Re: parallel universes

[Fran Poodry <FPoodry@AOL.COM>]

(my apologies to people who get this message more than once.  When I got this 
message back it came as gibberish, so I am re-trying.)

I'm not sure what you're trying to say, Jim.  It seems odd to me that someone 
would explain interference patterns by postulating parallel universes.  I 
don't want my students to ignore it, but I want to be able to provide meaningful 
discusion.   In general, I prefer to teach "standard" theories.  We have 
discussed many times in class the possibility that physics teachers 100 years from 
now will be teaching different theories as "standard."  Today, the models we 
use are the ones that seem to make the most sense, in that they make 
predictions that we can test, and which seem to test "true" rather than false.   It 
seems to me that the current "standard model" is one in which interference is 
explained by wave behavior rather than parallel universes, and I was simply asking 
for help when my kids want to know WHY the parallel universe model is not as 
useful a model.   At least as far as we know, today.  I have no problem with 
string theory being correct, but I also do not have any education in string 
theory (they didn't offer a course on that when I got my BA) and therefore can 
only give a superficial explanation of it when asked.

Don't worry, I'll be leaving this list again as soon as I get a bunch of 
people's responses through my head so I can think about them.  I know you would 
rather not hear from me, by the way you always respond to my posts.  I only 
re-joined to ask this question because I needed some constructive help.   Thank 
you to those of you who have responded thoughtfully to my question.

-Fran Poodry
West Chester East High School
West Chester, PA



In a message dated 5/17/2004 1:15:31 PM Eastern Daylight Time, Jim Green <
JMGreen@SISNA.COM> writes:

> > I hope someone can help me.  A student sent me this web site
> > <http://www.allsci.com/parallel.html>
> > and suggested that we do the activity in class (it is very simple and
> > involves poking holes in a card and shining a laser beam at the holes,
> > then observing
> > the interference pattern).  However, the web site claims that the observed
> > pattern is evidence for parallel universes.  I would like to be able to
> > explain
> > convincingly to my students that it is no such thing.
>
> Oops. Not very good physics.  Just because it seems odd to _you_,why would
> you teach our students to ignore anything that seems odd?   Suppose there
> are parallel universes ie suppose string theory is right!
>
>
> Jim Green
> mailto:JMGreen@sisna.com
> http://users.sisna.com/jmgreen