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Mitchell_Porter comments on Stupid Questions Open Thread Round 3 - Less Wrong Discussion

8 Post author: OpenThreadGuy 07 July 2012 05:16PM

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Comment author: Mitchell_Porter 08 July 2012 01:51:02AM 3 points [-]

There must be chaotic amplification of quantum events going on. Any macroscopic system at finite temperature will be full of quantum events, like a molecule in an excited state returning to its ground state. The quantum randomness is a constant source of "noise" which normally averages out, but sometimes there will be fluctuations away from a mean, and sometimes they will be amplified into mesoscopic and macroscopic difference. This must be true, but it would be best to have a mathematical demonstration, e.g. that the impact of quantum fluctuations on the transfer of heat through an atmosphere will amplify into macroscopically different weather patterns on a certain timescale.