Dr Rajiv Desai
An Educational Blog
The Enigma of Quantum Entanglement
The Enigma of Quantum Entanglement: _ _ Section-1 Prologue: Physicists and philosophers of physics have been debating the meaning of quantum mechanics in general, and quantum entanglement in particular, ever since quantum mechanics was first formulated, and are still debating it today, almost 100 years later. At the heart of quantum mechanics lies a concept that feels almost magical—quantum entanglement. Imagine two particles of the same type becoming so intertwined that a change in one instantly affects the other, no matter how far apart they are. This is the essence of quantum entanglement, a phenomenon that Albert Einstein famously described as “spooky action at a distance.” Quantum entanglement stands as one of the strangest and hardest concepts to understand in physics. Two or more particles can interact in a specific way that leave them entangled, such that a later measurement on one system identifies what the outcome of a […]
DRUG ADDICTION
Drug Addiction: _ Intravenous injection of heroin typically causes a rush within seven to eight seconds. This method of drug use provides the highest intensity and quickest onset of the initial rush but is also the most dangerous. Also, approximately 10% of new HIV infections worldwide are attributable to injecting drug use, often of an opiate such as heroin. ______ Prologue: Drugs are fascinating because they change our awareness. The basic reason people take drugs is to vary their conscious experience. Seeking pleasure is a human trait and certain chemicals which give a feeling of high or pleasure have always been used by some people everywhere. Of course, there are many ways to alter consciousness, such as listening to music, dancing, exercising, day dreaming and participating in religious rituals etc. and the list suggests that changing consciousness is something people like to do. People use substances (drugs) to alter their […]
DERAILMENT
DERAILMENT: _______ _______ Prologue: A tremor was followed by a “loud sound like an earthquake”. The carriages began to shake and inside them, passengers began falling on each other. Some carriages telescoped into each other, others rose vertically, “almost standing upright”. In a major train derailment accident, at least 23 passengers were killed and over 60 injured when 14 coaches of the Puri-Haridwar Utkal Express jumped the rails in Khatauli, India at 5.45 pm on19 August 2017 as seen in the figure above. Indian Railways has had the most derailments in a decade in 2016-17: 78 derailments with 193 people dead. On September 14, 2017 (coincidentally my birthday) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe laid the foundation stone for $17 billion bullet train, the Jammu Tawi-New Delhi Rajdhani Express jumped the tracks at New Delhi station, the ninth derailment in 27 days, a consequence of […]
HEARING AID
HEARING AID: _______ _______ Prologue: I was working in Saudi Arabia as a doctor from 2001 to 2006. I was designated female medical specialist. All female medical patients used to come to me for treatment. I noticed that I cannot hear properly what they say. The language barrier and lack of lip reading (Muslim women wear burka covering their face) compounded hearing disability. I got myself checked and found that I was suffering from otosclerosis. I started wearing hearing aid which improved my hearing significantly. Although one should remove hearing aids while sleeping at night, I used to wear hearing aid in one ear and sleep on side with ear having hearing aid on the top to attend night calls for emergency. In 2007/2008, I got operated in both ears, and after surgery my hearing improved so much that I did not need hearing aid. Hearing is one of the […]
THE ATOM
___________ THE ATOM: ___________ The figure above is an animation of the nuclear force (or residual strong force) interaction between a proton and a neutron. The small colored double circles are gluons, which can be seen binding the proton and neutron together. These gluons also hold the quark-antiquark combination called the pion (meson) together, and thus help transmit a residual part of the strong force even between colorless hadrons. Quarks each carry a single color charge, while gluons carry both a color and an anticolor charge. The combinations of three quarks e.g. proton/neutron (or three antiquarks e.g. antiproton/antineutron) or of quark-antiquark pairs (mesons) are the only combinations that the strong force seems to allow. ________ Prologue: Since childhood I was curious about breaking down any matter (table/chair) into smaller pieces continually till I reach a point where it cannot be broken down. What is that point? Is matter infinitely divisible? […]
