Re: Quantum Babbage Machine? Nanotube Superposition?


I don't know if this helps but I recently read an article in Popular
Science in which it is suggested that objects as large as dust
particles can exist in superposition for a period of time as long as a
second or more before collapsing.


On Sun, 26 Jun 2005 20:55:01 -0000, manofsan@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

>
>When I read this article, it sounded hard to visualize:
>
>http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=0002B13B-3848-1237-B62883414B7F0000
>
>How can a buckled nanotube be in 2 positions at once? This sounds a
>little bit like Schrodinger's Cat to me. We all know that Schrodinger's
>cat isn't possible, since quantum superposition cannot be scaled up to
>macro-scale objects, for which even DeBroglie wavelength is negligable.
>But can quantum superposition scale upto the nano-scale?
>
>Really, how can a nanotube bend 2 ways at once? Can it be said to be
>oscillating very rapidly between 2 positions? If so, oscillation is
>very different from superposition, because there are intermediate
>positions in between that have to be traversed through. A nanotube
>can't "tunnel" from one bending position to another, can it?
>
>Here's a related article:
>
>http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20050317-124226-2271r.htm
>

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