How much do we really see?
The Quantum Domain is the realm of the subatomic.
Quantum Mechanics attempts to understand the laws governing the behavior of subatomic particles and forces.
At the quantum level in the organization of matter...we enter the realm of the meta-physical ("meta" is Greek for "beyond"),the rules of wch we do not understand.
This is a realm
Beyond that accessible to our senses and instruments--
beyond the empirical,
beyond what can be seen--essentially an invisible realm.
The "realm of the small" is the realm of the unknown
According to the material model, the universe is a material mechanism (everything that exists is material) whose constituent components interact according to decipherable laws.(the materialist bias is at the core of empirical science).But the material model breaks down when we enter the quantum realm.
Subatomic constituents are not so much tangible particles of matter as oscillations/waves of energy.
Science is based on the assumption that everything has a simple identifiable cause.But at the quantum level this is simply false.
Causal forces can arise from deeper foundational(vertical vs horizontal)levels in the organization of matter.Causation is no longer simplistic and linear,...and now it is only probabilistic.
Quantum theory does not give an objective picture/representation of the world(object of observation) that is independent of and unconnected to our role as observor/subject.Einstein was bothered by the fact that our observations influence and affect the event/object being observed.( According to Heysenberg the very act of observing disturbs/alters the object of observation.)There is no separation between observor and observed.The observor is integrally part of the universe observed. We are inseparably embedded in the universe.
see
"The One,the only One"
At the quantum level events and forces are neither observable nor measureable, and certainly not reliably predictable.Here we come face to face with the limits of human understanding.
At the quantum level the rules wch are inviolate at the macro level no longer hold true. And becuz we have not deciphered the rules wch do apply,it seems that events occur without any rule,rhyme,or reason.It is a seemingly lawless realm ,or at least the rules that govern the macro world do not work here.
We live in a society in wch only material objects have value/reality.
Hence, the importance of forces within the quantum domain are minimized/discounted,and mostly disregarded as irrelevant. And yet the most powerful forces in the universe exist and act within the quantum domain--the foundational level of the universe!
We need only remind ourselves that the universe itself emerged out of the Quantum domain.
According to the Big Bang Theory of the origin of the universe, the entire universe in it's beginning was an infinitesimally small point in wch time and space did not yet exist!
Yes, there was a time(in the beginning when we weren't even a glimmer in our Father's eyes)when we could have held the whole universe in our hand.
Although these forces are presently in large measure inaccessible to our observational instruments,
we must remember there was a time not so long ago when we did not know about the existence and the causative roles of bacteria,genes ,and atoms ...and so we could only attribute causation to observable/known forces and events!
Clearly the quantum domain is not causally disconnected from us,since the quantum and the macro domains are continuous and co-extensive.The two realms mesh harmoniously and are really one!
We are very limited in our capacity to probe and understand the subatomic domain of the universe.Our senses and brain have evolved to function within a narrow range of observation.
We don't even know how much of the universe exists at the subatomic level, and therefore how much of the universe is too small for our senses and instruments to detect and measure.It has been guestimated that atomic matter is only 4% of the entire universe. The rest (referred to as "dark matter") belongs to the realm of the unknown.(the Beyond)
It's like trying to look at something from a million miles away.All you see is a speck/point.You have no idea that if you could zoom in on it,it is a dog--something with form/structure and other previously undetectable features/morphology.But even our best instruments do not have the resolution to hone in on any distinct pattern or form.
Even on the macro scale, much of the universe is unobservable!
In the absence of any observable boundary we cannot exclude the possibility that the universe may extend infinitely in the macro direction/scale as well.(see "multiverses").
We do not know whether the micro-macrocosmic scale has upper or lower limits.
Clearly it is imprudent and inaccurate to assume that only what is observable exists .It would be like a blind man assuming that everything he can't touch,doesn't exist.
What we see depends on what our observational and measuring tools are capable of. The quantum world is not outside the universe;it's just outside of what's accessible to present-day science(and our senses).
Because we cannot access information about an event or object does not mean that such an event or object does not exist.Indeed it seems that most of the universe is invisible/unobservable to us.
We are unaware of everything outside our 3-dimensional universe.But most of the universe may be hidden within "extra" dimensions wch may be too small for us to see or measure,
Our current understanding of the forces of nature is rudimentary and primitive.
There is an awfull lot we don't know!
Such is our ignorance that
we don't even know just how much we don't know.
Chemistry,genetics,electricity--these fields of knowledge were non-existent less than a hundred years ago, and have transformed our world and our lives .
How is the energy content of a proton(or any "material" particle)confined within the space occupied by the proton? What forces hold it in place?
There is no boundary or dicontinuity between the quantum world and the macro world .
What role does the quantum realm play in the function of biological organisms(quantum biology)?.How do quantum forces/events interact with events at the atomic and subatomic levels in the organization of matter?How does energy input from the quantum domain interface and interact with molecular and cellular structure and function?
What quantum processes are at play in biological systems?
Altho' we have gained considerable understanding of biological processes at the cellular and molecular levels,...events at the deeper/deepest quantum levels remain largely inaccessible to us.
Perhaps "awareness" itself is embedded in the most fundamental,most basic quantum level of the universe! (see Stuart Hameroff's theory of consciousness)
The "soul" and even "God" may be concealed
/hiding in the quantum domain!
Perhaps the spiritual dimension lies within the quantum realm.
No one can imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the universe.
There is a veil covering the unseen world that not even the united strenght of the strongest can tear apart.
Only faith (in things unseen),poetry ,love...can push aside that curtain and give us a momentary glimpse of the beauty , the glory, and the mystery
Beyond.
see
"the undiscovered universe"
see "Quantum entanglement"--Nicolas Gisin
'Nothing is rich but the inexhaustible wealth of nature.
She shows us only surfaces, but she is a million fathoms deep.'
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson
"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched.
They must be felt with the heart!"
--the BOK
The doorstep to the temple of wisdom is a knowledge of our own ignorance.
--C.H. Spurgeon
"The most pathetic person in the world is one who has sight but has no vision"
--Helen Keller