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Why does E=mc²?
- Title of a pop-sci book by Profs. Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw
Astronomy double period! Whoever set up the timetables this term is sure to get some threatening looks from the students (once they find out who it was, of course). And it's fairly early in the morning, too! You might have had time for a short breakfast only before hurrying up seven floors to the Tower.
Professor Antares isn't around yet, though. So you're still on time, and you have a minute or so to catch your breath. The large desk at the front of the class is the usual mess of encyclopaedias and journals.
OOC: Sometimes, real-life (or meatspace, if you prefer :>) issues intrude upon SnitchSeeker time. I'm sure you noticed I couldn't finish the first lesson, that I didn't give any homework... and that I haven't been around much in general, really. I do sincerely apologise for that, but it couldn't be helped. I hope it doesn't sound like I'm trying to make excuses - I'm just letting you know. For honesty's sake, you should probably mention it in my evaluation at the end of term too.
I'll add the points for that class (plus a bonus for everyone who participated) before term is over, of course. And I hope I have the time now to RP for the last few weeks. Professor Antares is available in his office again now if there's anything that needs to be discussed. :>
With that out of the way: Class will begin once I'm back from university, in about six hours. Have a seat! You're allowed to chat if you feel like it too.
[edit]
If you're just now joining in, the second lesson of this double period (and the third lesson overall) begins here.
Since it was still early-ish, Risu summoned himself a cup of coffee, which he drank in generous gulps, tidying up his desk a little on the side and wondering what the Miner kid was doing. Maybe just stretching his legs.
He was very pleased with his students. Relativity (even if they had only managed to cover special relativity) was a very difficult topic full of subtleties, and the class appeared to have understood them all. That was impressive, relativity being something most people, in Risu's experience, did not even study before becoming undergraduates at universities.
When the clock on his desk ticked close to the full hour, he finished his coffee and put the empty cup down on the desk. There was now some space to do that. Shooing Alex back to his own table, Risu resumed his usual position in front of the class, waiting for the last students to file back in. He waved his hand in the direction of the door, and it closed.
Astronomy double period - Macrocosm, microcosm
Part two of this double period begins now, lesson 3 overall.
"Welcome back, everyone. I know you probably don't feel like doing another lesson, but I promise we will go easier in this one." He smiled. "As I said in the beginning, the topic will be quantum theory, more commonly known as quantum mechanics. It's a strange theory, even more so than relativity, so we will only discuss a few basic concepts, but they should be enough to give you an idea.
"Quantum mechanics," Risu continued, "is the second triumph of 20th century physics, next to relativity. It is an astonishingly successful theory, describing every single interaction in the Universe with the exception of gravity. Its equations are so accurate that, if you used quantum theory to calculate distances, you could pin down the distance between New York City and Los Angeles to within the width of a human hair.
"Quantum mechanics was developed in the early decades of the 20th century, almost parallel to relativity. It was a completely new branch of physics - it introduced the notion of uncertainty. All other theories, including relativity, which are known as classical physics, are based on the idea that, given machines that are advanced enough and so forth, everything can eventually be measured perfectly. Quantum mechanics disagrees. On very small scales, the microcosm of the single atom, for example, classical physics breaks down. Uncertainty reigns supreme."
He raised a finger. "Note, however, that this uncertainty is a very well-defined concept. It's not shrugging and saying, 'Oh, we can't know this,' it's very rigorous mathematics. We will talk about this uncertainty in a little while, but first, a few words on what made quantum mechanics necessary. What made quantum mechanics necessary was nothing more complicated than a piece of hot metalwork from a blacksmith."
Was he just SHOOOOOED away?
Dude.
Alex went to take a seat, wanting some coffee too, now, even though it tasted icky.
Putting his top few pages of notes back into a folder inside of his back, Alex licked the tip of his quill, almost choked because he'd just licked INK, and started making some more notes. He did wonder what part of New York City and Los Angeles Antares meant when talking about distance... the very edge or the centre? Was there like a HUUUUUGE pin sticking out of the ground, like in a map?
