Harold 'Sonny' White

Right. And this is where – this is the reason for some of the lamentation, right, about general relativity and quantum mechanics.

Right. And this is where – this is the reason for some of the lamentation, right, about general relativity and quantum mechanics.

Right. And this is where – this is the reason for some of the lamentation, right, about general relativity and quantum mechanics.

general relativity just doesn't tell us how to address it right it just simply says you have to highlight it in your paper before you submit it for peer review and say this this may cause problems but quantum mechanics has this stuff called negative vacuum energy density right and so maybe we can unpack that so what what is negative vacuum energy density so

general relativity just doesn't tell us how to address it right it just simply says you have to highlight it in your paper before you submit it for peer review and say this this may cause problems but quantum mechanics has this stuff called negative vacuum energy density right and so maybe we can unpack that so what what is negative vacuum energy density so

general relativity just doesn't tell us how to address it right it just simply says you have to highlight it in your paper before you submit it for peer review and say this this may cause problems but quantum mechanics has this stuff called negative vacuum energy density right and so maybe we can unpack that so what what is negative vacuum energy density so

Let's talk about some of the implications of quantum mechanics and how they're a little different from our day-to-day experience at the macroscopic level. Empty space in quantum mechanics. is actually not empty.

Let's talk about some of the implications of quantum mechanics and how they're a little different from our day-to-day experience at the macroscopic level. Empty space in quantum mechanics. is actually not empty.

Let's talk about some of the implications of quantum mechanics and how they're a little different from our day-to-day experience at the macroscopic level. Empty space in quantum mechanics. is actually not empty.

So if I told you to think about a vacuum chamber, right, and I told you the vacuum chamber is under vacuum and there's nothing in the vacuum chamber, right, that operative word nothing, right, that you have vacuum pumps that turn on and pull all the air out, so there's nothing in the vacuum chamber. Quantum mechanics says, wait a minute, hold on.

So if I told you to think about a vacuum chamber, right, and I told you the vacuum chamber is under vacuum and there's nothing in the vacuum chamber, right, that operative word nothing, right, that you have vacuum pumps that turn on and pull all the air out, so there's nothing in the vacuum chamber. Quantum mechanics says, wait a minute, hold on.

So if I told you to think about a vacuum chamber, right, and I told you the vacuum chamber is under vacuum and there's nothing in the vacuum chamber, right, that operative word nothing, right, that you have vacuum pumps that turn on and pull all the air out, so there's nothing in the vacuum chamber. Quantum mechanics says, wait a minute, hold on.

The idea of empty space, even though there's this classical vacuum that we might think about, it's not actually empty. There's these fluctuating fields and forces that are always going on all the time. So even though this is Plum Brook, NASA's large vacuum chamber, up in Ohio.

The idea of empty space, even though there's this classical vacuum that we might think about, it's not actually empty. There's these fluctuating fields and forces that are always going on all the time. So even though this is Plum Brook, NASA's large vacuum chamber, up in Ohio.

The idea of empty space, even though there's this classical vacuum that we might think about, it's not actually empty. There's these fluctuating fields and forces that are always going on all the time. So even though this is Plum Brook, NASA's large vacuum chamber, up in Ohio.

And so if you imagine you took that vacuum chamber and pumped on it so there was no air on there, then you might say there's nothing in that vacuum chamber. Well, quantum mechanics says that at the microscopic level, there are fluctuating fields and particles all the time. And so this sounds very, very, very, you know, counterintuitive to what we experience in our day-to-day life, right?

And so if you imagine you took that vacuum chamber and pumped on it so there was no air on there, then you might say there's nothing in that vacuum chamber. Well, quantum mechanics says that at the microscopic level, there are fluctuating fields and particles all the time. And so this sounds very, very, very, you know, counterintuitive to what we experience in our day-to-day life, right?

And so if you imagine you took that vacuum chamber and pumped on it so there was no air on there, then you might say there's nothing in that vacuum chamber. Well, quantum mechanics says that at the microscopic level, there are fluctuating fields and particles all the time. And so this sounds very, very, very, you know, counterintuitive to what we experience in our day-to-day life, right?

You pick up a coffee cup and you push against the door and That's how we think of the world, if you will. But quantum mechanics deals with the microscopic realm, and things are a little bit different. And so that's kind of background. So this peculiar nature that I'm explaining to you, you can actually do an experiment that provides you an observational consequence of this peculiar nature.

You pick up a coffee cup and you push against the door and That's how we think of the world, if you will. But quantum mechanics deals with the microscopic realm, and things are a little bit different. And so that's kind of background. So this peculiar nature that I'm explaining to you, you can actually do an experiment that provides you an observational consequence of this peculiar nature.