F elix flicker is a theoretical physicist. He received his PhD from Bristol University and is now a lecturer at the university. The Magick of Matter: Crystals, Chaos and the Wizardry of Physics is Flicker's first book and explores the often overlooked field of Condensed Matter Physics.
Why did you decide to write this book? Condensed matter physics is the most important area in physics, but it has never been heard of. It's the study of states of matter and their transformation. It leads to most of the technology we use today. Practical and familiar seem to be at odds with magic. The book was written to address that.
You use wizards to illuminate the topic. Isn't it a repudiation of magic? They are not at odds at all. The attraction of magic and science, which open up a boundless vista to those who can penetrate the secret springs of nature, is due to the order and homogeneity of nature. There is a lot of truth in his views. Everyone is interested in magic, but some people don't like science, or are told from a young age that it's not for them. I thought it would be possible for more people to be interested in science by emphasizing the connection.
What made you want to study science? I don't have a good answer for you because I want to be a scientist for a long time. I think it was the fancy words that were used. They tell you something about the world but you don't know what. There is a group of people who know what it means, and you have to trust them. I was reassured by that.
Defining the physics of Condensed Matter. The study of matter is about the states of matter and how to change them. It is trying to understand how the familiar world around us is created from the world of quantum mechanics.
The book raises the question of what matters, but gives different answers. There is no right answer, but I will give it a try. When water is in a liquid form, you can think of it as a group of water molecule. It is clumped together to become its own thing when it condenses into liquid form and then ice. The whole is more than the parts.
When I was a master’s student, two of the women in my class had been inspired to study physics by seeing Dana Scully in The X-Files
Condensed matter physics is not the physics of dirt, according to Wolfgang Pauli. I think he didn't mean it in a good way. In the early days of quantum mechanics, Pauli and his team were trying to understand the world on the smallest scales. We were advanced enough with quantum mechanics that we were able to look at many different atoms and Molecules. If you think about it, a single lump of stuff could hold 1,023 atoms. The study of matter was thought of by Pauli as far away from physics as possible.
Pauli was overlooking something. We do care about it a lot, so why shouldn't we care about it? Without it, we wouldn't have computers, phones, modern lighting, and the internet. It underlies a lot of our world. Building towards the future is one of the underlying advances. It is hard to talk about the magic of everything around you in a book.
Some of the most exciting technologies are emerging from the field of Condensed Matter physics. There is a computer called a quantum computer. We are on the verge of those being realistic. You can use IBM's quantum computers for free on the internet.
You write that the modern philosopher's stone is the room-temperature superconductor. One way to make quantum computers is by using superconductors. They conduct electricity in a perfect way. As electricity travels down the lines, the loss of energy would be eliminated. It isn't a bad dream. To balance the load across the power networks, superconductors are being used.
Would you consider yourself a techno-optimist if you could solve the climate crisis? Nope, I wouldn't. The big problem is the way we think about things. We would use twice as much if we could generate energy at half the cost. Condensed matter physics requires you to look at collective behavior. It is true that we need to think about the world in a certain way. The idea that scientists are separate from the things they are studying goes hand in hand with the idea that the environment is something we can just take from. We know that that is not the case.
There are many different references in the book, from Taoist texts to 1990s action movies. What can cultural references do for you? Two of the women in my class were inspired to study physics by watching The X-Files, a show about a gifted scientist. The idea that a fictional role model can inspire people to do science is something that stuck with me.
You say that anyone can be a wizard, by which you mean a theoretical physicist or scientist. The hope is that. There are groups in science that aren't well known. It is important for the health of the subject if we can get more people excited about it. The idea of a single genius is wrong. The faster we can get things done, the better.
You practice martial arts. Did physics play a role in your choice of martial arts? Do you think it makes you a better martial artist? Martial arts help me become a better physicist. They teach you internal discipline which is how you can work long hours to learn everything you need to know to become a scientist. A friend asked if I could give public talks about science because it was difficult. I have been practicing martial arts for a long time. Giving a talk about physics is not a problem if you fight someone with a lot of people watching.
Nobody in the audience is going to hit you. It's absolutely true. I would like to know what the worst case scenario is here.
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