He was getting distracted.
He liked quantum mechanics already... it reminded him of the philosophy that you had to take a chance sometimes. Not be afraid to get it wrong, and you could just get it EXACT. Well... that was his opinion on the matter.
Uncertainty reigns supreme: he liked that.
Okay, hot metal, blacksmith, uncertainty = rigourous mathematics.
He was ready... hopefully.
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"The phenomenon that required quantum mechanics is known as black body radiation," Risu explained. "It has to do with something very ordinary and, on the face of it, simple: Heat. If a piece of metal is brought to high temperatures, it glows red hot. The explanation for these observations in classical physics is known as the Rayleigh-Jeans law, but while it works well for heat radiating at long wavelengths, something weird happens at very short wavelengths - the law predicts that the hot piece of metal should emit an infinite amount of energy. Since that obviously doesn't happen, a new explanation had to be found.
"In 1900, the German physicist Max Planck proposed a model that worked. This name is important to remember, by the way," Risu added, "Max Planck is generally considered one of the founding figures of quantum mechanics. In his model, energy could only be transported in little packets he called quanta. Singular quantum, plural quanta. Unlike in classical physics, this energy couldn't be arbitrarily transmitted, it had to be moved, quantum after quantum. Albert Einstein, who was rather sceptical about quantum mechanics for several years, used this explanation to show that a beam of light could be a stream of quanta - they're now called photons."
Risu paused. "At this point, we need to talk about light. Someone mentioned it earlier, light can be considered to be both a stream of particles or a wave. I said at the time that this is called wave-particle duality. It's one of those things that quantum mechanics has come up with that challenge our day-to-day understanding of the Universe. This applies to all matter, incidentally, not just light.
Until quantum mechanics came along, most people thought the debate about whether light was made up of particles or waves had been settled in favour of waves. It explained how light could move at the cosmic speed limit - since particles are usually considered to have mass, and therefore cannot speed up to the speed of light.
"An absolutely classic proof of the dual nature of light is the so-called double-slit experiment. Does anyone happen to have heard of this? Could you explain the experimental set-up?"
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The double slit experiment? Finlay kind of recalled reading about that when he had been home schooled. When he really hadn't been paying attention to his studies, which was probably a bad idea, because it would be rather useful now right? He pulled a bit of a face, and he tried to remember what it had said. Gah. He could remember a little bit, but it was kind of distant, and not really making any sense. "Isn't it when a scientist, had an experiment where particles, or beams passed through two slits, which were quite close together?" Hence Double slits right?
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It's the end of the show. Of the historemix. We switched up the flow. And we changed the prefix
But we want to say. Before we drop the curtain. Nothing is for sure. Nothing is for certain
"I can't say I've ever heard of it, but logic suggests it has something to do with light, two slits... and seeing what the light does, like mayyyybe going in a straight line or crossing over or spreading out. Possibly a reflection-y thing? Not sure," he added, just in case Antares didn't get that he wasn't being super smart, and his guess work was amazing.
You know, assuming he was somehow right.
"Quick question, as a sideline... metal can glow red hot, right? Can things get white with heat? 'Cause you hear about things being white hot... and yeah."
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The double slit experiment? Finlay kind of recalled reading about that when he had been home schooled. When he really hadn't been paying attention to his studies, which was probably a bad idea, because it would be rather useful now right? He pulled a bit of a face, and he tried to remember what it had said. Gah. He could remember a little bit, but it was kind of distant, and not really making any sense. "Isn't it when a scientist, had an experiment where particles, or beams passed through two slits, which were quite close together?" Hence Double slits right?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zoerawrr
Alex did the whole raisy hand thing.
