Electrons typically travel at high speeds, zipping through matter unbound. In the 1930s, physicist Eugene Wigner predicted that electrons could be coaxed into stillness at low densities and cold temperatures, forming an electron ice that would later be called the Wigner crystal.
New observations of microscopic vortices confirm the existence of a paradoxical phase of matter that may also arise inside neutron stars.
A black hole formula worked out in the 1970s remains the most concrete clue physicists have about the threads of the space-time fabric.
In a study published in Physical Review Letters, researchers at the Center for Computational Quantum Physics (CCQ) at the Flatiron Institute have revealed that the quantum problem they solved, which involved a specific two-dimensional quantum system of flipping magnets, exhibits a behavior known as confinement. This problem explains why they defeated the quantum computer in its own game. Only one-dimensional systems had previously exhibited this behavior in quantum condensed matter physics.
The researchers revealed earlier this year that they had completely surpassed a quantum computer at a task that some believed could only be completed by quantum computers by using a classical computer and complex mathematical models.
According to lead author Joseph Tindall, a research fellow at the CCQ, this surprising discovery is giving researchers a framework for evaluating novel quantum simulations and aiding in their understanding of the boundary between quantum and classical computers’ capabilities.
There’s just one catch: every atom in your body would be fully disassembled to the quantum level, effectively leaving your original body totally destroyed.
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden and at the University of Magdeburg in Germany have developed a novel type of nanomechanical resonator that combines two important features: high mechanical quality and piezoelectricity. This development could open doors to new possibilities in quantum sensing technologies.
Dell Technologies expands its computing (HPC) portfolio, offering powerful solutions to help organizations quickly innovate with confidence.
With a range of new offers, Dell delivers technologies and services to help power demanding applications while making HPC capabilities more accessible to businesses.
Dell PowerEdge servers champion advanced modeling and datasets.
Researchers at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s largest particle accelerator, have recently made a groundbreaking advancement in exploring the laws of nature. They have observed the phenomenon of quantum entanglement between top quarks, the heaviest elementary particles, at unprecedented energy levels. This breakthrough paves the way for new possibilities in particle physics and could unveil new aspects of the fundamental forces that govern the universe.
Quantum Entanglement: A Counterintuitive Phenomenon
Quantum entanglement is one of the most enigmatic phenomena in quantum mechanics. It occurs when two or more particles become interconnected in such a way that the state of one particle instantly influences another, regardless of the distance separating them. This defies our everyday intuition and challenges some classical physics concepts, like causality.
On this episode, neuroscientist and author Robert Sapolsky joins Nate to discuss the structure of the human brain and its implication on behavior and our ability to change. Dr. Sapolsky also unpacks how the innate quality of a biological organism shaped by evolution and the surrounding environment — meaning all animals, including humans — leads him to believe that there is no such thing as free will, at least how we think about it today. How do our past and present hormone levels, hunger, stress, and more affect the way we make decisions? What implications does this have in a future headed towards lower energy and resource availability? How can our species manage the mismatch of our evolutionary biology with our modern day challenges — and navigate through a ‘determined’ future?
About Robert Sapolsky:
Robert Sapolsky is professor of biology and neurology at Stanford University and a research associate with the Institute of Primate Research at the National Museum of Kenya. Over the past thirty years, he has divided his time between the lab, where he studies how stress hormones can damage the brain, and in East Africa, where he studies the impact of chronic stress on the health of baboons. Sapolsky is author of several books, including Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers, A Primate’s Memoir, Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst, and his newest book coming out in October, Determined: Life Without Free Will. He lives with his family in San Francisco.
For Show Notes and More visit: https://www.thegreatsimplification.co…
00:00 — Episode highlight.
00:15 — Guest introduction.
03:10 — When did Robert know he wanted to study animal behavior?
04:40 — When was his last research trip?
05:46 — Challenges that come from differences from modern and ancestral environments.
07:20 — Physiology and our emotions.
09:37 — Divide in evolutionary beliefs.
12:13 — Behavioral science and religion.
14:40 — Past students’ impacted by Robert.
16:48 — Testosterone.
21:07 — Dopamine.
29:02 — Oxytocin.
32:19 — Hormones affecting social behavior.
38:21 — Changing the environmental stimuli of pregnant people to positively impact fetus’ development.
41:55 — Free will.
57:24 — Science of attractiveness.
58:55 — Do people have free will?
1:13:12 — Emergence.
1:18:17 — Quantum and indeterminacy.
1:19:18 — Complexity of free will.
1:23:46 — Difference between free will and agency.
1:26:43 — How to use Robert’s work to change policies around the world in a positive way.
1:29:15 — What’s the difference between a deterministic world and a fatalistic one?
1:34:39 — Robert’s thoughts on his newest book, Determined: Life Without Free Will.
1:40:48 — Key components in a new systems society understanding this science.
1:45:30 — What should listeners take away from this podcast?
1:47:32 — Robert’s recommendations for the polycrisis.
1:52:20 — What Robert cares most about in the world.
1:53:00 — Robert’s magic wand.
1:54:36 — Future topics of conversations.
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