Some of the imponderables associated with the Copenhagen
interpretation of quantum mechanics have parallel
explanations in terms of nonlinear dynamics and chaos. They
include quantization itself, spontaneous breaking of
symmetry, the exponential decay law, and interpretations of
Bell's inequality. These lead one to infer the possibility
of nonlinear, chaotic underpinnings for quantum mechanics.
There have been previous nonlinear interpretations and
extensions to quantum mechanics, and, of course, quantum
chaos, but in general these have applied the nonlinearities
to preexisting quantum mechanics and have not examined the
possibilities of nonlinearities underlying quantum mechanics
itself. This will be examined in terms of quantum mechanics
being essentially relativistic in nature, and it will be
shown than such an interpretation allows both Einstein and
Bohr to be simultaneously correct! Nonlinearities
fundamental to quantum mechanics also have implications for
the superposition principle and hence for quantum
information theory and quantum computing.
[A4.002] Theory of Auditory Thresholds in Primates
Michael J. Harrison (Michigan State University)
The influence of thermal pressure fluctuations at the
tympanic membrane has previously been investigated as a
possible determinant of the threshold of hearing in humans.
More recent work has focussed more precisely on the relation
between statistical mechanics and sensory signal processing
by biological means in creatures' brains. Clinical data on
hearing thresholds in humans and other primates as a
function of frequency has long been available. I have
derived an expression for hearing thresholds in primates by
first calculating the frequency dependence of thermal
pressure fluctuations at eardrums from damped normal modes
that are thermally excited in model ear canals of given
simple geometry. Most of the features of the clinical data
may be attributed to the frequency dependence of the ratio
of thermal noise pressure arising from frequencies outside
to that arising from within a masking bandwidth that
coherent signals must dominate in order to be sensed.
Normalization of the theoretical threshold sound field
pressure to clinical data at a single frequency leads to
representation of the clinical data over the complete
auditory spectrum.
[A4.003] The quantum/classical interface: spin and qubits
William E. Baylis, Crystal Johnson (Department of Physics, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada)
Classical relativistic physics in Clifford algebra has a
spinorial formulation that is closely related to standard
quantum formalism. The algebraic use of spinors and
projectors, together with the bilinear relations of spinors
to observed currents, gives quantum-mechanical form to many
classical results, and the clear geometric content of the
algebra makes it an illuminating probe of the
quantum/classical interface. The paravector representation
of spacetime in algebra of physical space is used in
particular to provide insight into spin-1/2 systems and
their measurement. Such systems are of particular interest
because they represent the qubits of quantum computing.
[A4.004] Core-mantle Mill Theory
Yikun Zhang (Freelance)
Based on radiation mechanics, the history of Earth can be
perfectly interpreted by core-mantle mill theory. The theory
confesses the inner core as a ferromagnet. The
ferromagnetism of inner core is supported by observed
anisotropic property of inner core in transmitting seismic
waves. Rotation of Earth originates from the magnetic
interaction between Earth and Jovian planets. Since the
torque caused by the magnetic interaction between Earth and
Jovian planets only acts on the iron core of Earth, the core
behaves as a rotating engine, tending to change both the
rate and axis of Earth's rotation, while the mantle is the
resistant to any change of rotation. The interplay between
the two leads to the formations of fluid outer core, basalt
magmas, oceanic crust, and the differential rotation between
the inner core and mantle. Rock materials at the core-mantle
boundary are ground into basalt magma due to the
differential rotation between the inner core and mantle.
Mid-ocean ridge systems are interpreted as the huge dike
systems rooted in some principal magma chambers in the
core-mantle boundary layer. The anisotropy of background
radiation in the polar directions determines the patterns of
mid-ocean ridge systems on the Earth's surface and the
global tectonic movement of the Earth's crust. The theory
also explains the causes of geomagnetic reversals, mass
extinctions and global climate changes. The history of Earth
is featured by three stages: without oceanic crust (before
2.7Ga), forming oceanic crust (2.7-2.25Ga) and gowth of
continents (after 2.25Ga).
[A4.005] A Numerical Study of the Entropy Density Function
William Newby, Adam Lark, John Spencer, Haowen Xi (Bowling Green State University), BG Universal Research Group Team
Entropy plays a very important role in statistical physics and communication theory. There are many degenerate states Pi that correspond to the same value of entropy S. Where:
S = Sum(i=1,N) Pi ln (Pi) We will present a numerical study
of the entropy density function for N=2,3,4,5. We have
constructed a custom piece of software to calculate the
different values and locate possible patterns and groupings.
[A4.006] Studying the Sagnac Effect with Ping
Chris Clymer, Michael Crescimanno (Youngstown State University)
This is experiment is an extension of the earlier
experiments done by Dr. Crescimano along with Joel Lepak
where the speed of light was measured using conventional
computer networks and the common utility, "ping." In this
experiment we will be using a modified version of ping to
send packets between 3 geographically distant locations
across the upper Atlantic. We will be measuring the time it
takes for the travel each leg of this journey, and use this
to find the length of each cable the packets travel across
the Atlantic. Using this information we should be able to
calculate the Sagnac Effect.
[A4.007] May the force be with you: student explanations of forces on charges in magnetic fields
Gordon Aubrecht (Department of Physics, Ohio State University at Marion), Cristian Raduta (Department of Physics, Ohio State University)
Although physics is the same worldwide, students belonging
to different learning systems (or different cultural
environments) may develop different styles of approaching
and reasoning out physics problems. We compare student
physics problem-solving styles between two different student
populations: a group of typical American students (from an
OSU calculus-based introductory course) and a group of
Romanian students (from a second-year class at Bucharest
University). We discuss one of the problems given in a small
Eamp;M survey, in which students from both populations were
presented with a point charge in a region containing a
uniform magnetic field. We asked students to determine the
force on the charge for different initial conditions. Their
answers depend on an understanding of the Lorentz force and
their general knowledge from classical mechanics. Observed
similarities and differences in approach between these
student groups are discussed, and our study's results
described.
[A4.008] Quantum Mechanics without the Hydrogen Atom
Chitra Rangan, Jens Zorn (FOCUS Center, Department of Physics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor)
Many undergraduate science and engineering majors are
interested in quantum information and quantum computing. The
traditional undergraduate quantum mechanics course offered
by physics departments does not really prepare these
students to understand quantum information science. To
address this need, we propose an alternative that omits some
of the traditional topics, notably the the hydrogen atom, in
order to have time for necessary topics (e.g. field
interactions with a two-level system, Rabi flopping,
entanglement, and questions of quantum measurement) that are
usually covered only in more advanced courses.
[A4.009] Building Bridges Towards Physics in the Undergraduate Discrete Math Class
Mihai Caragiu (Department of Mathematics, Ohio Northern University)
We will present various interesting problems with potential implications in physics that can be addressed in an upper undergraduate discrete mathematics class. In the talk we will look for bridges towards physics emerging from various mathematical problems involving Fibonacci and Lucas numbers, transfer matrices, cellular automata, discrete dynamics and algebraic coding theory.