Alice in quantumland: an allegory of quantum physics by Robert Gilmore

Author:Robert Gilmore [Robert Gilmore]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sciences
ISBN: 9780387914954
Published: 1995-07-20T10:00:00+00:00

When she looked around her, Alice was startled to discover that her surroundings had altered every bit as dramatically. Everything seemed to be reversed. In the sky the sun glowered darkly, draining the light from the scene below. Beside the path, dull butterflies flitted backward from dark blossom to dark blossom and a small stream burbled uphill over a bed of round pebbles, while here and there the water soared to the top of a miniature waterfall. Alice had never experienced anything like this before.

She was so fascinated by this remarkable scene that she did not observe that once again a small girl was bearing rapidly down upon her in reverse. Alice looked around just as they collided, with yet another blinding flash. When she recovered from her shock, she saw the girl was backing away along the path by which Alice had just come. She noticed furthermore that the scenery had now returned to normal. "Curiouser and curiouser," said Alice to herself. "The first collision somehow managed to make the whole countryside reverse itself, while the second one has put it back to normal. I'm sure I do not see how that could possibly happen. How can my colliding with that girl, however violently, affect the stream and the sun? It does not make any sense at all." Alice continued to debate with herself about the meaning of her recent experience. It had been so very remarkable that she paid hardly any attention when she heard a sharp detonation to one side of her, while shortly after an extremely energetic photon rushed across the path.

Alice had not reached any satisfactory explanation of her recent experience when the path led her out of the park and onto a wide, level plain. This seemed devoid of any feature, apart from a large, utilitarian building which stood facing her a little way ahead.

When she got close she could see that the building had a name board mounted centrally on the front, a little above the level of Alice's head. At one end this sign bore the words "State Agent." at the other "Virtual Realtor." In the center of the vast blank frontage were a door and a small window, which was full of notices.

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