The Unlikely Buddha

For centuries, the mystery of how migratory birds navigate thousands of miles with uncanny precision has fascinated scientists. While it was long suspected that birds somehow use Earth's magnetic field as a guide, the exact mechanism remained elusive. Early theories suggested that magnetite, a magnetic mineral found in birds' beaks, might act as a compass. However, this explanation failed to fully account for the remarkable sensitivity and accuracy of avian navigation. The breakthrough came from an unexpected source: quantum physics. The story of how physicist Klaus Schulten proposed—and eventually helped prove—that birds rely on quantum entanglement in their eyes is a fascinating tale of scientific persistence and interdisciplinary discovery. The Early Magnetite Hypothesis In the mid-20th century, researchers observed that certain animals, including birds, seemed to possess an innate ability to detect magnetic fields. One prevailing theory was that tiny c...

The randomness in quantum mechanics is a fundamental feature of the theory as we currently understand it. Here's a precise explanation that incorporates radioactive decay as an example: 1. *Wavefunction and Probabilistic Nature Quantum mechanics is inherently probabilistic. The wavefunction,  \psi , encodes the probabilities of possible outcomes of measurements via the Born rule:  P = |\psi|^2   While the evolution of the wavefunction itself is deterministic (governed by the Schrödinger equation), the outcomes of measurements are probabilistic. 2. *Collapse and Randomness Randomness enters during measurement, where the wavefunction collapses to a specific eigenstate. This collapse is not described by the deterministic Schrödinger equation but is postulated as an additional rule in standard (Copenhagen) quantum mechanics. The exact mechanism behind this collapse—and whether it reflects true randomness or something deeper—is unresolved. 3. Be...