We have been told for ages that atoms are primarily made up of empty space, with the only actually solid component being the nucleus. Technological advances have allowed us to get deeper into the actual nucleus of an atom—to penetrate it and see what it’s made of. What scientists have found is astonishing. They have concluded that even the nucleus itself is primarily made of empty space.
We also know that physicists running tests on light beams have uncovered that they sometimes behave like waves, and other times behave like particles—an interesting phenomenon called the wave/particle duality. They suspect the reason for this is that the observer’s expectations are actually affecting the outcome.
Quantum physicists are now theorizing that atoms are not so much things as they are tendencies; that reality doesn’t actually snap into place until we bring our attention to it. It’s the very act of consciousness that makes things real.
Which brings us to the old question, if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it really make a sound?
According to quantum physics—no. If no one is there to hear or see it, the tree--and the entire forest for that matter—doesn’t even exist.
We also know that physicists running tests on light beams have uncovered that they sometimes behave like waves, and other times behave like particles—an interesting phenomenon called the wave/particle duality. They suspect the reason for this is that the observer’s expectations are actually affecting the outcome.
Quantum physicists are now theorizing that atoms are not so much things as they are tendencies; that reality doesn’t actually snap into place until we bring our attention to it. It’s the very act of consciousness that makes things real.
Which brings us to the old question, if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it really make a sound?
According to quantum physics—no. If no one is there to hear or see it, the tree--and the entire forest for that matter—doesn’t even exist.
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