1) Tim Folger, �Quantum Schmantum�, Discover, Vol. 22, No. 9, September 2001, pg. 36-43
2) The quantum theory, developed by Max Plank a century ago, grows stranger as more is uncovered about its intricacies. These quantum laws state that what forms reality: protons, electrons, concomitantly behave as waves and particles. They can appear and disappear from a total void. A particle may exist in many places at the same time. Applied to levels beyond those of subatomic persuasion, the theory suggests the possibility of multiple universes, worlds where we exist in many different versions. The eminent physicist David Deutsch advocates the idea of parallel universes although many others in the science community label it as absurd.
3) The quantum theory has been proved correct in all experiments. Its implications are enormous. If particles can appear out of voids and even teleported, and everything in this world consists of particles, then the world and ourselves must exist in many other states. Everything we do or don�t do will affect the other �we�s� in the other universes.
Consider the following experiment. Thomas Young�s double slit experiment showed the wave-like nature of photons. Light passing through two slits on a screen would produce a pattern of alternating light and dark patches on the film behind the screen. However, the wave pattern is discernible even when photons pass through the screen one at a time. This implies that the photon passed through the two slits at the same time: an impossibility because the space between the two slits is immeasurable compared to the size of the photon. When physicists place a detector at each slit to determine where the photon goes, the proton remains in one spot, as if it knew the detectors were there. Conventional theory, considered to be an unattractive addition to quantum mechanics, states that these inconsistencies are the result of quantum �collapse.� Our observation causes all the possible states of the photon to condense into one. In contrast, the parallel universe theory, originated by Hugh Everett, maintains that the photon does not only appear to occupy other spaces: it does. The visible photon interacts with an invisible photon from another universe to create the wave pattern. In the other world, a physicist would be unable to see the photon visible to us; he or she would be aware of the photon invisible in our world.
The idea of the �multiverse� not only solves the conundrum of the quantum problem but also the paradoxes in time travel. For example, if you travelled back in time and killed your grandfather, then you would obviously not have been born and therefore could not have killed your grandfather. However, if we view time travel as travel across the many universes suggested by Deutsch, killing grandfather would render you non-existent only in that universe and not in our own.
4) The basic idea of the possibility of diverse worlds is almost ludicrous and incomprehensible in first thought. However, the inconsistency of the single photon in the double slit experiment and the very nature of particles themselves cause me to pause and reflect. The theory offered by Deutsch is a very plausible and extremely exciting one. Its treatment in the scientific world now is comparable to Galileo�s heliocentric theory in the days on the Spanish Inquisition, although it is met with obviously less denunciation. I am intrigued and quite enamoured with the idea of simplicity of such a theory in face of the more formidable qualities of quantum confusions. The article defines the problem in simple terms and, though it requires some contemplation, is not difficult. I would recommend it anyone who has ever contemplated time travel, the possibility of other universes, and the confusion of quantum physics.
1) Eric Hansen, �Where Rocks Sing, Ants Swim, and Plants Eat Animals�, Discover, Vol. 22, No 10, October 2001, pg. 60-67
2) The desolate limestone cliffs of northwest Borneo harbour a rich variety of the world�s rarest carnivorous pitcher plants: Nepenthes. Pitcher plants attract insects and other invertebrate by a fragrance they produce in nectar glands. Those that land on the cup shaped entrance fall into the digestive juices of the plant. The inside of the �pitcher� walls are covered in a zone of detachable appendages and claw-like �limbs� that prevent insects from crawling out of the plant. These plants live in vary acidic soils and obtain nitrogen and other nutrients from the organisms they digest.
3) Ch�ien Lee, a field botanist, has discovered many new habitats of rare pitcher plants, some of which have not been seen for over half a century. The various species are grouped under the genus of Nepenthe. Because their abiotic environments are so lacking in nitrogen and other nutrients, they must obtain these essential from the insects and other organisms they digest. Many of these have developed close symbiotic relationships with other organisms in their communities. The rarest plant, Nepenthe campanulata, has a mutual relationship with a certain species of ant that live in their hollow leaf tendrils. The ants can swim in digestive juices of the plant with impunity. If a larger bug falls within the pitcher, the ants form a �rescue team� to fish the bug out of the plant. After that, they tear it into pieces and eat it, throwing unwanted parts back into the plant. Apparently, the chemical balance of the pitcher plant will be upset with too many carcasses in it. The pitcher plants come in an astounding variety of colours and shapes. For example, the Nepenthes vetichii has a salient lip or peristome, that can range form bright yellow to brown, green, red or even a stripped pattern. The Nepenthes northiana could easily hold a child�s arm and a quart of digestive juices.
With the discovery of so many rare species, Lee decided to collect the seeds of the pitcher plants and began a nursery in Malesiana Tropicals to help its conservation. The jagged limestone cliffs and the precarious extremities of tree branches in the canopy where pitcher plants are abundant are difficult to access. Therefore, the plants are in such high demand that they are usually sold for three or four hundred dollars. Ch�ien believes that in making the plants available to collectors, they will no longer be uprooted from their natural habitat. On the same note, Lee will not disclose the location of the newly re-discovered and rarest pitcher plant, Nepenthe campanulata, until his nursery has cultivated them.
4) I found the topic of tropical pitcher plants quite a unique and interesting one. It always seemed to me that the Venus flytrap was the main variety and that carnivorous plants were rather gruesome. However, with this article, I find that they are an essential part to their community, having complex relationships with many other organisms, and in a large variety merely in pitcher plants. Also, I was amazed to find �symbiotic� relationships outside of the Biology book. In a specific view of one genus and its relationship to the environment, I was able to better perceive the importance and the complexity of the rarest of organisms.
