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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“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

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.

Three Egginton men are shown in front of a blue background.

13.8

A meeting of the greatest minds in science, philosophy, and literature

A new book envisions an encounter of minds between the Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges, the physicist Werner Heisenberg, and the philosopher Immanuel Kant.

Starts With A Bang

Is there a 5th fundamental force of nature?

When what we predict and what we measure don’t add up, that’s a sign there’s something new to learn. Could it be a new fundamental force?

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