--- In theos-talk@yahoogroups.com, Cass Silva <silva_cass@...> wrote:
--- On Thu, 22/1/09, Lynda Brasier <susoni@...> wrote:
From: Lynda Brasier <susoni@...>
Subject: [Think-Aboutit] DISCOVER MAGAZINE: DO QUATUM MECHANICS
CONTROL YOUR THOUGHTS? IS IT RESPONSIBLE FOR CONSCIOUSNESS, TOO?
To: "All my contacts" <Susoni@...>
Received: Thursday, 22 January, 2009, 8:09 AM
Â
DISCOVER MAGAZINE: DO QUATUM MECHANICS CONTROL YOUR THOUGHTS? IS IT
RESPONSIBLE FOR CONSCIOUSNESS, TOO?
Posted By: Susoni
Date: Wednesday, 21 January 2009, 4:01 p.m.
Â
.. or are you controlling Quantum fluctuations?
This is a compelling article on how our thoughts could move
particles within the quantum world. Science is catching up. Finally!
Susoni
Energy moves in all directions until it has to narrow and make a
'choice' within the 3D material world.
************ ********* ********* *
Is Quantum Mechanics Controlling Your Thoughts?
Science's weirdest realm may be responsible for photosynthesis, our
sense of smell, and even consciousness itself.
by Mark Anderson
(snip)
On the face of things, quantum mechanics and the biological
sciences do not mix.
Quantum mechanics holds that any given particle has a chance of
being in a whole range of locations and, in a sense, occupies all
those places at once. Physicists describe quantum reality in an
equation they call the wave function, which reflects all the
potential ways a system can evolve. Until a scientist measures the
system, a particle exists in its multitude of locations. But at the
time of measurement, the particle has to ╲choose╡ just a single
spot.
At that point, quantum physicists say, probability narrows to a
single outcome and the wave function ╲collapses,╡ sending
ripples of
certainty through space-time. Imposing certainty on one particle
could alter the characteristics of any others it has been connected
with, even if those particles are now light-years away. (This process
of influence at a distance is what physicists call entanglement. ) As
in a game of dominoes, alteration of one particle affects the next
one, and so on.
(snip)
The implications of all this are mind-bending. In the macro world,
a ball never spontaneously shoots itself over a wall. In the quantum
world, though, an electron in one biomolecule might hop to a second
biomolecule, even though classical laws of physics hold that the
electrons are too tightly bound to leave. The phenomenon of hopping
across seemingly forbidden gaps is called quantum tunneling.
From tunneling to entanglement, the special properties of the
quantum realm allow events to unfold at speeds and efficiencies that
would be unachievable with classical physics alone. Could quantum
mechanisms be driving some of the most elegant and inexplicable
processes of life?
Unlike electric power lines, which lose as much as 20 percent of
energy in transmission, these bacteria transmit energy at a
staggering efficiency rate of 95 percent or better.
The secret, Fleming and his colleagues found, is quantum physics.
(snip)
To unearth the bacteriaâ•˙s inner workings, the researchers zapped
the connective proteins with multiple ultrafast laser pulses. Over a
span of femto–seconds, they followed the light energy through the
scaffolding to the cellular reaction centers where energy conversion
takes place.
Then came the revelation: Instead of haphazardly moving from one
connective channel to the next, as might be seen in classical
physics, energy traveled in several directions at the same time. The
researchers theorized that only when the energy had reached the end
of the series of connections could an efficient pathway retroactively
be found. At that point, the quantum process collapsed, and the
electronsâ•˙ energy followed that single, most effective path.
(snip)
QUANTUM TO THE CORE
Stuart Hameroff, an anesthesiologist and director of the Center for
Consciousness Studies at the University of Arizona, argues that the
highest function of lifeâ•"consciousnessâ•" is likely a quantum
phenomenon too. This is illustrated, he says, through anesthetics.
The brain of a patient under anesthesia continues to operate
actively, but without a conscious mind at work. What enables
anesthetics such as xenon or isoflurane gas to switch off the
conscious mind?
Hameroff speculates that anesthetics ╲interrupt a delicate quantum
process╡ within the neurons of the brain. Each neuron contains
hundreds of long, cylindrical protein structures, called
microtubules, that serve as scaffolding. Anesthetics, Hameroff says,
dissolve inside tiny oily regions of the microtubules, affecting how
some electrons inside these regions behave.
He speculates that the action unfolds like this: When certain key
electrons are in one ╲place,╡ call it to the ╲left,╡ part
of the
microtubule is squashed; when the electrons fall to the
╲right,╡ the
section is elongated. But the laws of quantum mechanics allow for
electrons to be both ╲left╡ and ╲right╡ at the same time,
and thus
for the micro–tubules to be both elongated and squashed at once. Each
section of the constantly shifting system has an impact on other
sections, potentially via quantum entanglement, leading to a dynamic
quantum-mechanical dance.
It is in this faster-than- light subatomic communication, Hameroff
says, that consciousness is born. Anesthetics get in the way of the
dancing electrons and stop the gyration at its quantum-mechanical
core; that is how they are able to switch consciousness off.
It's a long article, these are just interesting snips. To read the
rest go to the Link Below:
Â
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DISCOVER MAGAZINE - QUANTUM MECHANICS
Â
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