"I can't say I've ever heard of it, but logic suggests it has something to do with light, two slits... and seeing what the light does, like mayyyybe going in a straight line or crossing over or spreading out. Possibly a reflection-y thing? Not sure," he added, just in case Antares didn't get that he wasn't being super smart, and his guess work was amazing.
You know, assuming he was somehow right.
"Quick question, as a sideline... metal can glow red hot, right? Can things get white with heat? 'Cause you hear about things being white hot... and yeah."
"You're both correct," Risu said with a nod. "To answer your question, Mr Miner, yes, they can. The reason quantum mechanics was developed was that at some wavelengths, of which red and white hot would be two examples, classical physics did not work out. The equations produced the aforementioned infinities." He wandered over to the blackboard. "If I could find a piece of chalk... Ha!" He picked it up triumphantly and began drawing on the blackboard.
SPOILER!!:
"The basic set-up for the double-slit experiment is sort of like this," Risu said, finishing the drawing and turning around again. He picked up his wand and tapped the blackboard behind his back, giving the drawing some orange colour.
"We have a light source at the bottom, shining light through the two slits, onto a surface at the back. When this experiment is performed - which you can do yourself, if you feel like it, it doesn't take a lot to set up, as you can see - a characteristic pattern of light and shadow emerges. It's reminiscent of water waves overlapping... And there's a hint as to what light can be. Waves! But at the same time, other areas of the surface at the back that are lit up can only be, well, lit up if light is a stream of particles."
He glanced at the drawing. It wouldn't win any prizes, but it should help visualising the experiment. "What quantum mechanics tells us is that light can be a particle and a wave simultaneously. Some scientists have suggest the term 'wavicle' for this - matter exhibiting characteristics of both a particle and a wave."
Risu raised two fingers. "We've learned two things about quantum mechanics already. First, all energy is transmitted in little packages called quanta. Second, matter - everything from light to electrons - is not simply made up of little bits and pieces. Matter is partly waves, partly particles, depending on what is being measured. Any questions about these two basic ideas of quantum mechanics?"
Alex raised his hand slightly warily. "So... the wavicle means... the light doesn't just go in a straight line or something? But it's not a total wave either?" This was confusing him more than the last one topic. Hmm. "I'm just kind of confused by what's so different about what the 'wavicle' does or its properties."
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Alex raised his hand slightly warily. "So... the wavicle means... the light doesn't just go in a straight line or something? But it's not a total wave either?" This was confusing him more than the last one topic. Hmm. "I'm just kind of confused by what's so different about what the 'wavicle' does or its properties."
Risu shook his head. "It definitely is a straight line." He paused. "Well, light can be curved, but that would lead us too far afield. In general, light will shine along a straight line. Even if you see it as just a wave, the crests and the, er..." what was the English word? This hadn't happened to Risu in years, more or less, "troughs, I think, will cancel each other out so that the light proceeds in a straight line."
He turned around and squiggled an up-and-down wave on the blackboard. Then he drew a line through the middle, slicing the top and bottom in two. "Do you see what I mean, Mr Miner? On average, the wave will proceed in a line. In any case, the point, if you want to put it that way, of the term 'wavicle' is that matter is not simply a wave. Or a particle. Matter is an in-between kind of... thing, something that we can describe mathematically but not really imagine."
Risu shook his head. "It definitely is a straight line." He paused. "Well, light can be curved, but that would lead us too far afield. In general, light will shine along a straight line. Even if you see it as just a wave, the crests and the, er..." what was the English word? This hadn't happened to Risu in years, more or less, "troughs, I think, will cancel each other out so that the light proceeds in a straight line."
He turned around and squiggled an up-and-down wave on the blackboard. Then he drew a line through the middle, slicing the top and bottom in two. "Do you see what I mean, Mr Miner? On average, the wave will proceed in a line. In any case, the point, if you want to put it that way, of the term 'wavicle' is that matter is not simply a wave. Or a particle. Matter is an in-between kind of... thing, something that we can describe mathematically but not really imagine."
