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To: FredZarguna
Thermal and electrical conductivity and luster--all uniquely distinguishing characteristics of metals--are not explainable without quantum considerations; considerations which, quite frankly, have nothing to do with small scale.

The luster of metals is a consequence of their electrical conductivity. The existence of conduction, while we certainly treat it quantum mechanically, is surely not only explainable quantum mechanically. Michael Faraday seemed to manage.

As for what constitutes ambient, your view is too parochial to be useful. Most of the universe has an "ambient" temperature of a few Kelvins, and superfluidity occurs "near" (under some definition, as admittedly useless as yours) that r

This is simply idiotic. We were discussing automobile crashes. When you develop an automobile that can travel deep space and operate at 2 K, get back to me.

There are real, practical, broad, and deep consequences to quantum entanglement. There would be no universe without it. And without a universe, there would be no car crashes. Similarly, the fact the the state vectors of systems containing indistinguishable particles must be either symmetric or antisymmetric on exchange have wide ranging and macroscopic consequences. The statistical mechanics of bosons and fermions are fundamentally different from the statistical mechanics of classical materials. If electrons were not fermions, there would be no metals, hence no cars, and certainly no car crashes.

I just get through teaching statistical thermo., and I have to put up with this?

The sophomore physics insight that the state of the universe depends on the fundamental properties of matter, which are quantum mechanical, does not mean that the properties of macroscopic matter are quantum mechanical. The grass is green. That does not mean the electrons, protons and neutrons that make up the grass are green. We can't properly understand the properties of an electron without the Heisenberg principle. That doesn't mean the Heisenberg principle is any use at all in calculating the trajectory of a baseball.

I suggest you go find a bull session with some physics undergraduates and get this out your system.

451 posted on 04/08/2005 12:28:27 PM PDT by Right Wing Professor
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To: Right Wing Professor
The sophomore physics insight that the state of the universe depends on the fundamental properties of matter, which are quantum mechanical, does not mean that the properties of macroscopic matter are quantum mechanical.

Yes, it does. Faraday did not "explain" conduction. And you cannot "teach" the statistical thermodynamics of many interestng materials without it.

Your personally insulting and falsely condescending tone tell me you're not a person I'm interested in instructing any further--if you're even capable of receiving it. We're done here.

458 posted on 04/08/2005 1:18:22 PM PDT by FredZarguna (Vilings Stuned my Beeber: Or, How I Learned to Live with Embarrassing NoSpellCheck Titles.)
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