[snarks_when_bored]

each of the six ions is spinning both clockwise and counterclockwise simultaneously

I wouldn't believe that even if I saw it--but if I saw it it couldn't be happening anyway. :-)

You're in good company: as (I think) Feynman said, nobody understands quantum mechanics...you just get used to it.

This stuff reminds me of the square root of -1--it shouldn't exist but it is a useful tool in the real world.

Imaginary numbers—which aren't imaginary at all, of course—play a crucial role in quantum mechanics. Here's a GIF image of the time-dependent one-dimensional Schrödinger equation, which describes how the wave function of a non-relativistic (i.e., slow-moving), undisturbed elementary particle such as an electron evolves over time:

Note the multiplication by i, the square root of -1.

[rootkidslim]

You're in good company: as (I think) Feynman said, nobody understands quantum mechanics...you just get used to it.

I am much more used to the idea since I began wearing the official Schrödinger's Cat T-shirt. If I spin on axis real fast in front of a mirror, I can read both front and back simultaneously.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts/science/6dff/

[SubMareener]

Ah! The time-dependent one-dimensional Schrödinger equation! Be still my beating heart! The gentle curves of your partial derivatives are so much more romantic than the harsh Bras and Kets of the Dirac formulation! ;-)