"I didn't mean it like that," Alex said hurriedly, talking about the first part. "I mean like..." He put the tip of his left index finger on the desk and gathered his fingertips of his other hand around that... and then splayed them out, so they were in all directions. "Like, BAM! Like that..."
He watched the man draw his diagram and it made more sense. "Like... kind of particles concentrated so they're going in a line anyway? Well... I guess that makes no sense, but yeah, I get what you mean."
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"I didn't mean it like that," Alex said hurriedly, talking about the first part. "I mean like..." He put the tip of his left index finger on the desk and gathered his fingertips of his other hand around that... and then splayed them out, so they were in all directions. "Like, BAM! Like that..."
He watched the man draw his diagram and it made more sense. "Like... kind of particles concentrated so they're going in a line anyway? Well... I guess that makes no sense, but yeah, I get what you mean."
Risu spread out his own fingers, making himself look rather like trying to high-five the air awkwardly. "I see what you mean, I think," he said, lowering his hand quickly. "If you switch on a light, a large number of wavicles stream out of the bulb in all directions. In the way you demonstrated there. But just as your fingers are pointing in different directions but are still straight individually, each single beam of light is a straight line."
He looked at Alex, trying to see any dawning comprehension in the kid's face. There seemed to be an inkling of it, at least. "Perhaps when we talk about the nature of duality a little more closely, it will become clearer. As I said, wave-particle duality does not apply simply to light, it applies to all matter. The basic model of how atoms are structured, with the nucleus in the middle and the electrons circling it, for example, had to be re-examined and modified as a result of quantum mechanics."
He picked up his wand and waved it in the direction of the wall. "This is, I think, the atom we are all familiar with. Nucleus in the middle, electrons whizzing around it."
SPOILER!!: "Lol, this is actually an old signature of mine. So awesome I get to use it as teaching material now.
"But, as we just discovered, electrons aren't little, well, balls that are circling the nucleus. They can be described as a wave as well. This is closely connected to the nature of uncertainty - because what does the wave structure do if we want to find out the position of an individual electron?"
"I think I getcha for now, boss," Alex nodded, making a few doodle!diagrams on his parchment and annotating them so he'd understand later.
Right. Atoms were something in Alex's know-how (more or less). He'd gone to a public muggle primary school (public school = private schools in Britain... yeah) and they taught kids advanced stuff (which was good, because he wasn't exactly in muggle education now, was he?).
Anyway, he raised his hand. "Does it, like... move? So you can't pinpoint it? Or is it too big to pinpoint?"
Oh man he hoped he was at least on the right track.
He raised his hand once more, getting off track. "Are there atoms in light?"
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"I think I getcha for now, boss," Alex nodded, making a few doodle!diagrams on his parchment and annotating them so he'd understand later.
Right. Atoms were something in Alex's know-how (more or less). He'd gone to a public muggle primary school (public school = private schools in Britain... yeah) and they taught kids advanced stuff (which was good, because he wasn't exactly in muggle education now, was he?).
Anyway, he raised his hand. "Does it, like... move? So you can't pinpoint it? Or is it too big to pinpoint?"
Oh man he hoped he was at least on the right track.
He raised his hand once more, getting off track. "Are there atoms in light?"
"No, atoms are much too large," Risu said, shaking his head. "They're, you know, put together out of smaller particles. Electrons as well as protons and neutrons (which are in turn made up of even smaller bits). Light is made up of a different elementary particle, one I already briefly mentioned: The photon."
He waved a hand. "I don't think we have the time to go into it right now, but if you are coming to my classes next term, you might find one on elementary particles such as the photon. But! Your answer to my question was, once again, very close to what I was after. The thing about waves is, they are not focused in a particular point in space. Sounds straightforward, correct? You cannot really say that a wave is here or here, it's always spread out."
Risu flicked his wand at the wall, and the image changed again. "It's not really too big to pinpoint, Mr Miner, it's too diffuse to pinpoint. There is, in fact, no point to pin, er, a pin on."
