Zeno, the master of the paradoxical dialectic, and both "immeasurably subtle
and profound" gives his name to a special effect.
A. The quantum Zeno effect is the situation in which an unstable
particle, as long as it is "observed", will not decay. Seriously. This is
one reason why QM is so controversial, yet profound.
B. Wheeler's "quantum foam" is better known.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_foam
C. What happens when A meets B, and the "observer" is a laser beam?
The implication - say with Wheelers "quantum foam" - if and when one can
irradiate virtual positronium in our 3-space for even a very short time - is
that annihilation will happen, releasing lots of energy.
According to Wiki the wiseacre: "One can nearly 'freeze' the evolution of a
system by measuring it frequently enough in its initial state . The quantum
Zeno effect is the suppression of unitary time evolution caused by quantum
decoherence in quantum systems provided by a variety of sources:
measurement, interactions with the environment, stochastic fields, and so
on.. As an outgrowth of study of the quantum Zeno effect, it has become
clear that applying a series of sufficiently strong and fast pulses with
appropriate symmetry can also decouple a system from its decohering
environment."
So, if the above is not QBS <g> then the dialectic is to ask: why doesn't
applying a laser beam to any area in 3-space produce the anomalous energy of
positron annihilation ?
Answer: the emphasis is on "sufficiently strong and fast pulses with
appropriate symmetry" but apparently the doubters may be learning, today,
just how "sufficiently strong and fast" we must be, in order to
paradoxically do the impossible deed ..
Jones
