Words of Wisdom — December 5, 2013

Heisenberg on Observing Nature

“What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning.”-Werner Heisenberg

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A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

“What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning.”

-Werner Heisenberg

A weekly newsletter featuring the biggest ideas from the smartest people

Diagram of atomic orbitals showing various shapes and labels, including s, p, d, and f orbitals, organized in a triangular structure with coordinate axes x, y, z.

Starts With A Bang

Why the number “1/137” appears everywhere in nature

One of the fundamental constants of nature, the fine-structure constant, determines so much about our Universe. Here’s why it matters.

A satellite orbits Earth against a backdrop of space. Below, the Earth's curvature and cloud formations are visible, making our planet seem even bigger.

Starts With A Bang

The one cosmic secret that demands a new particle collider

The observation that everything we know is made out of matter and not antimatter is one of nature’s greatest puzzles. Will we ever solve it?

Starts With A Bang

Why “incompleteness” matters in theoretical physics

Physicists just can’t leave an incomplete theory alone; they try to repair it. When nature is kind, it can lead to a major breakthrough.

Starts With A Bang

LIGO successfully squeezes quantum states, surpassing Heisenberg’s limits

There’s a quantum limit to how precisely anything can be measured. By squeezing light, LIGO has now surpassed all previous limitations.

An image of a pink spiral on a black background depicting uncertainty.

Starts With A Bang

How quantum uncertainty saved the atom

If nature were perfectly deterministic, atoms would almost instantly all collapse. Here’s how Heisenberg uncertainty saves the atom.

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