Dissertation

At long last! I present the last 3 months of my life to you for your general perusement and abusement; I know many of you are quantum mechanical experts but please, hold back with the comments, as it's finished and will be posted first thing in the morning :smile: Enjoy!

http://www.snarkpit.com/pits/leperous/dissertation.pdf

Ouch, I have a headache now. I seriously couldn't get to the seconed
page, but from the looks of it, you know your stuff. Nice job sir Lep.

nice work so far from what i can tell, oh epidermaly impoverished one......given that its not an easy read, ill congratulate you at this point on the simple principle of completing it, and ill get back to you after ive given it the read im sure it deserves....

:wink: gj mate .....feels good when its done dunnit??... :heee:

Doc B.... :dodgy:

Looks fun, but fortunately I never have to think about QM anymore.

That seems too short for a full thesis, so I assume it's for your
conversion to a PhD programme, or whatever they call it at Oxford
(DPhil?) Or perhaps it's for a MPhil by research?

Congrats, anyway.

::eyes bleed::

skimmed through it - i like the obligatory pseudo-humble comment at the end. =P

Nice work, Lep.

Looks to me that initially you're referring to something similar to Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, in that the mere observation of an object will alter its state (i.e. a photon's interaction with an electron). And the discussion about a cat, whether dead or alive, seems more philosophical than a discourse in physics (not a bad thing).

Then you got to the heavy-duty math equations. Being a life-science major in college, math was never my strong suite. So I was pretty much completely lost after you dove into the calculations. I can't say much there.

It's definitely interesting, the way you presented your ideas. However, your audience is going to be people who are already extremely familiar with quantum physics, correct? So is it really necessary to make references to historical background of discoveries and landmark experiments? I don't know. I've never written a dissertation before, but I'm just curious.

Theres quite a few typos! You should fix 'em before you hand it in!

ONLY JOKING!

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting Myrk-</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>Theres quite a few typos! You should fix 'em before you hand it in!

ONLY JOKING!

</DIV></DIV>
Look who's talking.

Cool. I haven't gone that high up in the Physics end, but I'm familiar with some of the ideas.

[random comment]
Mmm, TeX :smile:

Glad I don't have to write anything like this until I go for a masters.

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting Myrk-</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>Theres quite a few typos! You should fix 'em before you hand it in!

ONLY JOKING!

</DIV></DIV>

Agreed. I haven't had time for more than the first ten pages yet, but there are a few problems I spotted. Mostly places where you left out a "the" or some such article. Also, as a picky chemist, I'd suggest you substitute the word "particle" for "molecule" in the following sentence:

"...an object made of some very large number of molecules is very unlikely to be seen in a such superposition..."

While this is technically a true statement, I find it misleading because it implies that you are likely to see a superposition in the case of a single molecule, which is not true. Again, this is being very picky, and the math and physics folks probably won't give a damn. However, if a chemistry Prof. takes a look at that, you are going to seem ignorant. It practically jumped off the page at me.
Also, there is a good example of one of your typos in that sentence. Didn't you mean "in such a"?

Now, since ξ0 is a function of t only, by (145) the ξj are only to first order

in xj :

ξ0 = e(t),

2ξ1 = xe(t) + ?X (t, y, z),

2ξ2 = ye(t) + ? Y (t, x, z),

2ξ3 = ze(t) + ? Z(t, x, y),

AARRRGH! My suggestion is to add bookmark links to the table of contents. Even
if you end up printing it out, they would be nice for any online
versions. :smile:

Looks like a good read, I'm in engineering tho so I wont be going this deep into physics (well, maybe, who knows). Seems like the more maths/physics you do, the more of the greek alphabet you need to know.

Hah, thanks TB. This is my 4th year dissertation, so no it's not a full thesis, it's only a couple of months of work. Glad the rest of you like it :smile:

In a nutshell, this is about (objective) gravitationally induced wavefunction collapse! If you know what Schrodinger's cat it, the idea here is that because the cat is quite large, it has a lot of mass and gravity, and so it will collapse to either dead/alive on its own very quickly even while it's still in the box. This process might even explain how consciousness works, via these things called 'microtubules' in the brain. The equations I study are meant to help you choose what the 'basic' states (the deads/alives) are.

And yes the people reading it will be experts in what I'm writing about, and will know the background; but much of this background has not been taught in my course and this has to be "self-contained," so I figure that mentioning these things are a good idea.

displaying knowledge of a topic yet untaught is a good thing, tis "going out on a limb" per say. but always keep in mind that you must not go out so far as to give the impression of cocky and/or overconfidence. IE, people understand that gasoline makes an engine run, but no one cares that the carbon originated in the theoretical "big bang" 4.6 billions years ago.

