Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Marine Algae Found to Harness Power of Quantum Mechanics

OK this has nothing to do with boating, but when I'm sailing I'm often thinking about these things, physics and marine biology: "Scientists still struggle to understand and harness the spooky physics of quantum mechanics, but nature may have a head start on us humans. Tiny marine algae apparently use the mysterious phenomenon called superposition -- where a particle can be in two places at the same time -- to move around solar energy they harvest through the process of photosynthesis.

This astounding find suggests that biological creatures may have adapted quantum mechanics for survival billions of years ago. It also demonstrates that quantum mechanics can prevail over classical physics even at normal temperatures, given that the algae can send energy flowing through several alternate biological paths simultaneously."

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