Entropy, 2012

After more than a century since its birth, Quantum Theory still eludes our understanding.

Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 2010

Quantum theory is the most successful physical theory. About one third of the gross national product in the developed countries results from its applications. But very often quantum theory is still declared as "crazy" or "not understandable". However, quantum theory has a clear mathematical structure that expresses well-known experiences from every day life: A whole is often more than the

This part is designed to give you an introduction to the ways of quantum physics. You see the issues that gave rise to quantum physics and the kinds of solutions it provides. I also introduce you to the kind of math that quantum physics requires, including the notion of state vectors. According to classical physics, particles are particles and waves are waves, and never the twain shall mix. That is, particles have an energy E and a momentum vector p, and that's the end of it. And waves, such as light waves, have an amplitude A and a wave vector k (where the magnitude of k = , where λ is the wavelength) that points in the direction the wave is traveling. And that's the end of that, too, according to classical physics. But the reality is different — particles turn out to exhibit wave-like properties, and waves exhibit particle-like properties as well. The idea that waves (like light) can act as particles (like electrons) and vice versa was the major revelation that ushered in quantum physics as such an important part of the world of physics. We take a look at the challenges facing classical physics around the turn of the 20th century — and how quantum physics gradually came to the rescue. Up to that point, the classical way of looking at physics was thought to explain just about everything. But as those pesky experimental physicists have a way of doing, they came up with a bunch of experiments that the theoretical physicists couldn't explain. That made the theoretical physicists mad, and they got on the job. The problem here was the microscopic world — the world that's too tiny to see. On the larger scale, classical physics could still explain most of what was going on — but when it came to effects that depended on the micro-world, classical physics began to break down. Taking a look at how classical physics collapsed gives you an introduction to quantum physics that shows why people needed it. Being Discrete: The Trouble with Black-Body Radiation

Revista Brasileira de Ensino de Física, 2016

Can you pick a complex subject in quantum mechanics and discuss it with a minimum number of equations, in a simplified form that the general scientific public could understand? This was a question presented to graduate students of the one-year Quantum Mechanics course based on the text book Modern Quantum Mechanics by J. J. Sakurai and Jim Napolitano, at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil. The first seven authors of this paper are graduate students (alphabetical order) that accepted to try it. The chosen subject was “delocalized quantum states”, and it will be discussed using colloquial terms like quantum ghosts, spooky action, splitting beings and invisibility cloak.

The textbooks that I have consulted most frequently while developing course material are: The Principles of Quantum Mechanics. P.A.M. Dirac, 4th Edition (revised) (Oxford University Press, Oxford UK, 1958).

QUANTUM MECHANICS, A Non-Technical Review, 2021

SBN: 978-981-14-9875-6 (e-book) “QM turns out to be a breathtaking story of our breakthrough into an unbelievable future. Not science fiction, but what our world is likely to be in 50 years, if they get the Quantum Computer going.”(From “About This Book”) FIRST QUANTUM REVOLUTION – the primary discoveries, enabling the Information Age SECOND QUANTUM REVOLUTION –gestating the Quantum Computer’s computational core (up to the present) THIRD QUANTUM GENERATION – roadmaps and breakthroughs to the hybrid and intermediate generations of Quantum Computers (by 2040), and FOURTH QUANTUM GENERATION – When the Quantum Computers and their associated inventions run the place, map the stars and take us beyond Absolute Zero. (beyond 2070). Publication history: Review cut-off 31 Oct 2020, Finalised and Restricted release on 1 Apr 2021, and e-Published at https://geraldpillay.wordpress.com on 19 Nov 2021.

