科普英语：论述量子世界与传统世界.docVIP

科普英语：论述量子世界与传统世界 In the quantum world, physicists study the tiny particles that make up our classical world - neutrons, electrons, photons - either one at a time or in small numbers because the behaviour of the particles is completely different on such a small scale. If you add to the number of particles that are being studied, eventually there will be enough particles that they no longer act quantum mechanically and must be identified as classical, just like our everyday world. But where is the line between the quantum world and the classical world? A group of scientists from Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) explored this question by showing what was thought to be a quantum phenomenon can be explained classically. They have recently published their results in Physical Review Letters. quot;We wanted to know about the relationship and interactions between light and matter,quot; Prof. Denis Konstantinov, author and leader of OIST’s Quantum Dynamics Unit said. quot;By light we mean electromagnetic fields: radio waves, microwaves, or light. They are all described by the same laws in physics. By matter, we mean a collection of tiny particles, like atoms or electrons.quot; Specifically, the team was interested in strong coupling in light-matter interactions where there are a large number of particles that make up the matter. Strong coupling is when the light and the matter are both affected by the interactions. In most circumstances, the light is not affected when light and matter interact. For example, a boat in the ocean is affected by the waves, but the ocean is not really affected by the presence of the boat. Strong coupling is interesting because both the boat (matter) and waves (light) are strongly affected by the interaction with the other. Generally, this has been thought of as a quantum effect. However, the researchers wanted to explore the boundary between the quantum and classical worlds. quot;Every