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| Wolfgang Smith. Eugene O' Neill [CC BY-SA 4.0] |
For further reading on this and related material, see the Philos-Sophia Initiative website.
We finished the last post with Smith's observation that no one seems to have so much as the slightest notion of what in plain fact results from the discoveries of quantum theory—whether, for example, there actually exists a “quantum world” or not. Most physicists seem unaware that something is seriously amiss as they oscillate between two contradictory worldviews, the pre- and post-quantum.
A few have proposed and counter-proposed the most extraordinary explanations to resolve the enigma, with no resolution yet in sight. This led Richard Feynman to declare: “No one understands quantum theory.”[1]
Amongst the bizarre proposals is the 'multiverse' approach: every possible outcome of every possible measurement is realized, howbeit it in a different universe. Another approach proposes that ordinary logic ceases to apply in the quantum realm.
Smith argues in this second chapter that there is one interpretation that beyond all doubt holds precedence over all others regarding the nature of quantum reality: the Copenhagen interpretation, originally conceived by Niels Bohr.[2] Its pivotal tenet is that a quantum system does not own its dynamic attributes (such as position or momentum). This interpretation was confirmed and advanced by John von Neumann[3] in 1932. If an ordinary object is one that owns its dynamic attributes, then there are no ordinary objects in the quantum realm.
In the remainder of this chapter, Smith considers the arguments of John Stewart Bell[4] and Albert Einstein, the latter being very unhappy with the quantum theory's replacement of Newtonian determinism by probabilistic physics. Neuman's theorem was modified to exclude not all ordinary objects from the quantum realm, but only ordinary objects that were local. Bell developed a theorem which proved that there are no local objects, ie, reality is non-local. Physical objects must be non-local. This means they have the capacity to communicate with each other instantaneously. This has been described by Berkeley physicist Henry Stapp[5] as “the most profound discovery of science.”
By this point, most readers will have become somewhat bewildered. Nobel Prize-winning luminaries seem to have been advancing knowledge to such a degree that it eventually surpasses human understanding. “No one understands quantum theory.”[1] Smith will lead us further in search of the 'hidden key' but advises us of the need for a certain humility at the outset of our enquiry:
...even to speak of a “quantum world” is to overstep what we actually know: a “quantum description” is all we can legitimately claim. And that description is moreover geared to the business of physics: beyond this, its intended and rightful application, no one indeed “understands quantum theory”!
[1] Richard Feynman: (1918 – 1988) was an American theoretical physicist, known for his work in quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, as well as in particle physics. Feynman received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965.
[2] Niels Bohr (1885 – 1962) was a Danish physicist who made foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum theory, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922. Bohr was also a philosopher and a promoter of scientific research.
[3] John von Neumann (1903 – February 8, 1957) was a Hungarian-American mathematician, physicist, computer scientist, and polymath. Generally regarded as the foremost mathematician of his time[2] and said to be "the last representative of the great mathematicians"
[4] John Stewart Bell: (1928 – 1990) was a physicist from Northern Ireland, and the originator of Bell's theorem, an important theorem in quantum physics
[5] Henry Pierce Stapp (1928 ) is an American mathematical physicist, known for his work in quantum mechanics, the proofs of strong nonlocality properties, and the place of free will in the "orthodox" quantum mechanics of John von Neumann.
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