A Universe of atoms, an atom in the Universe

428 Pages·2002·2.518 MB·English

by  Mark P. Silverman

A Universe of Atoms,
An Atom in the Universe
Springer
New York
Berlin
Heidelberg
Hong Kong
London
Milan
Paris
Tokyo
Mark P. Silverman
A Universe of Atoms,
An Atom in the
Universe
With 74 Illustrations
1 3
Mark P. Silverman
Department of Physics
Trinity College
Hartford, CT 06106
Cover illustration: Chris Silverman.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Silverman, Mark P.
Auniverse of atoms, an atom in the universe / Mark P. Silverman.—2nd ed.
p. cm.
Rev. ed. of: And yet it moves. c1993.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-387-95437-6 (acid-free paper)
1. Physics. 2. Quantum theory. I. Silverman, Mark P. And yet it moves.
II. Title.
QC21.3 .S55 2002
530—dc21
2002016006
ISBN 0-387-95437-6 Printed on acid-free paper
This book is a revised edition of And Yet It Moves, published in 1993 by Cambridge
University Press.
© 2002 Springer-Verlag New York, Inc.
All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part
without the written permission of the publisher (Springer-Verlag New York, Inc., 175
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reviews or scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage
and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar
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opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights.
Printed in the United States of America.
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Springer-Verlag New York Berlin Heidelberg
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To
Sue, Chris, and Jen
atoms with consciousness...
matter with curiosity.
Stands at the sea...
wonders at wondering...
I...a universe of atoms...
an atom in the universe.
—Richard P. Feynman
Contents
Preface ix
Introduction The Fire Within 1
Chapter 1 The Wirbelrohr’s Roar 7
1.1 Wirbelrohr Follow-up 24
Chapter 2 Musical Bottles, Flying Balloons, and
Hot Stoves: The Uncommon Physics of
Common Things 30
2.1 The Good Sound of CokeTM: Physical Modeling
by Analogy 30
2.2 Comedy of Errors: What Every Aeronaut Needs
to Know 38
2.3 Cool in the Kitchen: Radiation, Conduction, and
Newton’s “Hot Block” Experiment 48
Chapter 3 The Unimaginably Strange Behavior of
Free Electrons 63
3.1 Variations on “The Only Mystery” 63
3.2 Electron Interference in a Space with Holes 76
3.3 The Two-Electron Quantum Interference
Disappearing Act 92
3.4 Heretical Correlations 102
3.5 HBT Update 119
Chapter 4 Quantum Beats and Giant Atoms 127
4.1 The Light from Atomic “Pulsars” 127
4.2 Anomalous Reversals 140
4.3 Quantum Implications of Traveling in
Circles 155
4.4 Long-Distance Beats 168
viii Contents
Chapter 5 And Yet It Moves: Exotic Atoms and the
Invariance of Charge 181
5.1 ACommotion About Motion 181
5.2 The Electric Charge of a Moving Electron 187
5.3 The Exotic Atom 191
5.4 The Planetary Atom 197
Chapter 6 Reflections on Light 203
6.1 Exorcising a Maxwell Demon 203
6.2 Enhanced Reflection: How Light Gets Brighter
When It Is Up Against a Wall 206
6.3 Left- and Right-Handed Reflection 224
Chapter 7 Two Worlds, Large and Small:
Earth and Atom 245
Chapter 8 Computers, Coins, and Quanta: Unexpected
Outcomes of Random Events 279
8.1 The Suggestive Power of Fun 279
8.2 To Switch or Not to Switch—That Is the
Question 281
8.3 On the Run: How Random Is Random? 283
8.4 Random Acts of Measurement 294
8.5 Do Radioactive Nuclei Decay Randomly? 299
8.6 Mark Off Time with Markov 316
8.7 Exponential Decay, Correlation, and
Randomness: The Quantum Perspective 320
Chapter 9 AUniverse of Atoms: Symmetry, Unity, Gravity,
and the Problem of “Missing Mass” 325
9.1 Keep It Together! Keep It Together!
Keep It Together! 325
9.2 Symmetries for the Mind’s Eye 329
9.3 Spontaneous Symmetry Breaking 342
9.4 What Is the Matter with Gravity? 348
9.5 Shedding Light on Dark Matter 364
9.6 AGalactic Superfluid? 371
9.7 And So... 377
Chapter 10 Science and Wonder 386
Selected Papers by the Author 396
About the Author 409
Index 411
Preface
Approximately 10 years have passed since the publication of And Yet
It Moves: Strange Systems and Subtle Questions in Physics.1 During
this time, the book has done very well, being received favorably by both
readers and reviewers. The exhaustion of the last printing has given
me the opportunity to make revisions. The present volume, updated
and expanded by three new chapters containing a total of 17 additional
essays on a wide range of questions that I have explored in quantum
mechanics, nuclear physics, thermodynamics, general relativity, and
astrophysics, has been given a new title to reflect the broad thematic
coverage and a new publisher (Springer-Verlag).
The Introduction (The Fire Within) that follows, based on the preface
to the original edition, explains fully the purpose and content of this
book. I wish to note briefly here, however, that time and the advance
of physics have not dulled the scientific relevance of any of the essays.
This book, like its predecessor, is not intended to be a popularization,
a textbook, or a monograph of any field of physics. Rather, it is a per-
sonal account of the scientific underpinnings, motivations, lessons, and
ramifications of some of the many fundamental physical problems that
have engaged me throughout my career to the present. These are
essays that anyone with an interest in contemporary physics can read,
although it is certainly the case that the more serious the interest, the
more meaningful will be the essays.
In the years following And Yet It Moves, I have written, besides the
present book, three others, principally for physicists, teachers, and
students, more specifically focused on those parts of my researches
concerned with quantum interference phenomena,2 classical optics
and electromagnetism,3 and quantum electrodynamics and atomic
physics,4 respectively. As was the case with my previous books, there
is again in this one an underlying concern with physics education. By
that I mean not merely the transmission of facts and formulas, but a
communication of the delight of scientific exploration, the ultimate
exercise of human curiosity and ingenuity, without which any science,