Wave Particle Duality and How It Works

Wave Particle Duality and How It Works The wave-particle duality principle of quantum physics holds that matter and light exhibit the behaviors of both waves and particles, depending upon the circumstances of the experiment. It is a complex topic but among the most intriguing in physics.   Wave-Particle Duality in Light In the 1600s, Christiaan Huygens and Isaac Newton proposed competing theories for lights behavior. Huygens proposed a wave theory of light while Newtons was a corpuscular (particle) theory of light. Huygenss theory had some issues in matching observation and Newtons prestige helped lend support to his theory so, for over a century, Newtons theory was dominant. In the early nineteenth century, complications arose for the corpuscular theory of light. Diffraction had been observed, for one thing, which it had trouble adequately explaining. Thomas Youngs double slit experiment resulted in obvious wave behavior and seemed to firmly support the wave theory of light over Newtons particle theory. A wave generally has to propagate through a medium of some kind. The medium proposed by Huygens had been luminiferous aether (or in more common modern terminology, ether). When James Clerk Maxwell quantified a set of equations (called Maxwells laws or Maxwells equations) to explain electromagnetic radiation (including visible light) as the propagation of waves, he assumed just such an ether as the medium of propagation, and his predictions were consistent with experimental results. The problem with the wave theory was that no such ether had ever been found. Not only that, but astronomical observations in stellar aberration by James Bradley in 1720 had indicated that ether would have to be stationary relative to a moving Earth. Throughout the 1800s, attempts were made to detect the ether or its movement directly, culminating in the famous Michelson-Morley experiment. They all failed to actually detect the ether, resulting in a huge debate as the twentieth century began. Was light a wave or a particle? In 1905, Albert Einstein published his paper to explain the photoelectric effect, which proposed that light traveled as discrete bundles of energy. The energy contained within a photon was related to the frequency of the light. This theory came to be known as the photon theory of light (although the word photon wasnt coined until years later). With photons, the ether was no longer essential as a means of propagation, although it still left the odd paradox of why wave behavior was observed. Even more peculiar were the quantum variations of the double slit experiment and the Compton effect which seemed to confirm the particle interpretation. As experiments were performed and evidence accumulated, the implications quickly became clear and alarming: Light functions as both a particle and a wave, depending on how the experiment is conducted and when observations are made. Wave-Particle Duality in Matter The question of whether such duality also showed up in matter was tackled by the bold de Broglie hypothesis, which extended Einsteins work to relate the observed wavelength of matter to its momentum. Experiments confirmed the hypothesis in 1927, resulting in a 1929 Nobel Prize for de Broglie. Just like light, it seemed that matter exhibited both wave and particle properties under the right circumstances. Obviously, massive objects exhibit very small wavelengths, so small in fact that its rather pointless to think of them in a wave fashion. But for small objects, the wavelength can be observable and significant, as attested to by the double slit experiment with electrons. Significance of Wave-Particle Duality The major significance of the wave-particle duality is that all behavior of light and matter can be explained through the use of a differential equation which represents a wave function, generally in the form of the Schrodinger equation. This ability to describe reality in the form of waves is at the heart of quantum mechanics. The most common interpretation is that the wave function represents the probability of finding a given particle at a given point. These probability equations can diffract, interfere, and exhibit other wave-like properties, resulting in a final probabilistic wave function that exhibits these properties as well. Particles end up distributed according to the probability laws and therefore exhibit the wave properties. In other words, the probability of a particle being in any location is a wave, but the actual physical appearance of that particle is not. While the mathematics, though complicated, makes accurate predictions, the physical meaning of these equations are much harder to grasp. The attempt to explain what the wave-particle duality actually means is a key point of debate in quantum physics. Many interpretations exist to try to explain this, but they are all bound by the same set of wave equations... and, ultimately, must explain the same experimental observations. Edited by Anne Marie Helmenstine, Ph.D.

