Blog Contest Returns!!
Win Whiteys! First good explanation of the physics-related meaning of this lol-weapon image:
For more (and better!) use of art to depict science, check out this astro-dance.
If you can't figure it out for yourself, click on more info to the right of the video on YouTube.
7 comments:
one, zero or infinity
“Allow none of foo, one of foo, or any number of foo.” Indeed.
But there's a physics pun in here somwhere...
The three weapons depicted in the picture are two sais and a dagger. In quantum mechanics, the state of a system is described by a wavefuction, denoted by the Greek letter psi (sounds a lot like sai). Wavefunctions are complex functions, and the conjugate of the wavefunction is denoted as psi^dagger. Squaring the wavefunction with the conjugate wavefunction (psi^dagger * psi) gives the probability density function. So, in the picture, sai^dagger * sai represents the probability density function for being killed during a Japanese action movie in the "Japanese action movie space".
The actual probability for being killed would involve integrating over some part of that space. I suspect the probability of dying, integrated over all space, is very close to zero if you are Elektra Natchios, and much greater if you on the other end of her wielding sai.
two sai's and a shuriken or ninja STAR. so it's sai star sai, or the complex conjugate of sai times sai. this is the probability density at position x (or whatever position). thanks for the whitey's :-D
Well, Derek gets style points for referring to Elektra, but I have to give the prize to k-weigs. The weapon in the center is certainly a throwing star, not a dagger.
That being said, Derek's answer makes sense in terms of quantum physics. In quantum mechanics, although the complex conjugate of the wavefunction psi is usually indicated by an asterisk (or star), the Hermitian conjugate of the state vector psi is indicated by a dagger. Each is correct, one in the wavefunction formulation, one in the vector formulation of quantum mechanics.
(Also, just to muddy up the situation, in linear algebra courses, the Hermitian conjugate is usually indicated by a star or asterisk, rather than a dagger, as it is in quantum.)
" I suspect the probability of dying, integrated over all space, is very close to zero if you are Elektra Natchios, and much greater if you on the other end of her wielding sai."
I think that the dying probability function should be suitably normalised for the situation.
yeah. luv this :)
Post a Comment