I'm at the end of my project Stormrift: The Invasion of Earth and it's time to do some fact-checking. The stormrifts are transdimensional fields that allow the aliens to cross over from their dimension to ours.  The fields create what I've been calling quantum distortions that can trigger latent psionic powers in the human brain.

What I need to know is if quantum is the right word. I can't seem to grasp the official writeups for quantum physics because they're not written in layman's terms--or if they are, my scientific comprehension is sub-layman.  

Basically if quantum can be stretched to possibly mean "trace" or "unexplained" I'm good.  Otherwise, I have to come up with another word.  

Any help?

Quote from: pspahn;344130I'm at the end of my project Stormrift: The Invasion of Earth and it's time to do some fact-checking. The stormrifts are transdimensional fields that allow the aliens to cross over from their dimension to ours.  The fields create what I've been calling quantum distortions that can trigger latent psionic powers in the human brain.

What I need to know is if quantum is the right word. I can't seem to grasp the official writeups for quantum physics because they're not written in layman's terms--or if they are, my scientific comprehension is sub-layman.  

Basically if quantum can be stretched to possibly mean "trace" or "unexplained" I'm good.  Otherwise, I have to come up with another word.  

Any help?

Honestly, don't bother to even try to explain why latent psionic powers are being triggered. As soon as you try to place any kind of explanation, pseudo-scientific or not, there will be some geek out there who will dispute your explanation and use it to prove that your game sucks.

Make the triggering of psionics a mystery. It is happening, but nobody knows why. The speculation on that will help to fuel interest in the game.

I'm with Jeff, though, if pressed, I'd re-name the psychic phenomenon "quantum prediction" rather than "quantum distortion".  As I understand quantum mechanics (from a very, very layman's point of view), they deal with the predicted states of energy, and the probability that any particular state of energy will occur.  By and large, highly improbable states of energy don't occur, but it's still possible for them to do so.  If you could predict and follow one highly improbable energy state to another, and then another, and another, you'd be exhibiting an ability that appears very much like a psychic power.

Please, let the more learned pick my explanation to pieces and provide a better one.

!i!

Quantum distortion is not so bad a term.  I'll give you some psuedo-science based on real science from my days as a reasearch spectroscopist.*  

Some real science.  I'd start with the uncertainty principle.  The more commonly known version is that you can't specify both a particles position and momentum exactly.  The more precise you measure one the less you know about the other.  The less well known formulation is that you can't specify both the energy of a state and it's lifetime.  This, uncertainty is the basis for the idea of quantum foam, at small enough scales and times you can have particles spontaneously appear and disappear.  But with low delta t (small time uncertainty) you get, of course large delta E (large energy uncertainty).  Such high E warps space-time (E=mc^2 and all that) making space "foamy."  Like colored sub-atomic particles you just got to work with the physicists here, they really are trying to be hip.

Now based on wiki (so now we get more to the psuedo-science) it says quantum foam may make little highly transient wormholes.  I've read enough from Hawking and the like to beleive that this is a plausible, if untested, theory.

Now we get to your trans-dimensional invaders.  How did they get here, some kinda of "wormhole" or at least that's the best physics we have to explain it.  Clearly such things muck with the universe, maybe violating the uncertainty principle or increasing the uncertainty, i.e. you get quantum foam at large scales.  Such mucking with things likely ripple out from rift in space-time.  When a wave hits some-one there is a chance this can unlease psychic powers.  This "wave" therefore distorts the quantum mechanics of a region causing the uncertainty value of the uncertainty principle to flucuate or distort.  Hence, they call it "quantum distortion."  

So why does this distorition give you psychic powers?

Back to a little bit of real science.  We like to think that the state of an object can only be changed if a force acts on it.  Not so in quantum mechanics.  As you may have read two entangled particles can influnce the state of each other at a distance without any intervening exchange of particles or forces for wont of a better lay description.  This action at a distance violates our notions of common sense and causality.  As mind bending as it seems experiments bear this action at a distance out.  Brian Greene's book "The Fabric of the Cosmos" has some great chapters on these experiments that the lay reader can understand.  Never fear though, such entanglement is easily destroyed and anything larger than a sub-atomic particle pretty much obeys causality.

Back to the psuedo-science.   Maybe when this wave rolls over you it "entangles" you with portions of the universe or those in a parallel universe.  By mental focus you can cause effects, action at a distance through this.  That's really just techno-babble but some techno-babble that may let you put limits on abilities.  Maybe if you focus too much, try to do something too complicated, the uncertainty principal makes it all go wack.  If the power is too high the effect is to short, if you try to be too precise you can't put much power into it, if you put a lot of power into it you can't aim worth a damn, if you want a power to last a long time its very weak.  Then given that you are messing with quantum reality it just may not work for who knows what reason.

That's my 2 cents worth.


*It's important to note that spectroscopist do it with both frequency and intensity.

Quote from: Xanther;344204*It's important to note that spectroscopist do it with both frequency and intensity.

Yes but all too many are only inductively coupled (geek speak for dry-humping!)

Quote from: Xanther;344204*It's important to note that spectroscopist do it with both frequency and intensity.

Pseudoscientists do it with quantum magnetic energy vibrations.

Another way to name science-fiction phenomena is to name them after a real or fictional scientist. For example "Hawking distortions" or "Eismann radiation."

Quote from: jeff37923;344139Honestly, don't bother to even try to explain why latent psionic powers are being triggered. As soon as you try to place any kind of explanation, pseudo-scientific or not, there will be some geek out there who will dispute your explanation and use it to prove that your game sucks.

Well, actually it ties into the backstory.  I just needed a pseudoscientific name that humans might use to describe their origins and didn't want to be way off.  Hater geeks will always be out there to point out that certain concepts are flawed and the game is broken because of them, so that's okay.  

Quote from: Xanther;344204Now we get to your trans-dimensional invaders.  How did they get here, some kinda of "wormhole" or at least that's the best physics we have to explain it.  Clearly such things muck with the universe, maybe violating the uncertainty principle or increasing the uncertainty, i.e. you get quantum foam at large scales.  Such mucking with things likely ripple out from rift in space-time.  When a wave hits some-one there is a chance this can unlease psychic powers.  This "wave" therefore distorts the quantum mechanics of a region causing the uncertainty value of the uncertainty principle to flucuate or distort.  Hence, they call it "quantum distortion."  

Yes, that's exactly what I need.  The distortions actually do more than induce psychic powers, so that's a perfect fit although I probably won't go into as much detail as you gave above. I figured I had the right term, again, just wanted to make sure I wasn't completely off. Thanks!

Pete

You also have Planck scales, below which the laws of reality, as we know them, supposedly no longer apply. Of course, how anyone can actually prove that, give the scarcity of measuring devices small enough (or... fast enough...) to actually check.

White Wolf put in a high level superpower (not meant for player use, naturally enough... like most of the cooler shit they ever came up with...) that allowed you to increase that scale and, within the artificial bubble of upscaled Planck whateverment (time, space, penis length...) you could effectively wish for the impossible and get it.

How to apply that to your problems?

Hey, if foamy space is relevant, than so is planck time.

Screw you guys, I'm going home.

Overall, a fairly good use of quantum physics in lay-terms.  The brain is a quantum device, after all, so why wouldn't it be affected by quantum phenomena like that?