I have never learned crap of this magnitude, but the topic is unimportant. what is important is to be positive about what you do know, and give the impression that there is no limit to what you would be willing to know next.

people love self confidence, people abhor self centeredness. the problem is, one can resemble the other.

you prolly won't need it but, good luck with this.

/me stops babbling now.

You mean you, as the driver of the buses or just a regular joe, doesn't care about where the carbon came from. I, as a wannabe-physicist, do care, though for anyone to call it "crap" is a pretty stupid attitude (though I don't care if other people don't care about it!). You wouldn't have a computer to type on right now if it wasn't for research in quantum mechanics, and, as I said in the other post, I'm sure cavemen didn't understand the full implications of fire when it was first used.

Maths nor science have never been my strong points, so I don't think
I'll be able to read it without self destructing. I know what your
thinking, without that knowledge I'll never be able to enter Star Fleet
Academy and serve aboard the Enterprise, but I've learnt to live with
that heart breaking decision.

Congrats Lep, I have major respect for anyone who even attempts
something like this, but since you've pulled it off you get extra kudos
in my book. Like the pdf by the way, really nicely put together, very
professional looking. Thats one area I can comment in and actually know what I'm talking about :smile: .

I'm sure cavemen didn't understand the full implications of fire when it was first used.

But ultimately, the thirst for knowledge is what distinguishes us from primitive beasts. So I applaud anyone who strives to gain more understanding (including the Grand Unifying Theory).

I am actually going to read this. GJ

I will read it by the weekend, I'm doing physics at A-Level at the
moment but I've read quite alot of university stuff and managed to just
about hang on in there, hopefully I can here too. Good job for being
able to finish such a task as this Lep, hope you get the recognition
you deserve, and are looking for.

I am actually going to read this. GJ

Ditto. I'm also having a bit of a problem with the equations, but the general idea really intrigues me. I really enjoy the infusion of philosophy in some of your arguments/presentations of ideas. Makes for a really interesting read.

Hope it goes well for you!

Oh, and random observation, are you really candidate number XXXXX, or is that just for anonymity?

it still baffles me how something as abstract as whatever wavefunction collapse is, is best analogized with dead/alive cats in boxes.

it's strange enough to think that people will argue that a tree falling in the forest doesn't make any sound if no-one is there to here it, but some of this quantum mechanics stuff looks like it's saying that if no-one was there, then the tree hasn't even fallen yet, if it was ever there at all.

my frontal lobes starting to implode at the equations, so i didn't read it all. whether to say god job or that sucked is beyond me, buy good luck with whatever it's for.

I'm doing Physics B right now, don't know if that's the correct name of the corresponding course in the UK/USA though. That is one impressive piece of work you've got there Lep. Wonder if I'll ever come close to studying such advanced physics. Must be wonderful to have it done though. Perhaps I'll read it through. I can't understand most of it, but still interesting.

Good luck! :smile:

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting fishy</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>It's strange enough to think that people will argue that a tree falling in the forest doesn't make any sound if no-one is there to here it, but some of this quantum mechanics stuff looks like it's saying that if no-one was there, then the tree hasn't even fallen yet, if it was ever there at all. </DIV></DIV>

In a way, yes :smile: Though in real life the system would probably be too complex to actually behave like that (just read the other day that people now believe there's a computational limit to the Universe- it can only calculate so much, like an ?ber-fast PC- so such complicated systems just collapse, like a real life BSOD). The original point in the cat-in-a-box was to show that wavefunction collapse had problems when it came to macroscopic objects.

Agent Smith, are you a PDFing man? The whole Latex experience wasn't amazingly fun to be honest, there must be an easier way... People tell me eMacs, but it's a horrible Lunix program :redface:
If anyone else here had been doing a project or similar recently, post it up- it'd be good to get some more philosophy going here!

At the moment I usually assemble pages in Illustrator then import them
into Acrobat at uni, as I don't have the software to do it myself. I
mainly use it during my studies for digital reports, briefs and the
like. From a design sense I really like how some official documents are
laid out, and yours is one of them. Don't know why exactly, probably
the precision and balance in the layout, but either way I like it :smile: .

I was actually considering getting a copy of Latex for PDFing, but if
you wouldn't recommend it I might stick to my current method for now.

computational limit to the Universe...

Hmm, so it's like a huge map that exceeds the limitation of the rendering engine? Perhaps one too many prop_physics would "crash" the universe, and then we'll have to wait for it to re-compile?

I hope whoever is mapping our world is listening, because I don't think I'll like it very much when my world crashes or gets a leak.

Which version are we living in anyway? Has there been six versions before us already, like in "The Matrix"?

