Page 292 - (DK) I Can’t Believe It! 2
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290
         You can’t be in
       TRUE or
      FALSE?

     two places at once




     Time flies! Imagine making the most
     of it by being in two places at once—

     snoozing in bed while still being on time
     for school. Unfortunately it’s not possible
     for you, but modern science has shown

     that subatomic particles can be in
     millions of places at once. At that tiny
     size, life is in a permanent state of

     flux. Sigh! For now we can only dream.



      EINSTEIN’S THEORIES









                                              Super small things can be in different
                                              places at once because they act as both
                                              particles and waves. Light, for example,
                                              exists as waves, but also as a stream
                                              of particles called photons. Imagine
      Modern physics is dominated by two amazing   a very dim light source that emits one
      theories that reveal the world as very different   photon at a time. Each photon exists
      from our everyday experience. Quantum theory   as a wave spreading out in all directions—
      deals with matter and energy at very small   until it is detected in one place, as a
      scales, while relativity deals with space and time.   tiny particle. This “wave-particle duality”
      Both theories suggest the possibility of time   is common to all subatomic particles,
      travel and were pioneered by German physicist   such as electrons and neutrinos—
      Albert Einstein (1879–1955) in the early 1900s.   but not for larger objects like you.





   US_290-291_309600_Modern_physics.indd   290                            19/12/17   3:49 pm
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