Quantum Physics and Life: How We Interact with the World Inside and Around Us PDF
Preview Quantum Physics and Life: How We Interact with the World Inside and Around Us
Quantum Physics and Life Quantum Physics and Life Ingemar Ernberg, Göran Johansson, Tomas Lindblad, Joar Svanvik, and Göran Wendin Published by Jenny Stanford Publishing Pte. Ltd. 101 Thomson Road #06-01, United Square Singapore 307591 Email: [email protected] Web: www.jennystanford.com British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Quantum Physics and Life All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form Copyright © 2023 by Jenny Stanford Publishing Pte. Ltd. or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without written permission from the publisher. For photocopying of material in this volume, please pay a copying fee through the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. In this case permission to photocopy is not required from the publisher. ISBN 978-981-4968-28-7 (Hardcover) ISBN 978-1-003-31267-3 (eBook) Our senses make us aware of only a small part of reality. We humans move within narrow limits of classical physics. Other animal species have abilities that we lack, such as senses that detect static electric and magnetic fields. Throughout Evolution, the biological processes that constitute Life have operated based on both classical and quantum physics. They are all part of the total physical world, a world that is explored by scientists with the help of classical and quantum physics. Our limited ability to see beyond the barriers of classical physics has hampered our progress in several areas of life sciences, leaving room for scientific hypotheses as well as philosophical and religious beliefs that are difficult to verify from experience. With the help of quantum physics, we can go many steps further and understand more of the physical world that surrounds us on Earth and extends far into the universe. Life, Earth, and the Universe to be explored with present and future classical and quantum tools. A never-ending story Human’s experience through classical and quantum resourses extending the human mind Bio-organisms’ extended experience of the world Human’s limited experience of the world Contents Preface Acknowledgment Quantum Biology: Where It Came From ix xiii 1. Life and Quantum Physics x1v 2. Our World Is Just One Part of the Whole 5 3. The Gecko and Life Upside Down 13 4. The Quantized World 17 5. Evolution: About the Origin of Life 27 6. From the Big Bang to Black Holes 35 7. As Time Goes By: The Arrow of Time 43 8. The Art of Finding Your Way Home 55 9. The Vision in New Light 61 10. The Photosynthesis and the Golf Putt 69 11. The Respiratory Chain Sustains Our Lives 77 12. A Sense of Smell 83 13. DNA Repair: Enzymes for Survival and Development 93 14. Quantum Physics in Diagnosis and Treatment 101 15. No More Mysterious Than Necessary 109 16. Consciousness: The Greatest Mystery 117 17. A Glance at the Future of Quantum and Life 127 viii Contents References and Recommended Readings Dictionary 133 Table of Units 145 Index 153 155 Preface Theoretical physicists and medics formed a group, and a book was born. The first attempts to colonize Mars have started. The quantum computer is on its way. The impact of artificial intelligence (AI) is growing. How come that quantum mechanics that was founded by Planck, Bohr, Heisenberg, and Schrödinger early in the 20th century is still not fully understood and accepted? How does it underlie our molecular functions, biochemistry, thermodynamics, perception of environment, and brain functions? Does it take part in our conscious minds? The insight is growing but the transition of explanations from classical physics is slow and resistant. Our minds do not willingly accept counter-intuitive conclusions. The outlook of the landscape via looks flat but most of us accept that the Earth is a sphere. We have to add something further to our input of information our senses. The landscape is not flat—the world is not governed by classical physics alone. The year was 2012 and the Nobel laureates in physics had been presented. The medical society had invited a theoretical physicist to explain the annual prize and present the laureates to interested non- physicists and medical doctors. The physicist explained how David Wineland and Serge Haroche had shown the way quantum physics works and how it can be tested. Göran Johansson, the physicist, and Joar Svanvik, a surgeon started a discussion at the dinner table after the lecture. There were many “aha” experiences. Not classical physics alone but also quantum mechanics must be involved in biology, physiology, and medicine! Quantum chemistry is an established scientific entity. Then why are biology, physiology, and medicine still left in the realm of classical physics? This had to be discussed further. Today’s science can explain far from all in biology and medicine—maybe quantum mechanics can give further understanding. Could quantum physics, which is often counter-intuitive, give further clues to understand life sciences? The group was extended to four researchers. Göran Wendin and Ingemar Ernberg were also affiliated. The group met regularly and
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