If you have a recent version of adobe acrobat, a pdf recorder is placed as a printer. Just choose the adobe thingy for a printer, and it'll 'print' the pdf somewhere on your drive.

and BTW, the caveman could light a fire long before he knew it was a chemical reaction. it was only when we learned this, that we developed an efficient way of extinguishing it. right now, quanto's physics are like the fire; events occur on this level.. but we dont know much reason why - YET. This isn't CRAP, this is the future of man's control over space and time.

lep said:
If anyone else here had been doing a project or similar recently, post it up- it'd be good to get some more philosophy going here!

I did a small power point on shrodinger a few monthes back. It focuses mainly on his wave theory, and electron orbitals.

http://www.ding.davecruz.info/UPBCAtmMKe2.ppt

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting Leperous</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>
If anyone else here had been doing a project or similar recently, post it up- it'd be good to get some more philosophy going here!

</DIV></DIV>

I don't think anyone wants to see my thesis/dissertation. I discuss tunneling pretty throughly, but that hasn't got any grand philosophical implications that I am aware of. It does have some pretty pictures though!

I still haven't completed it yet, but I do have one more picky comment: Watch your contractions. In my opinion they have no place in a scientific paper and you have used them fairly liberally.
Overall I am very impressed. I think you have managed to strike the right balance between explanation and assumption of knowledge. Most of it is well within my grasp, but there are significant pieces that go beyond (e.g references to theorems and formulas I know nothing about). This is perfect since I am presumably a bit outside your target audience.

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting Leperous</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>You mean you, as the driver of the buses or just a regular joe, doesn't care about where the carbon came from. I, as a wannabe-physicist, do care, though for anyone to call it "crap" is a pretty stupid attitude (though I don't care if other people don't care about it!). </DIV></DIV>

you are not insinuating that since i currently deliver busses that somehow that brings my knowledge base down, are you? I admit, i gave a poor example, but it was still just an example, no one wants to read an article mired in clutter was my point.

you are letting our disagreement in other locations of this site influence your words elsewhere, and in effect creating an environment of hate.
do not insult my intelligence again, just because my paths in life do not parallel yours.

GROUP HUG!!

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting Bewbies</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>GROUP HUG!!



</DIV></DIV>

No, i will not be told that i am somehow substandard in my knowledge, because i currently drive for a living. In fact, I will not be told period, no matter what my job is.

I would be willing to bet that I alone have some bit of knowledge that no one else here has. that alone doesn't make me smarter than anyone because of that.
certain lines can never be crossed, and blaming a person for their occupation and using it as a weapon to win a point of "intelligence" is wrong.

blaming a person for their occupation and using it as a weapon to win a point

Yeah, I agree that was a low-blow. But I think you also touched a nerve for Lep when you called his labor of love "inconsequential". Remember, this is what he has been working on for a long time, and this dissertation means a lot to him.

You can't blame the guy for feeling offended and upset. In effect, you just called his line of work meaningless. So he understandably threw a counter attack at your occupation.

Personally, I believe no career is "above" the rest. And the only low careers are criminal ones. That's why I can never understand why most doctors believe they need special treatments for everything. They expect nurses to give up their seats in the hospital when the doctor walks in. I think that's just ridiculous. In fact, I don't think I can ever do what nurses do on a daily basis. I have great respects for all lines of work.

I think Orph and Lep both are reading too much into each others' comments.

take out the piss-poor example i gave and re-read the damned post. i was giving one of my rare compliments, it just came out bassackwards because i mixed the points up to much.

my point was exactly this, people love it when you display an unquenchable thirst for learning, but hate to sift through an article mired in clutter. it was not an insult, and unless i missed something (which is entirely possible) i never used the word "inconsequential"..

crap on the other hand, i did use, and it was not meant in the excremental sense, but more in the line of "its just to complex for my small mind to grasp" type of crap.

just how many times do i have to display my talent for miscommunication before you "supposed" smart people realize that its me, so accept it as "NOT INSULTING" first.. stop retaliating. :rolleyes:

From the original post: [quote] but the topic is unimportant... [/quote]

The last time I checked, "unimportant" is pretty much synonymous with "inconsequential".

you know, i have that gift of quoting a specific piece of a sentence and taking it out of context too, but i don't do it anymore cause??? it leads to this place we are right now.. "MISUNDERSTANDING LAND" :rolleyes:

now re-read it, with your current understanding of my words..

but more in the line of "its just to complex for my small mind to grasp" type of crap.

and [quote] but the topic is unimportant... [/quote] it means, that no matter what we are currently talking about, be it fish recipes, or dark matter, what is important is [quote]you display an unquenchable thirst for learning,[/quote]

sometimes i wonder, why do people always assume worse, and work their way up from there? i am sometimes guilty of this in real life, because sometimes you do not have the luxury or reading text several times to grasp its content. but in here you do have that option.. my words, although poorly co-joined, still have more than one possible meaning. but almost without exception people are applying their own dark thoughts to my words and coming up with something sinister.

just one i would love to see my words and say "wow, that was nice" especially when after a dozen or so posts back and forth thats where we eventually end up :/

Orph, I am sure you have no ill-intent for Lep's work and your comment. But put yourself in Lep's shoes for a second. When he read "the topic is unimportant", he no longer has the benefit of reading through the rest of the text with total calmness. By the time he read those words, his emotion is revved up, and he has already started thinking bad thoughts about the person who has made the comment.

