Abstract and Contents: By spotting out some questionable approximations done in the generally accepted view of condensed matter, typical of the still semi-classic approach of Quantum Mechanics, we can address a description of condensed matter as a collective system of quantum oscillators whose emergent global wavefunctions are ascribed to non-trivial (perturbative) vacuum states, to which the emergence of a long range order parameter is responsible for coherence also at ordinary temperatures. Liquid water, firstly, is the paramount system whose anomalies and astounding properties for life and chemical physics are consistently describable from first principles thanks to the approach offered by Quantum Field Theory (QFT). It appears as a two-phase system where condensation and phase-transitions are accountable as changes of vacuum levels in a rigorous conceptual framework, without any ad hoc assumptions. The concept of “hydrogen-bond” will be analysed and re-described in the light of a field view of matter. The basis to understand biochemistry and life will be set.

Instructor: Paolo Renati

Difficulty Level: +++

(Recommended to be attended before the webinar “The Living Phase of Matter: from Morphogenesis and Bioenergetics to Perception and Adaptation”)

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