Can consciousness be explained by quantum physics? My research takes us a step closer to finding out - The Conversation UK

They claimed that the brain’s neuronal system forms an intricate network and that the consciousness this produces should obey the rules of quantum mechanics – the theory that determines how tiny particles like electrons move around.

Since our body works at room temperature, you would expect it to be governed by the classical laws of physics.

The Penrose-Hameroff theory of quantum consciousness argues that microtubules are structured in a fractal pattern which would enable quantum processes to occur?

These are all examples of classical fractals – fractals that abide by the laws of classical physics rather than quantum physics.

This was an exciting finding, but STM techniques cannot probe how quantum particles move – which would tell us more about how quantum processes might occur in the brain.

Using state-of-the-art photonics experiments, we were able to reveal the quantum motion that takes place within fractals in unprecedented detail.

We injected photons at the tip of the triangle and watched how they spread throughout its fractal structure in a process called quantum transport.

Our observations from these experiments reveal that quantum fractals actually behave in a different way to classical ones.

Specifically, we found that the spread of light across a fractal is governed by different laws in the quantum case compared to the classical case.

This new knowledge of quantum fractals could provide the foundations for scientists to experimentally test the theory of quantum consciousness.

If quantum measurements are one day taken from the human brain, they could be compared against our results to definitely decide whether consciousness is a classical or a quantum phenomenon

By investigating quantum transport in our artificially designed fractal structures, we may have taken the first tiny steps towards the unification of physics, mathematics and biology, which could greatly enrich our understanding of the world around us as well as the world that exists in our heads