Re:What Makes the Hardest Equations in Physics So Difficult?
by whatshisface on Tuesday January 16, 2018 @04:31PM
(#16162837)
One reason to think the physics would be interesting: it isn't every day that we can arrange macroscopic systems in ways where their small-scale behavior gets amplified enough for us to measure. Arranging a blowup in the Navier-Stokes equations would be a way to study atomic-scale physics on human scales - and, likewise, arranging a blowup (if one exists) in the QCD quark-gluon plasma equations would allow us to get unexpectedly sensitive measurements of particle-scale physics.
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Re:What Makes the Hardest Equations in Physics So Difficult?
by pixelpoet on Tuesday January 16, 2018 @08:07PM
(#16164577)
A nice example of such a practical tool for microscopic analysis is X-ray crystallography, once you have the theory of Fourier transforms and lattices.
Re:What Makes the Hardest Equations in Physics So Difficult?
by Someone on Wednesday January 17, 2018 @02:41AM
(#16166185)
Your repeated use of the word ‘blowup’ makes me think of the way we get small-scale behavior amplified enough for us to see, hear, and feel: in atomic weapons.
There is a chance that understanding how quarks interact will give us even more powerful weapons (which might at one time be useful to blow up large incoming space rocks) or give us clean energy. How large that chance is is anybody’s guess.