| Topic: |
Science > Physics |
| User: |
"muser" |
| Date: |
04 Aug 2005 07:10:53 PM |
| Object: |
frivolous question |
What is the most amount of data any one point in quantum space can
hold. For example could someone fit the entire content of a dictionary
on or in a point particle?
These was a philosophical debate that arose at work and I found myself
posing this question.
Thank you in advance.
.
|
|
| User: "Uncle Al" |
|
| Title: Re: frivolous question |
04 Aug 2005 09:08:07 PM |
|
|
muser wrote:
What is the most amount of data any one point in quantum space can
hold. For example could someone fit the entire content of a dictionary
on or in a point particle?
These was a philosophical debate that arose at work and I found myself
posing this question.
Thank you in advance.
(one bit)/(4 Planck areas), about 2.5x10^65 bits/cm^2
--
Uncle Al
http://www.mazepath.com/uncleal/
(Toxic URL! Unsafe for children and most mammals)
http://www.mazepath.com/uncleal/qz.pdf
.
|
|
|
|
| User: "Marshall Dudley" |
|
| Title: Re: frivolous question |
05 Aug 2005 11:56:41 AM |
|
|
muser wrote:
What is the most amount of data any one point in quantum space can
hold. For example could someone fit the entire content of a dictionary
on or in a point particle?
These was a philosophical debate that arose at work and I found myself
posing this question.
Thank you in advance.
This is not philosophical but can be computed. First we have to decide if
we are encoding only in the location of the particle, or if we are
encoding with both the position and velocity. Although the second should
be able to hold approximately the square of the amount of data the
position only one holds, the information would quickly escape our
measuring apparatus, so I would assume that coding position only would be
the more likely method.
Now, there are limits to this encoding that depends on the size of the
space that the particle is in. If the particle is in a crystal matrix of
atoms or molecules, say all copper atoms, but this one particle is silver,
then the maximum information that could be encoded is rather straight
forward. For simplicity sake I am going to assume a cubic crystal, like
sodium chloride. An atom is typically about 1 angstroms in diameter, so
if you have a crystal with the atoms packed together they should be on a
grid of about 1 angstroms. If we are working with a volume of a square
meter, then there would be 10^10 atoms along each side. The number of
atoms would be 10^30 atoms, and the possible information that could be
encoded by one of them would be about 96 bits of information. That works
out to 12 bytes of information, or maybe the first 2 or 3 words of an
encyclopedia or dictionary (that is the actual words, not the definitions
of the words).
Now if we are talking about the position of a particle in a vacuum, and
you have some way to keep it from drifting, then the limit becomes the
quantum limit of measuring a particle's position. Although this would
give a higher encoding, it still would not encode very much information.
Marshall
.
|
|
|
|
| User: "Mark Fergerson" |
|
| Title: Re: frivolous question |
05 Aug 2005 11:01:45 AM |
|
|
muser wrote:
What is the most amount of data any one point in quantum space can
hold. For example could someone fit the entire content of a dictionary
on or in a point particle?
These was a philosophical debate that arose at work and I found myself
posing this question.
Depends how you define "data", and what occupies that point in
space (and which space you mean by "quantum space").
Empty physical fourspace has some properties like permeability
that could be considered "codable", but quantizing them is, er,
difficult.
If we can use actual (or virtual) particles, consider the
available quantum states that particle can occupy at a given time.
Frinst leptons; an electron can have negative charge, weak
charge, and linear and angular momentum. The first two properties
can be inverted together giving you a positron, but the last can
have several orientations depending on whether or not an external
magnetic field is present (and whether it's bound to a nucleus or in
a lattice). The third won't quantize so it's disqualified unless
"go/no go" coding is allowed.
Other particles participate in other field interactions (gluons
in all of them frinst) so choose your "paper" wisely.
Bottom line; dictionaries, no (absent Godelization); short
Post-it-type notes (depending how you code the data), sure.
Mark L. Fergerson
.
|
|
|
|
|
Related Articles |
|
|