My experience is that, especially with these forum postings, you have to make the positive statements first. Because after the reader has come across the negative ones (or ones that can be potentially interpreted as being negative), the rest of the explanation goes out the door. We don't have the benefit of body language or tone of voice here.

People get misconstrued all the time, even in real life. That's why it's so important to compose our thoughts carefully before posting. Because once the words are out there, it's hard to retract and explain what you really meant to say.

well, lep and i are on the top of each others s**t lists right now, so anything we say is subject to any conclusions.

secondly, i think and type in what seems two different ways. i re-read my posts at least 3 times before i hit submit, and even do a spell check (which is ineffective since it even thinks google is spelled incorrectly)

anyways, i refuse to apologize for my bad grammar, or my bad syntax. i refuse to even acknowledge a wrong when its unintentional. i do however acknowledge that these thing happen, and am striving to not do them as frequently.

i read that sentence multiple times, and went back a last time just because you insist its the focal point and.. i still fail to read it as you do. maybe its how i structure my sentences. perhaps its because i drive busses. whatever the reasons, it was unintentional. it by no means deserved a retaliation that had only one definition. perhaps i made a mistake, there is no doubt about my job in that comment.

anyways, i think this has gone on long enough.. my views of childish behavior, has never been shared by the masses around here. yet, i endure.

i have time on my side. if no one ever begins to believe in my insights, one thing is a certainty. a similar experience will arrive someday, and my words will come out of each one of your mouths. the only difference, you won't see them and i will.

things come full circle eventually. its unavoidable. one or all of you will eventually sound just.... like....i ....do :smile:

There's some interesting psychoanalysing going on here, but unfortunately I didn't mean that comment to have anything to do with Orph's "intelligence level" at all- that's why I added the "average Joe" comment!- since I realise not many people know or care about the same things. For all I know you're a general knowledge guru who wins all your local bar quizzes! I was just peeved at the disdain towards the topic :razz:

Aaaanyways rs6 nice sound effects in there :razz:

Lep, if you only knew how envious and proud i am of you guys you wouldn't always see such horror's in my text.

I even brag about some of you here.

sighs

i hate being the oldest, and it seems the least school educated around here sometimes.

me goes back to gardening.. at least buss drivers can till. :

It seems that i am in the same boat with orph. I say stuff and it gets taken the COMpLETE wrong way. I think it's just one of the drawbacks of text-based communication. there're no REAL expressions and nuances. there's not any "tone of voice." This is why so many ppl think i am an arsehole on IRC. lol.

Anyway, The whole point of this post was to say that even though I did not understand a lot of what was mentioned i STILL liked the inconsequential essay, and to tell orph that "anyways" is not a word no matter HOW many times they've said it on TV. It's "anyway..." sans 's'. how did your spell check not catch that?

quite possibly orph will think i am being an arsehole even if i am not, It was just a freindly correction and not anything personal TBH.

I am heartened to see what people are communicating again, and that people still give each others the benefit of the doubt when it comes to reconciliation.

Perhaps it's because I am an optimist (yet a cynical one), but I believe people are good by default. There are occasional bad apples among us, but by far the vast majority of us are kind and generous.

We don't always act as intelligently as we actually are sometimes, but this very flaw makes the world more interesting.

By the way, those smilies above don't really make me think of a group hug. They look like an orgy to me. I just have to say it, as I've been suppressing the thought all morning.

I'll talk to some of my psychologist <STRIKE>website overlords</STRIKE> friends and see what they say about a new, happier smiley set :wink:

a geezer called Orph made a post

'bout the labour of love of our host

it caused quite a row

but it's all over now

'cause Nickel brought mallows to toast

but it's all over now

what about "but it all ended with a bow" instead?

young satchmo, a Doc, from L.A.

he came to the snarkpit to play

he didn't bring nurses

i heard a few curses

but still, he was welcome to stay

:smile:

Damn fishy your on a ball. Do me now.

<DIV class=quote>
<DIV class=quotetitle>? quoting Spartan 34</DIV>
<DIV class=quotetext>Damn fishy your on a ball. Do me now. </DIV></DIV>

:eek: :eek: :eek:

Need i point out exactly how this reads? here we just finished discussing, text shortfalls.

there was a young man named spartan

who dressed in a bright pink tartan

to go to the fair

but he never reached there

he was thrown off the bus after fartin'