Case Study Assignment.....Metals in the Environment, my topic is lead

Assignment.....Metals in the Environment, my topic is lead - Case Study Example d in the 1960’s concluded that the amount of lead introduced into the environment via human means was 100 times more than that the amount added naturally (Wright A. & Welbourn, 2002). This research proved that lead contamination was one of the hazards brought by industrialization. The form of lead that is most responsible for lead transmission is tetraethyl lead. Tetraethyl lead is a lead derivative that is used as an additive in gasoline. Other sources of inorganic lead are lead containing sweeteners, lead salts in paints and anticorrosion coats, in batteries, in protective glass that are used against radioactive substances and in insecticide. Lead is also used in water distribution networks and is also used in containers that hold food and drinks. The usage of lead in these sensitive areas can cause mobilization of lead if the liquid medium is soft, acidic or poorly buffered. This translates into lead contamination in drinking water and food and drink vessels. As mentioned afore, paints and anticorrosive agents contain high concentrations of lead. As anticorrosive coats or paints wear off they mobilize particles of lead dust into the air. Lead dust is a direct means of contact with lead particles, and it can also settle in soils or aquatic mediums. Most for ms of lead are insoluble. This means that even though practice of using lead derivative compounds in products has ceased, lead and its derivatives are still in the environment. The dispersal of lead is through three major mediums; the atmosphere, the water and the soil. The dispersal of inorganic lead through the atmosphere is dependent on the particle size of lead. Lead particles having larger size, greater than 2Â µm in diameter; tend to fall close to their source of origin. They continue to contaminate and pollute the water and soil around the source. Particles which are smaller in size, less than 2Â µm in diameter; are capable of travelling larger distances. Transference through atmosphere not only

Importance of Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Importance of Theory - Essay Example Ideally, nursing theory offers the principles that reinforce practice (McEwen & Wills, 2014). Indeed, theory without practice is unimaginative, and practice devoid of theory is visionless. Theory refers to a set of conventional rules that can be tested. In essence, nursing theories offer nursing-specific identifications, explanations and correlations of concepts (McEwen & Wills, 2014). This gives the nursing profession distinction from the rest of science and medical professions. In essence, theory is paramount to effective nursing practice and research. This paper discusses the significance of the theory in nursing practice through the help of Neuman’s systems model theory. This paper will discuss in details the significance and application of Neuman’s systems theory to nursing by identifying its role in intensive care therapy. The readiness to discover ideas and start a change as a section of the search for improved ways of providing care is paramount in intensive care nursing (Capers, 2006). In most cases, patients found in intensive care unit are heavily sedated or unconscious, therefore, making the patients poor communicators of needs (Capers, 2006). Because of this reason, the patient’s family of friends are reasonably important in determining what is best for them. Intensive care therapy is less effective if the care is planned individually by each nurse that is handed over from the nurse taking care of the patient in the previous shift (Krupa, 2003). This is because each nurse identifies distinct needs of the patient according to what they deem necessary to them. Therefore, the patient’s needs are greatly satisfied if the patient’s family is considered when offering therapy to patients (Krupa, 2003). Additionally, there ought to be effective communication between the staff membe rs. Communication is particularly essential in intensive care unit (Neuman, 2004). The nurse has the responsibility of identifying the most significant aspects

