Gravity as quantum interference?

I've done several google searches and have been unable to find anything like this, so I thought I'd ask the bright minds here.

Anyone who's been exposed to quantum physics is aware of the famous double slit type experiments, where the slits will cause an interference pattern to appear on a screen even if quanta are sent through the apparatus 1 at a time (self interference). Clearly, the presence of matter between the source and screen affects the probability distribution of the outcome.

So, what if the same thing always happens? What if all matter impacts the allowed probability density for all other matter, but it happens in such a way that it increases the odds that a given quantum will reside closer to its observed center of gravity?

Could gravity be nothing more than the central limit of such interference?

I think you're confusing quantum mechanics with packets of light, a.k.a. photon quanta.

Quantum mechanics does deal, in part, with light as the photon (force carrier particles) released by electrons (negatively charged portion of an atom with almost no mass compared to its counterparts, protons and neutrons).

I believe the equation is:

mass * gravity = weight, where '*' = multiplication

For those who don't know what "mass" is... or were given the, "It is the amount of 'stuff' inside of an atom,"-speech, like I was... "mass" is the total material/matter an atom contains that is effected by gravity.

www.interactivephysics.com...

Force carrier particles have no known mass. So the above equation would yield:

0 * gravity = 0, for the weight (or almost zero).

In fact, any gravitational value, alone, would be cancelled by force carriers having zero mass.


Note: Edited to correct content.


Side note: A photon is considered to be a Boson, but a massless Boson (aka force carrier). Other Bosons are theorized to have mass, but not necessarily in the Standard Model (the old way looking at atomic structure). So, it is possible that Bosons have a minute amount of mass, but still relatively zero. Also, as stated above, photons are considered massless.

[edit on 29-4-2005 by Protector]

The double slit experiment is a simple way to prove that there is a wave and particle form of light. It was believed that EITHER one or the other existed, but not both simultaneously.

After this experiment, it is easy to show that light contains BOTH a photon-like base, as well as traveling in wave patterns.

The reason why light is trapped by high gravitational fields, such as black stars (aka black holes), is because the "fabric" of spacetime (a mixture of the three physical dimensions and the fourth dimension of time) forces ALL physical manifestations to "fall" into the gravity well. However, Hawking-radiation can counter the effects of a black star because it is too small for the gravity to grab a hold of... or so it is theorized.

Maybe think of Hawking radiation as Helium, where it actually rises instead of falling to the surface. Strange stuff, it is.

At the lowest level, everything is quantum mechanics. The double slit experiment works with electrons as well as photons, and presumably other wavicles.

If the probability density for the position of a photon were modified by the presence of matter just as possibly any wavicle, then it too could experience "gravity".

Mind you this is all speculation and it's been a long time since I studied quantum mechanics, so I may be full of horse hockey.

But, no-one knows what gravity really is, and a TOE still doesn't exist, so the world is still open to other theories, as long as they are consitent. What I have no clue about, is whether or not this idea is consistent. I don't have the skills necessary to make such a determination.

I havent heard of slit experiments but i have heard of gravity being an effect caused by the curvature of space-time around massive objects.

posted by Trustnone:
I havent heard of slit experiments but i have heard of gravity being an effect caused by the curvature of space-time around massive objects.

I saw it done in flowing water stop the flow(piece of cardboard or something) with one slit you will get a particle pattern, with two you get a wave pattern.

That is right with regards to gravity but as I understand it gravity has little or no effect(don't think they are positive about it yet) on the sub-atomic level. Hence one of the problems with unification of physics and quantum mechanics.

The latest that I've heard is that gravity might be a type of "leak" between Membrane layers of the M-Brane theory. It is their way of communicating or passing energy between the layers, presumably affected by matter/mass inside of either particular brane.

Of course, that would lead me to believe that we'd have random gravitational anamalies popping up all over the place from another Brane. So, the theory probably has some flaws. There are only a handful of people who can even do the math required for M-Brane, so the rest of us "generously" believe what we are told (for now).

Ah well.

[edit on 30-4-2005 by Protector]