SPOILER!!:
"In this view, we've replaced an electron of classical physics with the quantum-mechanical view. This whole thing," he waved a hand at it, "is called the electron cloud. Pretty self-explanatory name, right?" Risu nodded and smiled. "I like to think so. If you want to get mathematical, it is called an orbital. Every electron exists in its own cloud. Where clouds of different atoms overlap, molecules such as water - made up of two hydrogen and one oxygen atom, as some of you might now - bind together. But here's where we introduce uncertainty."
He indicated the cloud area again. "You see, in quantum mechanics, while we are sure that the electron exists, its wave-particle nature makes it impossible to say where it is exactly. You can only say where it is with a certain probability. You can describe this probability with high accuracy, but you can never say with certainty where the electron is at any given moment. This principle was introduced by... who?" He smiled at the class. Easy question for those who might have had some trouble keeping up.
"Yeah, I thought that sounded weird after I said it," Alex smiled, talking almost conversationally as he lowered his hand.
Awwww, now he was saaaaad. He couldn't come to the classes next year 'cause he was a seventh year. BOOOOO!
"Ohhh... okay..." he responded, writing down 'not too big, too diffuse' and then double underlining the last word.
Oh, here was something he didn't know. Alex raised his hand and tried to hazard a guess, feeling like he was raising his hand too much in this class. "Einstein, maybe?"
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"Yeah, I thought that sounded weird after I said it," Alex smiled, talking almost conversationally as he lowered his hand.
Awwww, now he was saaaaad. He couldn't come to the classes next year 'cause he was a seventh year. BOOOOO!
"Ohhh... okay..." he responded, writing down 'not too big, too diffuse' and then double underlining the last word.
Oh, here was something he didn't know. Alex raised his hand and tried to hazard a guess, feeling like he was raising his hand too much in this class. "Einstein, maybe?"
"Nope," Risu said with a slight smile. "Einstein had a lot of problems with quantum mechanics at first - only in his later life did he accept it as scientifically correct. The nature of uncertainty deeply troubled him. He was certain that the Universe could not have randomness or uncertainty at its core. So, no, it was not Einstein.
"The man who came up with the uncertainty principle was called Werner Heisenberg. Along with Planck and another one or two people, he is one of the defining figures of quantum mechanics. His uncertainty principle can be stated more or less thus: Certain physical properties cannot both be known to arbitrary precision."
He paused. "This might be a confusing definition at first, so we will look at an example. Think of a Muggle car going through a radar trap. We would ordinarily assume that at any moment in time, the car would have a definite position and speed. In fact, if we user better and better measuring tools, we will get closer and closer to the 'true' speed and position of the car.
But that is not what happens. Quantum mechanics shows that, in a pair of properties such as speed and position, you can only refine your knowledge of one at the cost of the other. Applied to our example, this means that if we try to get a better reading of the car's speed, we will increase our uncertainty of its position."
Risu waved a hand. "And vice versa. If we get a close look at the car's position, we don't know as much about its speed anymore. This isn't a question of the right tools. Uncertainty is built into the very fabric of the Universe! No matter how good our measurement tools are, there will always be uncertainty, and this uncertainty increases in one way or the other if we focus on a particular physical property, such as speed or position.
Now, quantum mechanics usually applies at the microcosm level, the level of atoms and even smaller particles. A car is big enough that you won't notice this uncertainty. But if you go down to the size of an electron, for example, this uncertainty becomes important - hence, our electron cloud." He pointed behind himself at the wall where the image was still visible.
"Are there any questions about the uncertainty principle?"
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Trixie opened her mouth to answer the question but number one another pupil beet her to it,even if he was incorrect and number two, the Professor had already gone into some rant about it anyway so lowered her hand slowly and sunk back in her seat, ready to be inconspicuous for the rest of the lesson. If the last lesson was confusing there was no doubt this one was going to be too.