Research into the Software Required to support a True Distributed Essay

Research into the Software Required to support a True Distributed Computer System - Essay Example and Lau, F., 1999. Special issue on software support for distributed computing. Journal of Parallel and Distributed Computing - Special issue on software support for distributed computing, 59(2), pp.101-06. 19 Introduction Ever-increasing competition and quick developments in information and communication systems, technologies, and a great deal of proliferation of low-cost workstations and PCs have offered a broad avenue for distributed computing to develop into a conventional computing structure and arrangement. At present, distributed computing is no longer limited to literature and advanced research laboratories; however, it is now easily in reach of a huge community of technology producers and clients. In fact, the transformation of status would not have been possible if there were not considerable endeavours that technology and communication researchers have offered for the development of essential supporting application, distributed OS, remote procedure calls, network file syst ems, OO (object oriented) middleware and message passing interfaces (Ahmad and Lau, 1999). In addition, the arrival of the WWW (World Wide Web) and high speed broadband Internet connections have as well put fuel to such kind of technology transformation. Presently, the Internet has turned out to be one of the biggest distributed systems. Currently, it is being utilized by the majority of people to resolve very complicated and challenging issues such as â€Å"search† to discover the biggest prime number, intended for space intelligence, and to break the RC5 block encrypted cipher, etc. In this scenario, a lot of huge and worldwide distributed systems are in progress to develop a huge â€Å"Globe system.† This Global system will offer an excellent support for resolving global issues (Ahmad and Lau, 1999). This essay discusses the software required to support a true distributed computer system. This research will provide a detailed overview of true distributed computing e nvironment that is a necessity to develop and use appropriate co-operating subsystems. Distributed Computing Environment: An overview The distributed environment is in some sense overcoming the limitations of traditional computing offering independence from the Personal Computers (PCs) to the golden or dark period of the mainframe. In the past, computers were single user machines with minimum storage capacities. Hence, the appearance of time-sharing machines and operating systems provided excellent opportunities to people all around the world. In fact, it allowed them to make use of the same hardware framework to support several people working simultaneously or cooperating with each other. Additionally, with the arrival of wide area networks (WANs), this cooperation further extended across the world and up till now simply needs a few central points of integrity control and management (Trireme, 2004; Nemeth and Sunderam, 2002). In addition, the arrival of the workstations took the pe ople right back to single user machi

W two videos of effective presentations on topics of personal interest Essay

W two videos of effective presentations on topics of personal interest (not career-related). For each video, discuss in-depth the three parts of the Rhetorical Triangle - Essay Example rent activities: the ‘How to Make Sugar-Free Lemonade’ and the ‘How to Make a Flat Spiral Bracelet’ videos are analyzed aiming to show the potential use of Rhetorical Triangle for evaluating the effectiveness of messages delivered to a particular audience. The Rhetorical triangle is used for analyzing the quality of messages in terms of ‘reasoning and argumentation’ (Cooper 2009, p.52). Different views seem to exist in regard to the elements of Rhetorical triangle. According to Cooper (2009) the Rhetorical triangle incorporates ‘the speaker, the audience and the purpose’ (Cooper 2009, p.52). In its most common form, the Rhetorical triangle includes ‘the speaker, the audience and the message’ (Magedah 2010, p.7). The above terms could be analyzed as follows: the speaker is the person that delivers the message (Magedah 2010, p.7). The means used for the delivering of the message is not standardized (Magedah 2010, p.7). The audience is a term used for describing the individual or individuals ‘who receive the message’ (Magedah 2010, p.7). It should be noted that the audience cannot be precisely defined in advance; for example if a message targets a person but it is finally delivered to m any persons, then the audience is extended even if the speaker did not have such intention (Killingsworth 2005, p.26). As for the third element of the Rhetorical triangle, i.e. the message, this is used for showing ‘the information that the speaker aims to convey to the audience’ (Magedah 2010, p.7). In order for a message to be successfully delivered all the above elements need to be taken into consideration (Magedah 2010, p.7). The first of the videos analyzed in this paper, i.e. the video entitled ‘How to Make Sugar-Free Lemonade’ can be considered as quite successful in terms of delivering the message involved. The success of the video can be made clear by referring to the three elements of the Rhetorical triangle: the presenter describes clearly

U4IP Building an Organization Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

