Zurich.
Julian's talk on Time's Arrow and the Entropy and the Universe...
If the world ended tomorrow, would we notice?
By ANTHONY AGUIRRE
In recognition of FQXi of Doomsday week, suppose the world ended tomorrow. In particular, suppose that, as discussed in Kate Becker's fun article, we live in a 'false vacuum', that can decay to a lower energy state. The decay would take the form of...
Neutrino mysteries, fuzzballs, almost quantum...
By ZEEYA MERALI
Neutrinos have been helping physicists solve some long-standing puzzles, over the past couple of months, while raising whole new ones. On the latest edition of the podcast, we chat with astrophysicist Azadeh Keivani, of Columbia University, in New...
Superhuman: Book Review and Special Podcast
By ZEEYA MERALI
In the quantum realm, the act of observing something—a photon, or an electron, say—can disturb or change its properties. In a very real, physical sense, we construct reality just by looking it.
This quantum quirk came to mind while I was...
NEW PODCAST EPISODES
Superhuman: In this special edition, evolutionary biologist Rowan Hooper discusses his new book, which examines the extremes of mental and physical ability. He discusses encounters with some of the world's cleverest people, investigates the role of genetics in intelligence, memory, drive and focus, and describes people whose immense resilience has seen them come through terrible adversity. Hooper also describes lessons we can take from human evolution when programming AI.
High-energy neutrino traced back to a distant galaxy, with Azadeh Keivani; possible discovery of sterile neutrinos, with Richard Van de Water; black holes replaced by fuzzballs, with Samir Mathur; finding an almost-quantum theory, with Miguel Navascues; and testing free will with AI, with Avi Loeb.
Losing the Nobel Prize: In this special edition, physicist Brian Keating discusses his new book, which recounts the ill-fated BICEP2 announcement--and retraction--of the claimed discovery of primordial gravitational waves in 2014.
Featured Videos:
|
Dagomir Kaszlikowski |
|
"One Physics To Rule Them All (This Is Physics, part 1)" Marc Séguin |
|
Xiangjun Shi |
FORUM UPDATES
Ultimate Reality
Alternative Models of Reality
By ZEEYA MERALI
If you have an unconventional, alternative model of reality, then this is the place to discuss it. (This is for contributors who have preliminary ideas and would like feedback, but do not have an academic paper or arXiv preprint and have not given a...
Technology
Manipulating the Quantum Vacuum
By ZEEYA MERALI
New research on manipulating the quantum vacuum has been published in Nature.
This work has been described by Fiona MacDonald, writing for Science Alert:
"According to quantum mechanics, a vacuum isn't empty at all. It's...
Cosmology
Time in Physics & Entropy and the Universe
By BRENDAN FOSTER
Thanks to FQXi Member and expert on the nature of time Julian Barbour for pointing out the online videos of talks of the recent Workshop on Time in Physics at the ETH Zurich.
Julian's talk on Time's Arrow and the Entropy and the Universe...
NEW ARTICLES
Dissolving Quantum Paradoxes
By KATE BECKER • Aug 31, 2018
The impossibility of building a perfect clock could help explain away microscale weirdness.
Read article
Discuss this article in the FQXi Community Forum
(49 posts)
Constructing a Theory of Life
By MIRIAM FRANKEL • Jul 31, 2018
An all-encompassing framework of physics could help to explain the evolution of consciousness, intelligence, and free will.
Read article
Discuss this article in the FQXi Community Forum
(155 posts)
Usurping Quantum Theory
By COLIN STUART • Jun 28, 2018
The search is on for a fundamental framework that allows for even stranger links between particles than quantum theory—which could lead us to a theory of everything.
Read article
Discuss this article in the FQXi Community Forum
(13 posts)
Fuzzballs v Black Holes
By SOPHIE HEBDEN • May 11, 2018
A radical theory replaces the cosmic crunchers with fuzzy quantum spheres, potentially solving the black-hole information paradox and explaining away the Big Bang and the origin of time.
Read article
Discuss this article in the FQXi Community Forum
(26 posts)
Whose Physics Is It Anyway? Q&A with Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
By NICOLA JONES • Apr 20, 2018
Why physics and astronomy communities must take diversity issues seriously in order to do good science.
Read article
Discuss this article in the FQXi Community Forum
(18 posts)
Why Time Might Not Be an Illusion
By NICOLA JONES • Feb 28, 2018
Einstein’s relativity pushes physicists towards a picture of the universe as a block, in which the past, present, and future all exist on the same footing; but maybe that shift in thinking has gone too far.
Read article
Discuss this article in the FQXi Community Forum
(139 posts)
The Complexity Conundrum
By M. MITCHELL WALDROP • Dec 5, 2017
Resolving the black hole firewall paradox—by calculating what a real astronaut would compute at the black hole's edge.
Read article
Discuss this article in the FQXi Community Forum
(55 posts)
Quantum Dream Time
By KATE BECKER • Nov 8, 2017
Defining a ‘quantum clock’ and a 'quantum ruler' could help those attempting to unify physics—and solve the mystery of vanishing time.
Read article
Discuss this article in the FQXi Community Forum
(80 posts)
Our Place in the Multiverse
By SOPHIE HEBDEN • Sep 22, 2017
Calculating the odds that intelligent observers arise in parallel universes—and working out what they might see.