Instead the Slytherin chose to just fill many pieces of parchment with neatly organised notes. Eh they'd certainly come in handy later on wouldn't they? She nodded at the Professors question. She was following. Hopefully anyway.
"Nope," Risu said with a slight smile. "Einstein had a lot of problems with quantum mechanics at first - only in his later life did he accept it as scientifically correct. The nature of uncertainty deeply troubled him. He was certain that the Universe could not have randomness or uncertainty at its core. So, no, it was not Einstein.
"The man who came up with the uncertainty principle was called Werner Heisenberg. Along with Planck and another one or two people, he is one of the defining figures of quantum mechanics. His uncertainty principle can be stated more or less thus: Certain physical properties cannot both be known to arbitrary precision."
He paused. "This might be a confusing definition at first, so we will look at an example. Think of a Muggle car going through a radar trap. We would ordinarily assume that at any moment in time, the car would have a definite position and speed. In fact, if we user better and better measuring tools, we will get closer and closer to the 'true' speed and position of the car.
But that is not what happens. Quantum mechanics shows that, in a pair of properties such as speed and position, you can only refine your knowledge of one at the cost of the other. Applied to our example, this means that if we try to get a better reading of the car's speed, we will increase our uncertainty of its position."
Risu waved a hand. "And vice versa. If we get a close look at the car's position, we don't know as much about its speed anymore. This isn't a question of the right tools. Uncertainty is built into the very fabric of the Universe! No matter how good our measurement tools are, there will always be uncertainty, and this uncertainty increases in one way or the other if we focus on a particular physical property, such as speed or position.
Now, quantum mechanics usually applies at the microcosm level, the level of atoms and even smaller particles. A car is big enough that you won't notice this uncertainty. But if you go down to the size of an electron, for example, this uncertainty becomes important - hence, our electron cloud." He pointed behind himself at the wall where the image was still visible.
"Are there any questions about the uncertainty principle?"
"Drat it," Alex smiled. Figured.
'Werner Heisenberg' was scrawled onto his parchment beside 'uncertainty principle'. He wrote 'Planck' as well, unable to hold back a chuckle at the name. Hurr hurr.
Again with the notes, Alex noted down 'certain physical properties cannot both be known to arbitrary precision', even though he wasn't sure what arbitrary position was. Maybe Antares was about to go into it though, so all was good.
Wait! It was making sense. It was like a logic puzzle. You know where you sometimes had to try other stuff to see if other things could fit in, and the more you filled in with pencil, rather than pen, tthe further you got from what you knew was right, no matter how broad. It didn't make sense when you applied it to this, but it helped Alex get a better idea.
He knew that wasn't how it worked here from what Antares was saying now. The way he was saying made it sound like if you focused on one thing, the rest of the stuff was in the periphery of your vision/focus.
And yeah, smaller made uncertainty more important. All was good.
Alex nodded casually has he scrawled down a few notes.
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"No questions?" Risu asked, looking around. "Great! Well, we are nearly at an end - we've gone through several of the most important concepts of quantum mechanics. Wave-particle duality, uncertainty, the quantisation of energy..." he ticked each point off on his fingers.
"To finish things off, I want to look at some of the things relativity and quantum mechanics do for us in our everyday lives. We always talk about these important scientific concepts and theories, but I wouldn't be surprised if they seem rather obscure and, perhaps, pointless to you. Why does it matter if electrons aren't single points but diffuse clouds? Why is relativistic time dilation important?"
Waving his wand so that the image on the wall disappeared, Risu said, "I will give you an example from relativity. Many Muggles use little computers - I'm sure you've talked about these in Muggle Studies if you're not Muggleborns yourself anyway - instead of maps. These computers rely on satellites in orbit around the Earth, and they are fast enough for relativistic effects to take place. Each GPS satellite has to readjust itself by 38 microseconds a day. If it did not, the complete system would stop functioning in a matter of hours."
