Thread: do we have an ATOMIC DESTINY?

if you're of the belief that conciousness is a part of our brain and not a supernatural force then this theory may interest you.

consider a chemical reaction between two types of atoms, for example 2 hydrogen atoms and an oxygen atom, every time 3 atoms of these types come into contact they will form a water molecule.

the same is true for any number of any different types of atom, the reaction that takes place between certain atoms will always be the same therefore we can PREDICT the reaction that will take place and the end product.

so say we knew the position of every atom in the universe , its nature and our knowledge of chemical reactions was absolute. we should be able to predict every single reaction and subsequent reaction that will take place in the universe, even the reactions in our own brains, such as the reaction that takes place in response to new information we recieve.

if this theory is true we could predict the future by calculating the reactions, therefore we have an atomic destiny!

please feel free to comment, support or even dismantle my theory!

The answer is 'no'.

Do a search on quantum theory which has been tested and is a mainstay of physics. If you find it difficult to follow, you are not alone.... come back and ask some folow up questions

All three assumptions are wrong.

1. Chemical reactions are not always the same. There is an equilibrium of reactions.

2. Those reactions are not deterministic on an atomic level. You cannot predict the result of each reaction, only a probability. This is the transition from statistics to thermodynamics.

3. Quantum mechanics has a fundamental law (experimentally proved) saying that it is impossible to determine the exact position of a particle in space, and even more so if it is moving.

thank you for the corrections i had my doubts about the theory however i know im drifting into the realms of philosophy here but consider instead of mankind maybe a sentient being that can see and understand everything (im not talking about god iim just hypothetically suggesting) if there was a being that could see every minute particle, every exact position, every field, every speed, every force and understood the chemistry of reactions compltetely. also being able to calculate faster than the rate of the reactions.

if there is a perfect rhyme and reason to all the interactions of particles could this being not predict the future?

i apologize if im showing complete ignorance here or if ive moved completely off topic im just curious. thank you for your time however.

But if we were to input for example as you said 3 atoms, two hydrogens and an oxygen, we know the input, therefore able to determine the output. But if you were to predict the future based on the chemical reactions of our brain, you would have to calculate the input; this would have to be the exact balance of neurochemicals to produce an accurate reading. This seems impossible due to the fact that we cannot exactly predict the amounts of neurochemicals being produced.

I think I wandered off topic, I seem to do that alot.

Chaos theory and the constraint of computing power factor into this as well. Chaos theory means that it is nigh-impossible to predict the outcome of what will happen due to the millions of factors. And, computing power is constrained because the bigger a computer gets, the longer it takes for one part of the computer to message another part of the computer.

Quantum theory is garbage in my opinion, heres the one thing that scientists very rarely take note of: the causality principle. The main postulate (which is common logic) of the causality principal is that the same cause has the same effect. This means that if there are 2 seperate events in which ALL the variables are identical, the same outcome will occur. Since any event has the same variables as itself, it can only do one possible thing - which is determinism. Otherwise, why do we live in a microscopically and macroscopically consistant world? Why doesnt my computer screen just magically turn into an elephant (as an extremely crude example), just because the atoms apparantly felt like it? See, QM is just a terrible era to be a part of, until we gain a better understanding of the atomic structure and develop more powerful and accurate measurement instruments, QM is nothing more than guesswork.