Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
"I can remember when the first pulsars were discovered. I was able to go and sit down and listen to graduate students talking about what their theories, to explain what pulsars really were."
- Vernor Vinge
 |
| Waveform Hypothesis | ||
The "waveform" hypothesis is a literary device that Backbeat: A Novel of Physics uses to explore the relationship between quantum physics and the human condition.
One of the novel's main characters is a doctoral student at Royal Holloway College in the 1980's when string theory was just beginning to emerge as a viable candidate for a Theory of Everything (TOE). With that said, doctoral student Justin Bishop devised the "waveform" hypothesis based on the common theory that all energy has a wave nature and that matter is a derivative. If we have a wave nature at our root, be it the Planck scale or the more imaginable atomic and molecular scale, then does that nature have a bearing on our lives?
The "waveform" hypothesis contends that the wave nature we imagine in the quantum world is expressed in our nature, our actions, and our impact on the future. What we do today creates a waveform that will affect other waveforms, either constructively or destructively, for better or worse. No different or profound, I suppose, than "what goes around, comes around." Yet, if this were really true, what changes might we cause with a simple change of frequency? The possibilities are infinite.
| Technovelgy from Backbeat - A Novel of Physics,
by J. Frederick Arment. Published by Blue Hot Books in 2004 Additional resources -
|
Current textbook theory splits the universe into two scales: the tiny quantum world and the macro world in which the laws of Einstein and Newton rule. At what point the jump between worlds is made is not clear. Physicists themselves are a bit fuzzy on the matter. They have come up with a compromise called the Copenhagen Interpretation, which includes a hypothesis called Complementarity. The "waveform" hypothesis is just that, a hypothesis. Trouble is, the scientific method is of little help in proving or disproving whether the quantum world can teach us about our nature. To predict and experiment at the quantum scale is difficult, if not impossible. To predict and experiment at the human scale, with the problems associated with measuring the resulting exponential chaos, is definitely impossible!
Comment/Join this discussion ( 0 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Backbeat - A Novel of Physics
More Ideas
and Technology by J. Frederick Arment
Tech news articles related to Backbeat - A Novel of Physics
Tech news articles related to works by J. Frederick Arment
| Can One Robot Do Many Tasks? |
| Roborock Saros Z70 Is A Robot Vacuum With An Arm |
| Secret Kill Switch Found In Yutong Buses |
| The Desert Ship Sailed In Imagination |
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a
quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add
it here.
| <Previous | Next> |
|
|
|
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
'...there's a narrow belt where the climate is moderate.'
'... with the Master-operator all you have to do is push one! A remarkable achievement!'
'Not like me. A T-1000, advanced prototype. A mimetic poly-alloy. Liquid metal.'
'It was riddled with holes that were the mouths of tunnels.'
'The massive feet working the pedals, arms and hands flashing and glinting...'
'There were cubic miles of it, and it glistened like a silvery Christmas tree...'
'Jason had been guiding the caravan of cars as usual...'
"The robot solemnly hit a ball against the wall, picked it up and teed it, hit it again, over and again...'