Physics Education, 2000

The introduction of quantum mechanics elements (QM from now on) in secondary school is foreseen in all European schools and most recent textbooks. The role that QM plays as a reference theory for the microscopic description of reality is generally recognised [1-2], but there is still not a similar sharing of the disciplinary approach to adopt, also because of divergences on the interpretative level [3-5]. The objective of researchers is to determine the strategies able to allow the students to deal with the theoretic foundations, even if in limited contexts, using the methodological instruments that characterise it and that can therefore represent a cultural contribution to the formation of citizens, not only of those who intend to carry on their studies in physics. The challenge is to build competences on fundamental disciplinary knots, such as the superposition principle, but also on other aspects which are still problematic from the interpretative point of view, such as the conflictual relation between the classic macro-world and the quantum micro-world [1] or the role of formalism in attributing a meaning to entities in QM [6-7]. An idea of the radical change in the interpretative point of view has to be given to the students in rigorous terms by using the characteristics of the theory itself. In simple phenomenological contexts, like the one of optical physics, it is possible to deal with the most important elements of a didactic proposal: the deep revision that concepts such as the state and property of a system, and even more the attribution of a property, must undergo; the characterisation of the quantum state concept; the superposition principle; the concept of incompatible observables [8-15]. Centred on previous conceptual aspects, we developed, in the past ten years, a didactic proposal for the introduction of quantum mechanics in secondary school [16], within research projects carried out in collaboration with other Italian universities or locally (2-4). Its aim is the formation of theoretic thought, the building of the meaning of physical entities and the introduction of elements of formalisation, with the Dirac vectorial approach [17-18], which are easily generalised starting from simple bi-dimensional cases [19]. Materials for teacher formationwhich are available on the web-have also been planned, and experimentations of the proposal have been carried out in pilot classes [20-21]. Work strategies have been set up in order to connect the quantitative analysis of the macroscopic phenomenology under study (polarisation), with the one proposed in ideal situations through the use of informatics' tools [22] and didactic materials that illustrate the didactic proposal and offer resources for class experimentation have been set up (www.fisica.uniud.it/URDF/) [23-24] (2). The cross-experimentation of especially planned Formation Modules for Teachers, carried out in 2001 and 2002, has allowed to achieve various class experimentations and apprenticeship Summary-Within some research projects a proposal for the teaching of quantum mechanics in secondary school has been carried out, and some didactic material has been prepared in order to illustrate it, offering resources for its class experimentation (www.fisica.uniud.it/URDF/). In order to study in depth the critical points, which cause learning difficulties for the students in this field, a pilot activity was carried out for a restricted group of students with which the crucial points were discussed. Some interesting elements emerged, such as for example the fact that the major problems in understanding the concept of quantum state are linked to the meaning of incompatible observables.

Pattern Recognition, 2020

Статья посвящена исповедальности как первичной форме автобиографизма. Автор связывает опыты самоосмысления древнерусского человека с таинством покаяния, укоренившимся на Руси вместе с христианизацией. Попытки самоопределения личности рассмотрены на материале трех текстов «Духовной грамоты и исповеди» игумена Иосифо-Волоколамского монастыря Евфимия Туркова, «Повести о житии Мартирия Зеленецкого», «Жития протопопа Аввакума». Как показывает исследование, исповедь почти всегда обусловлена не только потребностью или необходимостью покаяния перед Богом, но и попытками осмысления собственной жизни, создания «истории своей субъективности», куда входят различные формы «исповедания себя». Исповедальность русских авторов включает попытки рефлексии, элементы самоанализа и автобиографизма, молитвенность, назидание, проповедь религиозной нравственности и проч. Через приобщение к христианству человеку Древней Руси стала приоткрываться тайна собственной личности.

In discussions about disability and criminal justice, it is inevitable that the question arises of disability-based forms of control and incarceration outside the criminal justice system. Involuntary psychiatric interventions Involuntary commitment to psychiatric facilities can take place as civil commitment or as a medicalized imprisonment in relation to criminal proceedings. Involuntary administration of psychotropic drugs, electroshock or other measures is performed in these facilities with the aim of altering the person's mind, emotions, and behavior. Such alteration is viewed by psychiatry as treatment for conditions it describes as 'mental illness'. Involuntary 'treatment' also takes place in the criminal justice system itself, and is increasingly performed outside institutions through court-ordered compulsory treatment in the community. Involuntary commitment and involuntary 'treatment' regimes are authorized in most countries of the world by legislation, usually in the form of a Mental Health Act. With or without these legislative regimes, coercion is common in psychiatric settings and other institutions even beyond formal involuntary measures.