Discussion thread for "The Light of Paradox"

This is the post for discussing "The Light of Paradox."

Greetings, readers of Analog Science Fiction and Fact Magazine, and others interested in the unexpectedly paradoxical physics of "wigglers" and undulators. This is my blog post dedicated to discussing issues raised in my [proposed, waiting on updates] Analog article "The Light of Paradox." I presume it is acceptable to pre-publish the Abstract for the article, (which may or may not appear in the published version if Analog accepts the article.)

We discuss three paradoxes deriving from interactions in devices (such as undulators) that simulate illumination by electromagnetic radiation. The major cause of the paradoxes is the lack of actual photons striking the targets exposed to this simulated light (SL.) The first paradox develops from the problematical nature of the additional momentum correction required when energy from SL is absorbed in a compound target. The second paradox concerns the light pressure from SL differing from that exerted by ordinary light. The third paradox concerns the difficulty of accounting for all momentum and energy when SL interferes with ordinary light. Attractive solutions are not evident.

As readers here can imagine, I can't provide or send you the whole article until finding out whether my submission was accepted. Best.

My new FQXi essay is available

My new FQXi essay is online. Sorry for delay, I've had technical problems here for awhile. The FQXi contest (their fifth) was titled "It from Bit or Bit from It?" (per John Wheeler and related thinking such as MUH, modal realism etc.) My essay is titled "New Pathways to Quantum Spring: Can Information About States Be Made More Democratic?" (Yes, the political analogy is deliberate and pertinent, if perhaps too trendy.) Abstract and link below:

Quantum theory curiously implies that preparers of states can know the complete initial specification of the state, but uninformed observers (UOs) are limited in what they can discover. UOs must currently use projective tests that typically destroy the original information. There is thus more to "it" than democratically available as "bit." Previous attempts to empower UOs include weak measurements and using repeated interactions between detector and one particle. A novel theoretical perspective and thought experiment are introduced to distinguish between supposedly equivalent mixtures of states. The original-spin hypothesis postulates that actual spin transfers from photon interactions remain based on the original expectation value, instead of the final apparent detection. The proposal itself uses mechanical spin transfer by statistical "runs" of same-type detections, as analyzed by the OSH, to expand what UOs can find out. It would not be practical, but stimulates theoretical insight. A supportive asymmetry claim about detection [measurement] is currently testable.

http://fqxi.org/community/forum/topic/1610.