From buckyballs to softballs?

Q

quinnsong

Valued Senior Member
Hi to all you physicists out there. Iam new to this forum and let me tell you up front I am no physicist nor do I begin to comprehend your mathematical equations. However, I get the gist of what physicists are saying when they explain their equations, or at least I think I do, except for M theory that is.
I just finished Hawking (The Grand Design) and I am thinking that the Buckyball experiment done in 1999 might explain a very strange event that happened to my brother and I. Let me explain, my brother and I were throwing a softball back and forth in a park on a partly clouded day n Florida when as I threw the ball to him like a pop-up the ball simply disappeared in mid air. We both were looking at the ball at same time and saw same thing occur but just could not fathom how this could happen. My initial reaction was to look around to see if someone was playing a trick on us but we were too far from others in the park and we never could find that damn ball.
How is this possible?
 
It's highly, highly, highly unlikely that you are seeing quantum behavior in a macro object.
 
Well I am not magic either is there another explanation besides mass delusion, drugs or faulty memory. Do mainstream physicists believe that there are folds in our universe and if so, is this a possibility?:shrug:
 
Okay guys and girls I know that some of you have some theories on why Newtons law was defied and I would like to see them!
 
My theory is that the only law that was defied relates to using drugs in Florida. :D
 
I don't think it's possible to develop a theory for an incident that is not repeatable. It's by no means certain any physical law was violated. Our senses and perceptions are full of inherent flaws, and they must be considered the most likely explanation.
 
LOL Beery I didnt inhale! To Spider I would say you were right except my brother saw exactly what I saw and that is why I cannot let this go! This happened with 2 observing the same thing and this is before we even knew about magic mushrooms lol.
 
If we are to except M theory and spontaneous creation which says matter was created out of nohing then why not the reverse?
 
We don't have any data to evaluate, just your story, no video, no physical evidence. I can only say that when people look for explanations for things, they often point first to the thing they know the least about. It's like when your car breaks down and you assume it's the transmission or carburetors, something complex, when actually you just ran out of gas.
 
I know this and I also know that it seems too fantastic for me as well, was just hoping for a possible theory on this event. I rarely discuss this occurrence because intuitively I know this is not possible but I also know that theoretical physicists go against their intuitions on many occasions and that is why I posted here. One bright spot this "perceived" event has kept me looking for answers about our universe and questioning everything.
 
Quinnsong, it is technically possible according to quantum theory for macroscopic objects like a softball to exhibit microscopic behavior such as quantum tunneling, but to say that it's "very very very unlikely" is a huge understatement. I think I remember reading that something like this would not be predicted to have happened in the lifetime of the Universe as of yet, so the odds of you witnessing it is so absurdly small that no one will give the possibility any credence.
 
Thank you Beery for your answer!
On searching for some knd of explaination to this event, the buckyball experiment seemed a good possibility to answering what my brother and I saw, but I also recognized that the mass of my object was a big problem. My only consolation is that however unlikely, it is still possible even if the probability is almost nil.
 
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