U4IP Building an Organization - Research Paper Example How to build a diverse culture accommodating highly creative technical staff In order to create a culture of diversity, the management has to ensure that, the working environment is resourceful. This means that all employees have equal value in the organization and they have a feeling of appreciation. The management should ensure that employees are well conversant with the mission, vision, objectives and core values of the company. This will enable the team to focus on the company’s strategies hence putting extra effort and creativity in their work for goal achievement. Recognition of employee through appreciation, promotion and benefits are the motivating factors that can challenge weak employees to improve (Madden, 2003). In addition, the firm should source employees from diverse geographical areas regardless of race, religion or background. This will ensure a combination of skills, ideas and creativity from all backgrounds leading to overall success of the organization. The management being the role models of culture diversity should share their skills, competence and knowledge with the employees. This will ensure that the employees uphold and maintain the culture in all levels of operation. How the success of the organizational design in structure and culture will be measured The success of the organization can be measured in various ways. Both qualitative and quantitative methods can be used in determining whether the organizational culture and design structure is successful. The number of customers using the services in a day, week, month or yearly can be used to measure the success of organizational design. The higher the number of customers using the services means the organizational design operating well and fit. On the other hand, if there are few customers attending the firm and using the services and products, it means the design is unsuccessful. Therefore, the management should come up with a new design that will attract and meet customersâ €™ needs. Additionally, an organizational design that is easy to operate and that employee enjoy working with means it is good since workers have accepted it. The management can decide to carry out an interview both internally and externally. This would involve the quality of services and products offered by the company, the design and structure the company is using and the characters of employees. Response to these questions will answer whether the organization is operating well or not. Comparison with other firms in the same line is another way that can be used to measure success of design and culture. A company that has a culture of diversity and is well structurally designed is famous than a company that is poorly structured. How to build teams across a geographically diverse organization Since the company took a global strategy, there is a need to come up with a clear way of managing the entire organization regardless of the geographical location. A Geographical Dispersed T eam (GDT) that has a common objective and goal to the organization should be formed (Madden, 2003). The team members should have trust and proper communication channel to ensure efficiency and effectiveness of the company. The team should be composed of competent and qualified personnel. These groups

W two videos of effective presentations on topics of personal interest Essay

W two videos of effective presentations on topics of personal interest (not career-related). For each video, discuss in-depth the three parts of the Rhetorical Triangle - Essay Example rent activities: the ‘How to Make Sugar-Free Lemonade’ and the ‘How to Make a Flat Spiral Bracelet’ videos are analyzed aiming to show the potential use of Rhetorical Triangle for evaluating the effectiveness of messages delivered to a particular audience. The Rhetorical triangle is used for analyzing the quality of messages in terms of ‘reasoning and argumentation’ (Cooper 2009, p.52). Different views seem to exist in regard to the elements of Rhetorical triangle. According to Cooper (2009) the Rhetorical triangle incorporates ‘the speaker, the audience and the purpose’ (Cooper 2009, p.52). In its most common form, the Rhetorical triangle includes ‘the speaker, the audience and the message’ (Magedah 2010, p.7). The above terms could be analyzed as follows: the speaker is the person that delivers the message (Magedah 2010, p.7). The means used for the delivering of the message is not standardized (Magedah 2010, p.7). The audience is a term used for describing the individual or individuals ‘who receive the message’ (Magedah 2010, p.7). It should be noted that the audience cannot be precisely defined in advance; for example if a message targets a person but it is finally delivered to m any persons, then the audience is extended even if the speaker did not have such intention (Killingsworth 2005, p.26). As for the third element of the Rhetorical triangle, i.e. the message, this is used for showing ‘the information that the speaker aims to convey to the audience’ (Magedah 2010, p.7). In order for a message to be successfully delivered all the above elements need to be taken into consideration (Magedah 2010, p.7). The first of the videos analyzed in this paper, i.e. the video entitled ‘How to Make Sugar-Free Lemonade’ can be considered as quite successful in terms of delivering the message involved. The success of the video can be made clear by referring to the three elements of the Rhetorical triangle: the presenter describes clearly