Another reblog from the archives! One of my favorite posts, talking about the weird properties of quantum spin.
Some time ago, I wrote about a fascinating 1975 experiment in which the relationship between quantum mechanics and gravity was tested. The experiment was made possible by the new — at the time — technique of neutron interferometry, in which the wave properties of matter are exploited to test quantum effects. The experiment confirmed a very odd theoretical prediction: that the particle-like aspects and the wave-like aspects of matter are effected differently by a gravitational field. What, exactly, this implies about the nature of the universe is still, as far as I know, unclear!
Not long after this work was done, further investigations using essentially the same neutron interferometer tested, and confirmed, what I consider to be one of the strangest aspects of quantum mechanics, and another powerful illustration of how the universe obeys really different rules on the atomic scale.
View original post 2,099 more words
