Quantum Movement
The word ‘quantum’ comes from the Latin phrase for “how much.” In its essence, it is the discrete quantity of energy proportional in magnitude to the frequency of radiation that energy represents. Basically, how things function in the subatomic world. So, what does this have to do with Astonishing Legends? Well, recent tests in quantum fluctuations have proven that they can jiggle objects noticeable to the human eye.
Weird things always seem to be happening in the subatomic world - from teleportation to the ability to exist in two states at once. However, the subatomic world rarely affects macroscale objects. However, MIT physicists witnessed at the LIGO Laboratory a quantum event that affected a macroscale object - which isn’t really supposed to happen.
Specifically, what they witnessed is known as a ‘quantum fluctuation’. A quantum fluctuation occurs when, in empty space, particles have the ability to pop in and out of existence seemingly at random. This creates a level of quantum noise. What the researchers witnessed was enough quantum noise to move a macroscale object. According to the study, “researchers observed a quantum fluctuation giving a little kick to a 40-kg (88-lb) mirror at the LIGO laboratory. And we mean a little kick – the mirror was measured to have moved by about one sextillionth of a meter (10-20 m).”
Nergis Mavalvala, one of the co-authors of the study, said: “We too, every nanosecond of our existence, are being kicked around, buffeted by these quantum fluctuations. It’s just that the jitter of our existence, our thermal energy, is too large for these quantum vacuum fluctuations to affect our motion measurably. With LIGO’s mirrors, we’ve done all this work to isolate them from thermally driven motion and other forces, so that they are now still enough to be kicked around by quantum fluctuations and this spooky popcorn of the universe.” Amazingly enough the pure strength of quantum energy, despite its small size, is very powerful. For example: “The object in our case is a 40-kilogram mirror, which is a billion times heavier than the nanoscale objects that other groups have measured this quantum effect in.”
To detect this, the team used a newly built tool that they named a ‘quantum squeezer’, which helps the scientists tune the properties of the quantum noise within LIGO Labtaroy’s interferometers. MIT reports, “By using squeezed light to reduce the quantum noise in the LIGO measurement, the team has made a measurement more precise than the standard quantum limit, reducing that noise in a way that will ultimately help LIGO to detect fainter, more distant sources of gravitational waves.”
This discovery, of course, makes me wonder about all the micro things we may or may not be noticing. It there a chance that the strange, yet slight, energy shifts associated with hauntings are actually from minuscule, nearly immeasurable, happenings in the subatomic world? Or, to be a little more woo-woo, is there a chance that there are forces capable of manipulating the subatomic world to make contact with us?
Either way, I look forward to more research in the subatomic world!
The above image is not directly related to the story. Mirror piece is a seminal art work of 1965 by the conceptual artists Art & Language. Art & Language replaced the space traditionally occupied by the painting with mirrors. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.