Risu nodded. "Just as an example. Now, does anyone happen to know any practical applications of quantum mechanics?"
"No questions?" Risu asked, looking around. "Great! Well, we are nearly at an end - we've gone through several of the most important concepts of quantum mechanics. Wave-particle duality, uncertainty, the quantisation of energy..." he ticked each point off on his fingers.
"To finish things off, I want to look at some of the things relativity and quantum mechanics do for us in our everyday lives. We always talk about these important scientific concepts and theories, but I wouldn't be surprised if they seem rather obscure and, perhaps, pointless to you. Why does it matter if electrons aren't single points but diffuse clouds? Why is relativistic time dilation important?"
Waving his wand so that the image on the wall disappeared, Risu said, "I will give you an example from relativity. Many Muggles use little computers - I'm sure you've talked about these in Muggle Studies if you're not Muggleborns yourself anyway - instead of maps. These computers rely on satellites in orbit around the Earth, and they are fast enough for relativistic effects to take place. Each GPS satellite has to readjust itself by 38 microseconds a day. If it did not, the complete system would stop functioning in a matter of hours."
Risu nodded. "Just as an example. Now, does anyone happen to know any practical applications of quantum mechanics?"
Alex leaned back in his chair and looked slowly around. Nobody was saying anything yet. Hmm.
He looked stumped for a moment, and still with the same expression said, "Toasters?"
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Trixie raised her hand up high to answer the question after she'd written down a few notes to finish off that specific section. There was an awful lot to take in and her brain was hurting more and more by the second, but it would all certainly be worthwhile hence why she was here. That and she actually quite enjoyed the lesson. "Professor, could it be found in Muggle technology? Things like lasers....?" she asked not entirely sure. She was pureblooded, the concept of a computer confused her at times. If it wasn't right then it wasn't entirely her fault. Too much Muggl einformation for her to comprehend.
Alex leaned back in his chair and looked slowly around. Nobody was saying anything yet. Hmm.
He looked stumped for a moment, and still with the same expression said, "Toasters?"
Risu chuckled. "On the Enterprise, maybe. I think I'll switch to cereal, if you don't mind, Mr Miner."
Quote:
Originally Posted by feltbeatslover22
Trixie raised her hand up high to answer the question after she'd written down a few notes to finish off that specific section. There was an awful lot to take in and her brain was hurting more and more by the second, but it would all certainly be worthwhile hence why she was here. That and she actually quite enjoyed the lesson. "Professor, could it be found in Muggle technology? Things like lasers....?" she asked not entirely sure. She was pureblooded, the concept of a computer confused her at times. If it wasn't right then it wasn't entirely her fault. Too much Muggl einformation for her to comprehend.
Mhmm.. *Sink*
Risu nodded happily. With Alex, Trixie was one of the most active students in the class this time. "Yep, good job. Lasers, operating at levels where quantum effects become important and have to be taken into account, are one example. A lot of medical technology depends on this, in fact."
Risu chuckled. "On the Enterprise, maybe. I think I'll switch to cereal, if you don't mind, Mr Miner."
Risu nodded happily. With Alex, Trixie was one of the most active students in the class this time. "Yep, good job. Lasers, operating at levels where quantum effects become important and have to be taken into account, are one example. A lot of medical technology depends on this, in fact."
He looked around. "Any other applications?"
"You need to live a little, boss!" Alex grinned.
'Cause he knew what the Enterprise was. Yup.
Something else occurred to him. "OOOH! Shrink rays!" he exclaimed. They had to use those, right? Muggles obviously used shrink rays. He'd seen it on the TV they had.
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Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Chocolate!
Something else occurred to him. "OOOH! Shrink rays!" he exclaimed. They had to use those, right? Muggles obviously used shrink rays. He'd seen it on the TV they had.
