Quantum Dreams

Hamil dealt with the very small. Small things bring up images of atoms and molecules, of electrons and sub-atomic particles. But Hamil dealt with fundamental particles... their manipulation, their properties and their uses. It was fascinating to him, and he spent endless hours playing with the possibilities. Did Fermions have properties which could be exploited? Were these massless particles something one could manipulate? He wondered.

Radha, his patient wife of twenty years, stared at Hamil as he sat on his study chair and rotated his chair absentmindedly; his thoughts a million miles away. Or maybe they were a million times smaller.... jumping into the quantum nature of the very, very small. Did the fundamental particles repel his hand as he gripped the arm of his chair? No. It was the very opposite. It attracted his hand. That was the nature of the friction which let his hand stay on the arm without slipping off. He examined the small ridges on his fingers... they were the fingerprints which helped with the grip. The very molecules of matter which created a charge. He smiled. It was more than just that. His mind went to the nature of the Bose-Einstein condensate and it's attraction. It was a mystery he needed to wrap his head around. Radha snorted, sure he would not even notice. She was a biologist, and was sure Hamil had no idea about how the Universe ordered itself in the biological world.

Hamil got distracted by a new video link sent by a friend. It was about the nature of quantum perturbations. He watched it while he nibbled on some biscuits. Time passed in his universe.... and shortly he fell asleep at his desk, the video presenter still droning on. It was a peaceful sleep.

When Radha woke Hamil, she was shaking him awake as gently as possible. He muttered as he slowly awoke to the shaking. He remembered seeing the particles shudder as he stood amongst them. They had told him they were not particles. Or waves. It was something ..... the nature of these had been revealed to him in his dream. Or he had dreamt of something really important. Though the secret was just beyond his recollection. It was frustrating. He was so close!



The mathematics was graphic in nature. It was akin to fractals.... beautiful designs... geometrically arranged and created. He was sure then. More than he had ever thought he could be. It was artificial! He just knew it. But no-one would believe him. He had to get proof.