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 particle interactions with wavy and straight lines, illustrating how photons mediate attraction and repulsion in various Feynman diagrams in particle physics.

Starts With A Bang

Ask Ethan: How do photons mediate both attraction and repulsion?

The electromagnetic force can be attractive, repulsive, or “bendy,” but is always mediated by the photon. How does one particle do it all?

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.

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