Risu looked at Alex shiftily. "You have a devious mind, Mr Miner," he said, making a mental note never to supply any advice, atomic batteries or semi-conductive bits of metal to the kid. He'd shrink the Whomping Willow and sell it as an "especially lively bonsai tree" to some poor Muggle in London.
That's exactly what he'd do.
"Shrink rays..." he said musingly, a grin playing on his lips. "I'm afraid I'm not authorised to say whether those exist or not." He clapped into his hands. "And what a pity, Mr Miner, that the lesson seems to be over just now."
He couldn't suppress a little smirk. "Homework will be on the blackboard, make sure to tell the fellow students in your house if they missed these two lessons, aaand..." Risu glanced at the clock on his desk. "Well, I will be around for at least another 30 minutes or so to answer your questions if there is anything unclear from what we talked about. Great job, everyone, I'm really pleased with how much you understood."
He nodded, satisfied, and turned to wave his wand at the blackboard. Scrawled writing appeared.
Homework
Please explain the following terms briefly (i.e. two or three sentences each):
- time dilation
- length contraction
- uncertainty principle
- wave-particle duality
Homework can be handed in until 11.59pm GMT on Saturday, 13 November. This assignment is worth up to 16 points. (Four points each.)
Risu looked at Alex shiftily. "You have a devious mind, Mr Miner," he said, making a mental note never to supply any advice, atomic batteries or semi-conductive bits of metal to the kid. He'd shrink the Whomping Willow and sell it as an "especially lively bonsai tree" to some poor Muggle in London.
That's exactly what he'd do.
"Shrink rays..." he said musingly, a grin playing on his lips. "I'm afraid I'm not authorised to say whether those exist or not." He clapped into his hands. "And what a pity, Mr Miner, that the lesson seems to be over just now."
He couldn't suppress a little smirk. "Homework will be on the blackboard, make sure to tell the fellow students in your house if they missed these two lessons, aaand..." Risu glanced at the clock on his desk. "Well, I will be around for at least another 30 minutes or so to answer your questions if there is anything unclear from what we talked about. Great job, everyone, I'm really pleased with how much you understood."
He nodded, satisfied, and turned to wave his wand at the blackboard. Scrawled writing appeared.
Homework
Please explain the following terms briefly (i.e. two or three sentences each):
- time dilation
- length contraction
- uncertainty principle
- wave-particle duality
Homework can be handed in until 11.59pm GMT on Saturday, 13 November. This assignment is worth up to 16 points. (Four points each.)
"That I do," Alex grinned, no idea what Antares was thinking. And good job, too. He'd have got some definite ideas.
He scrawled down the homework on a fresh bit of parchment and tucked it into his Astronomy subject folder (decorated with stars as well as scientific diagrams) which was open inside his bag. Once everything was put away the seventh year stood and slung his bag over his shoulder. That being done he grinned at Antares and saluted. "You can expect a visit from me later sir... I have a heck of a lot of homework to do right now. Later boss!"
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Days of Potter 2023:___________________________ Which Bertie Botts Flavour Are You? You are Chocolate!
HeadGirlMC | Treddie & Trixiver <3 | Copy Girl | Katie's Ickle Minion | I love YOU more
N'aww.
The lesson was over. Well that went quicker than expected. The Slytherin finished up the last few notes that she was making. Looking down she was a little shocked by the amount of parchment she had gone through. Eh she'd have to organise this neatly somewhere so she wouldn't loose it at all. That would be quite likely by the amount of school work she went through. People didn't call her swotty for no reason of course. Trixie packed away all of her equipment before standing up to leave. Pfft... Some friends for not turning up. Hmph!
But yaaaay Homework. That would give her something to cure her boredom and well, it meant points for Slytherin as well didn't it? And of COURSE she was going to dump this homework on all of her friends. If she was doing it so were they. YEAH!
"Thanks for the great lesson Professor" the almost seventeen year old grinned before exciting the classroom.
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Astronomy double period 
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