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#1
Dec 22 2011 09:40am
Was quantum mechanic elaborated from an experiment or purely with mathematics that matched the results of the experiment.
In other words, with which one did it began with? Experiment or Mathematics.
  • Did an experiment, saw something, elaborated math relations and then theories
    or
  • Elaborated complicated math functions, found an experiment that matches the functions, elaborated theories

Having an argument with my friend that claims that everything derived from math and that we're just evolving through time by putting words into those mathematics concepts.

This post was edited by Pakamon on Dec 22 2011 09:43am
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#2
Dec 22 2011 10:20am
observation
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#3
Dec 22 2011 12:38pm
I'm not certain about quantum mechanics, but the foundations for newtonian mechanics began with observation. The whole apple falling on his head...Aristotle, I think, I dropped objects off of buildings to demonstrate gravity. Nikolai Tesla was supposedly a brilliant visionary who could visualize things like engines in his head before he put anything to paper. Einstein was another one of those imaginative physicists. Hubble's Law was an estimation he made based first on his observation that objects in space were growing further apart.

Certain principles integral to Quantum Mechanics were math derivations...I want to say the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle is one of those. However, you can observe some quantum phenomena. I'm not certain whether the observation/experiment or the math came first though. I feel like in general it'd be very difficult to come up with an experiment pertaining to quantum physics before you have the math to describe it. Then again, I could also see it as some sort of set of principles which set out to account for some missing values in experimental particle physics. I don't really know. I haven't studied Quantum Mechanics yet.

Not to mention I think biology and chemistry came about through observation and experimentation before mathematical analysis.

This post was edited by Derkaderk on Dec 22 2011 12:40pm
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#4
Dec 22 2011 03:22pm
Quote (Derkaderk @ Dec 23 2011 06:38am)
I'm not certain about quantum mechanics, but the foundations for newtonian mechanics began with observation. The whole apple falling on his head...Aristotle, I think, I dropped objects off of buildings to demonstrate gravity. Nikolai Tesla was supposedly a brilliant visionary who could visualize things like engines in his head before he put anything to paper. Einstein was another one of those imaginative physicists. Hubble's Law was an estimation he made based first on his observation that objects in space were growing further apart.

Certain principles integral to Quantum Mechanics were math derivations...I want to say the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle is one of those. However, you can observe some quantum phenomena. I'm not certain whether the observation/experiment or the math came first though. I feel like in general it'd be very difficult to come up with an experiment pertaining to quantum physics before you have the math to describe it. Then again, I could also see it as some sort of set of principles which set out to account for some missing values in experimental particle physics. I don't really know. I haven't studied Quantum Mechanics yet.

Not to mention I think biology and chemistry came about through observation and experimentation before mathematical analysis.


we observed things that we didnt understand 1st
we then made theories to explain them

einsteins nobel prize is a classic example

and observation is the bedrock of real physics to this day

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#5
Dec 22 2011 03:38pm
Quote (Pakamon @ Dec 22 2011 07:40am)
Was quantum mechanic elaborated from an experiment or purely with mathematics that matched the results of the experiment.
In other words, with which one did it began with? Experiment or Mathematics.
  • Did an experiment, saw something, elaborated math relations and then theories
    or
  • Elaborated complicated math functions, found an experiment that matches the functions, elaborated theories

Having an argument with my friend that claims that everything derived from math and that we're just evolving through time by putting words into those mathematics concepts.


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#6
Dec 23 2011 12:42pm
Quote (Derkaderk @ Dec 22 2011 09:38pm)
I'm not certain about quantum mechanics, but the foundations for newtonian mechanics began with observation. The whole apple falling on his head...Aristotle, I think, I dropped objects off of buildings to demonstrate gravity. Nikolai Tesla was supposedly a brilliant visionary who could visualize things like engines in his head before he put anything to paper. Einstein was another one of those imaginative physicists. Hubble's Law was an estimation he made based first on his observation that objects in space were growing further apart.

Certain principles integral to Quantum Mechanics were math derivations...I want to say the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle is one of those. However, you can observe some quantum phenomena. I'm not certain whether the observation/experiment or the math came first though. I feel like in general it'd be very difficult to come up with an experiment pertaining to quantum physics before you have the math to describe it. Then again, I could also see it as some sort of set of principles which set out to account for some missing values in experimental particle physics. I don't really know. I haven't studied Quantum Mechanics yet.

Not to mention I think biology and chemistry came about through observation and experimentation before mathematical analysis.


Galileo was the one dropping objects off the Pisa tower, Newton was the one with the apple (though I'm not sure whether it's true, but it's related to him not to Aristotle).

I think quantum mechanics originates from Einstein's idea of light being particles in some situations, rather than waves. This explained the photoelectric effect. Another, proper catalyst was the observation of electron diffraction. Davisson, Germer and de Broglie are the ones associated with discovering the wave nature of matter particles, in around 1925. This gave rise to indeterminacy, which is one key concept of quantum mechanics. This was followed by the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle and so on.

This post was edited by Ocen on Dec 23 2011 01:08pm
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#7
Dec 23 2011 05:59pm
Quote (Kamikizzle @ Dec 23 2011 08:38am)
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b90/kamikizzle/caption%20this%20pics/neutral-whyyyyy.png


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