Read article
Discuss this article in the FQXi Community Forum
(17 posts)
Sounding the Drums to Listen for Gravity’s Effect on Quantum Phenomena
By STEVEN ASHLEY • Aug 8, 2017
A bench-top experiment could test the notion that gravity breaks delicate quantum superpositions.
Read article
Discuss this article in the FQXi Community Forum
(138 posts)
Watching the Observers
By BRENDAN FOSTER • Jun 13, 2017
Accounting for quantum fuzziness could help us measure space and time—and the cosmos—more accurately.
Read article
Discuss this article in the FQXi Community Forum
(70 posts)
Bohemian Reality: Searching for a Quantum Connection to Consciousness
By COLIN STUART • Mar 24, 2017
Is there are sweet spot where artificial intelligence systems could have the maximum amount of consciousness while retaining powerful quantum properties?
Read article
Discuss this article in the FQXi Community Forum
(31 posts)
Quantum Replicants: Should future androids dream of quantum sheep?
By JAYNE THOMPSON • Feb 24, 2017
To build the ultimate artificial mimics of real life systems, we may need to use quantum memory.
Read article
Discuss this article in the FQXi Community Forum
(24 posts)
Painting a QBist Picture of Reality
By M. MITCHELL WALDROP • Jan 22, 2017
A radical interpretation of physics makes quantum theory more personal.
Read article
Discuss this article in the FQXi Community Forum
(51 posts)
Dissolving Quantum Paradoxes
By KATE BECKER • Aug 31, 2018
The impossibility of building a perfect clock could help explain away microscale weirdness.
Read article
Discuss this article in the FQXi Community Forum
(49 posts)
Constructing a Theory of Life
By MIRIAM FRANKEL • Jul 31, 2018
An all-encompassing framework of physics could help to explain the evolution of consciousness, intelligence, and free will.
Read article
Discuss this article in the FQXi Community Forum
(155 posts)
Usurping Quantum Theory
By COLIN STUART • Jun 28, 2018
The search is on for a fundamental framework that allows for even stranger links between particles than quantum theory—which could lead us to a theory of everything.
Read article
Discuss this article in the FQXi Community Forum
(13 posts)
Fuzzballs v Black Holes
By SOPHIE HEBDEN • May 11, 2018
A radical theory replaces the cosmic crunchers with fuzzy quantum spheres, potentially solving the black-hole information paradox and explaining away the Big Bang and the origin of time.
Read article
Discuss this article in the FQXi Community Forum
(26 posts)
Whose Physics Is It Anyway? Q&A with Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
By NICOLA JONES • Apr 20, 2018
Why physics and astronomy communities must take diversity issues seriously in order to do good science.
Read article
Discuss this article in the FQXi Community Forum
(18 posts)
Why Time Might Not Be an Illusion
By NICOLA JONES • Feb 28, 2018
Einstein’s relativity pushes physicists towards a picture of the universe as a block, in which the past, present, and future all exist on the same footing; but maybe that shift in thinking has gone too far.
Read article
Discuss this article in the FQXi Community Forum
(139 posts)
The Complexity Conundrum
By M. MITCHELL WALDROP • Dec 5, 2017
Resolving the black hole firewall paradox—by calculating what a real astronaut would compute at the black hole's edge.
Read article
Discuss this article in the FQXi Community Forum
(55 posts)
Quantum Dream Time
By KATE BECKER • Nov 8, 2017
Defining a ‘quantum clock’ and a 'quantum ruler' could help those attempting to unify physics—and solve the mystery of vanishing time.
Read article
Discuss this article in the FQXi Community Forum
(80 posts)
Our Place in the Multiverse
By SOPHIE HEBDEN • Sep 22, 2017
Calculating the odds that intelligent observers arise in parallel universes—and working out what they might see.
Read article
Discuss this article in the FQXi Community Forum
(17 posts)
Sounding the Drums to Listen for Gravity’s Effect on Quantum Phenomena
By STEVEN ASHLEY • Aug 8, 2017
A bench-top experiment could test the notion that gravity breaks delicate quantum superpositions.
Read article
Discuss this article in the FQXi Community Forum
(138 posts)
Watching the Observers
By BRENDAN FOSTER • Jun 13, 2017
Accounting for quantum fuzziness could help us measure space and time—and the cosmos—more accurately.
Read article
Discuss this article in the FQXi Community Forum
(70 posts)
Bohemian Reality: Searching for a Quantum Connection to Consciousness
By COLIN STUART • Mar 24, 2017
Is there are sweet spot where artificial intelligence systems could have the maximum amount of consciousness while retaining powerful quantum properties?
Read article
Discuss this article in the FQXi Community Forum
(31 posts)
Quantum Replicants: Should future androids dream of quantum sheep?
By JAYNE THOMPSON • Feb 24, 2017
To build the ultimate artificial mimics of real life systems, we may need to use quantum memory.
Read article
Discuss this article in the FQXi Community Forum
(24 posts)
Painting a QBist Picture of Reality
By M. MITCHELL WALDROP • Jan 22, 2017
A radical interpretation of physics makes quantum theory more personal.
Read article
Discuss this article in the FQXi Community Forum
(51 posts)