1. Scientific Theories and Laws
2. The First Decade (1936-1946)
4. The Second Decade (1946-1956)
6. The Third Decade (1956-1966)
8. The Fourth Decade (1966-1976)
10. The Fifth Decade (1976-1986)
12. The Sixth Decade (1986-1996)
14. The Seventh Decade (1996-2006)
15. The Theory of More than Everything
16. The Eighth Decade (2006-2016)
18. The Ninth Decade (2016-2026)
Appendix A Paintings
Appendix B TTOMTE and a Steady State Universe
Appendix C Musical Compositions
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Another idea proposes that the atom follows all the paths at the same time. Still another says atoms don't exist in reality until we look at them. Philosophical speculation like this made many physicists uneasy, so they decided no explanation was necessary; they only wanted to have fun and use the math.
Under FINAL THOUGHTS, I'm going to bring together some of the interpretations I've heard about along the way. Perhaps you have some ideas too.
We spent all this time on the two slit experiment in order to show how hard scientists have tried to get to the bottom of quantum mechanics. They tried even more complicated experiments than we've described, but we'll give up for now and concentrate on the nucleus where quantum mechanics really takes over.
Earlier, we knew atoms couldn't contain only electrons; particles with the same charge repel each other, and the atom would fly apart. Now the same problem comes up when we talk about the nucleus. The nucleus consists of protons, all positively charged with some neutrons thrown in for weight. Are we expected to believe that all those protons can be jammed into a space one ten-thousandth the size of the atom? Yes. They stay together because of super glue called the strong nuclear force.
The electron, neutron, and proton don't happen to be at the bottom of the particle soup either, and the descriptions about the nucleus will only get stranger. The strong nuclear force works something like this: If these small particles are close enough together, one of them borrows some energy from its surroundings. It then forms a virtual particle called a pion and tosses it to another particle.
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