2009年10月24日
カテゴリ： 大学・セミナー
・・・・・・・・・・
The Biggest Challenge
An Explanation of Everything
Over 300 years ago. Isaac Newton described gravith as a force that pulls every with mass together.
Two hundred years later, physicists had laboratory equipment that Newton couldn't have dreamed of, and they started experimenting with very small object such as atoms and electrons.
They found that while Newton's laws explained the behavior of everyday things like the motion of football and even the motion of planets around the sun, they didn't explain the behavior of these very small stoms and ellectorons.
They developed a new theory, which they called"quantum mechanics."
"Around the same time, Albert Einstein developed his theory of general relativity to explain how gravity works.
This theory also explained things that Newton's laws could't explain.
Quantum mechainics and general relativity can accurately describe the motion of footballs and planets, but Newton's laws do this so well that we don't need to use these more complex theories.
We only have to use quantum mechanics and general relativity to explain things that are very small or very large.
The theory of quantum mechanics is very hard to understand because it says that the be behavior of very small particles like electrons is totally defferent from the befavior of things we see around us.
For example, you cannnot know both the velocity of an electron and the position of that electron at the same time.
If you know the exact velocity, then you don't know where the electron is.
(This is known as the Heiberg Uncertainty Principle.)
You can only know the probability of finding the electron in any particular position.
Quantum mechanics says the electron is not a particle but a cloud of different densities, the highest density being where the electron is most likely to be found.
Weird!
You could ask, "If quantum mechanics works for objects we can see, but tells us that we can't be sure their position and velocity at the same time, then how can I catch a football?"
The answer is that the uncertainties about the position and velocity at the same time, then how can I catch a footbal?"
General relativity is perhaps even harder to understand.
Newton thought of gravity as force of attraction.
General relativity doesn't think of gravity as a force.
Imagine a heavy bowling ball on mattress.
It will deform the mattress and anything near the bowling ball will silk toward it.
Einstein's theory says that a heavy object like a star deforms space and time aound it, and this causes the motion of the planets around it.
It says space and time are curved by heavy objects.
Even weirder!
Newton's laws describe the everyday happenings that we can see about us.
Quantum mechanics explains how very small things such as electrons behave.
General relativity explains how very large things like stars and galaxies behave.
Physicists would like to have just one theory that explains how everything behave.
There are two big problems in developing this.
The theories of quantum mechanics and general relativity have some fundamental defferences, and it is hard to see how they can be combined into the one theory.
And scientists can't set up laboratory experiments with electrons and stars to test both theories at the same time, so they have none of the experimental results that they normally use.
Developing a single theory to explain what both quantum mechanics and general relativity explain is perhaps the biggest challenge in modern physics.
・・・・・・・・・end
物理は苦手でした。
でも、量子力学や相対性理論をもっとわかりやすく説明してくれたら、
きっと興味を持ち、好きな科目になったと思います。
相対性理論に詳しい友人に、このことを話したら、
私たちが高校生の頃、相対性理論を説明できる先生はいなかったと思うと、
すぐに答えが返ってきました。
今、日本の子どもの学力低下がささやかれているけれど、
ただ、テストで点数をとるためでなく、
「知りたい」と興味がもてるような学習指導が行われるといいなぁと思いました。
、、、、と言いながら、
今、私はテストで点数をとるために、暗記中です
The Biggest Challenge
An Explanation of Everything
Over 300 years ago. Isaac Newton described gravith as a force that pulls every with mass together.
Two hundred years later, physicists had laboratory equipment that Newton couldn't have dreamed of, and they started experimenting with very small object such as atoms and electrons.
They found that while Newton's laws explained the behavior of everyday things like the motion of football and even the motion of planets around the sun, they didn't explain the behavior of these very small stoms and ellectorons.
They developed a new theory, which they called"quantum mechanics."
"Around the same time, Albert Einstein developed his theory of general relativity to explain how gravity works.
This theory also explained things that Newton's laws could't explain.
Quantum mechainics and general relativity can accurately describe the motion of footballs and planets, but Newton's laws do this so well that we don't need to use these more complex theories.
We only have to use quantum mechanics and general relativity to explain things that are very small or very large.
The theory of quantum mechanics is very hard to understand because it says that the be behavior of very small particles like electrons is totally defferent from the befavior of things we see around us.
For example, you cannnot know both the velocity of an electron and the position of that electron at the same time.
If you know the exact velocity, then you don't know where the electron is.
(This is known as the Heiberg Uncertainty Principle.)
You can only know the probability of finding the electron in any particular position.
Quantum mechanics says the electron is not a particle but a cloud of different densities, the highest density being where the electron is most likely to be found.
Weird!
You could ask, "If quantum mechanics works for objects we can see, but tells us that we can't be sure their position and velocity at the same time, then how can I catch a football?"
The answer is that the uncertainties about the position and velocity at the same time, then how can I catch a footbal?"
General relativity is perhaps even harder to understand.
Newton thought of gravity as force of attraction.
General relativity doesn't think of gravity as a force.
Imagine a heavy bowling ball on mattress.
It will deform the mattress and anything near the bowling ball will silk toward it.
Einstein's theory says that a heavy object like a star deforms space and time aound it, and this causes the motion of the planets around it.
It says space and time are curved by heavy objects.
Even weirder!
Newton's laws describe the everyday happenings that we can see about us.
Quantum mechanics explains how very small things such as electrons behave.
General relativity explains how very large things like stars and galaxies behave.
Physicists would like to have just one theory that explains how everything behave.
There are two big problems in developing this.
The theories of quantum mechanics and general relativity have some fundamental defferences, and it is hard to see how they can be combined into the one theory.
And scientists can't set up laboratory experiments with electrons and stars to test both theories at the same time, so they have none of the experimental results that they normally use.
Developing a single theory to explain what both quantum mechanics and general relativity explain is perhaps the biggest challenge in modern physics.
・・・・・・・・・end
物理は苦手でした。
でも、量子力学や相対性理論をもっとわかりやすく説明してくれたら、
きっと興味を持ち、好きな科目になったと思います。
相対性理論に詳しい友人に、このことを話したら、
私たちが高校生の頃、相対性理論を説明できる先生はいなかったと思うと、
すぐに答えが返ってきました。
今、日本の子どもの学力低下がささやかれているけれど、
ただ、テストで点数をとるためでなく、
「知りたい」と興味がもてるような学習指導が行われるといいなぁと思いました。
、、、、と言いながら、
今、私はテストで点数をとるために、暗記中です
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