Things are getting spookier

Not this kind of spooky.

If you're not into physics, perhaps you should skip this post. I don't think it will mean much to you. But if you're a physics fan, check this out. There's an article today reporting that researchers were able to keep large molecules in a state of superposition. Now that's spooky. Here's an excerpt:

The use of specifically synthesized organic molecules consisting of complexes of up to 430 atoms enabled the researchers to demonstrate the quantum wave nature in mass and size regimes that hitherto had been experimentally inaccessible. These particles are comparable in size, mass and complexity to Insulin molecules and exhibit many features of classical objects. Nevertheless, in the current experiment the tailor-made molecules can exist in a superposition of clearly distinguishable positions and therefore -- similar to 'Schroedinger's cat' -- in a state that is excluded in classical physics.

They've never done this with something so large before. Putting large molecules into a state of superposition is big news. For those following along in the peanut gallery, the short version is that when something is in superposition, it's neither here nor there. It is neither particle nor wave, but both -- like Schroedinger's cat that is dead and alive at the same time. The idea that something isn't really there in the sense we're accustomed to is a totally weird feature of the quantum realm.

On the tiniest levels, stuff is sorta there but it's also sorta in many other places. What's shocking is that the reality we see all around us -- which seems hard and real and quite substantial -- is necessarily built from tiny stuff that's only sorta there. I love this. It makes me smile every time I think about it. What could be more fun? I mean, think about it. How could "big reality" be based on a "tiny reality" that includes things that are only sorta there? That is awesome.

The thing about this test is that it moves the dividing line between up here on the classical level, and down there, where things are neither here nor there, but everywhere. The question is: where exactly does it change? Where is the line that separates the tiny stuff that's only sorta there, and the classical stuff we see all around us? By putting larger molecules into a state of superposition, they moved the dividing line. This is big news.

Reality is fascinating. Religious types ought to check it out some time. It's way more interesting than that silly god idea someone once came up with. Way.