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We discuss the role that intuitive theories of physics play in the interpretation of quantum mechanics. We compare and contrast na\"ive physics with quantum mechanics and argue that quantum mechanics is not just hard to understand but that…
What is the major difference between large and small systems? At small length-scales the dynamics is dominated by fluctuations, whereas at large scales fluctuations are irrelevant. Therefore, any thermodynamically consistent description of…
A common learning goal for modern physics instructors is for students to recognize a difference between the experimental uncertainty of classical physics and the fundamental uncertainty of quantum mechanics. Our studies suggest this…
The apparent random outcome of a quantum measurement is conjectured to be fundamentally determined by the microscopic state of the macroscopic measurement apparatus. The apparatus state thus plays the role of a hidden variable which, in…
Consider a statistical model with an epistemic restriction such that, unlike in classical mechanics, the allowed distribution of positions is fundamentally restricted by the form of an underlying momentum field. Assume an agent (observer)…
The decoherence of quantum states defines the transition between the quantum world and classical physics. Decoherence or, analogously, quantum mechanical collapse events pose fundamental questions regarding the interpretation of quantum…
The term "measurement" in quantum theory (as well as in other physical theories) is ambiguous: It is used to describe both an experience - e.g., an observation in an experiment - and an interaction with the system under scrutiny. If doing…
In this work, we show that very natural, apparently simple problems in quantum measurement theory can be undecidable even if their classical analogues are decidable. Undecidability hence appears as a genuine quantum property here. Formally,…
The measurement problem is approached from a mechanical aspect, utilizing schematics to better assist in visualizing the boundary and the interplay between the quantum and classical worlds. This approach graphically illustrates what happens…
The relationship between classical and quantum mechanics is usually understood via the limit $\hbar \rightarrow 0$. This is the underlying idea behind the quantization of classical objects. The apparent incompatibility of general relativity…
There appears to be a duality between elementary particles, which span the mass range below the Planck scale, and black holes, which span the mass range range above it. In particular, the Black Hole Uncertainty Principle Correspondence…
Simple theorems relating a quantum mechanical system to the corresponding classical one at equilibrium and connecting the quantum eigenvalues to the frequencies of normal modes oscillations are presented. Corresponding to each quantum…
Endeavoring to formulate an exhaustive solution to the measurement problem in view of the theory of decoherence leads to a better understanding of the status of the collapse and of the emergence of classicality, thanks to a precise…
Classical mathematics (involving such notions as infinitely small/large and continuity) is usually treated as fundamental while finite mathematics is treated as inferior which is used only in special applications. We first argue that the…
After the development of a self-consistent quantum formalism nearly a century ago there began a quest for how to interpret the theoretical constructs of the formalism. In fact, the pursuit of new interpretations of quantum mechanics…
Some of the important non-classical aspects of quantum mechanics can be described in more intuitive terms if they are reformulated in a geometrical picture based on an extension of the classical phase space. This contribution presents…
Advances in micro-technology of the last years have made it possible to carry optics textbooks experiments over to atomic and molecular beams, such as diffraction by a double slit or transmission grating. The usual wave-optical approach…
In quantum mechanics, it is often thought that the spin of an object points in a fixed direction at any point in time. For example, after selecting the z-direction as the axis of quantization, a spin-1/2 object (such as an electron) may…
There are fundamental reasons as to why there should exist a reformulation of quantum mechanics which does not refer to a classical spacetime manifold. It follows as a consequence that quantum mechanics as we know it is a limiting case of a…
It is suggested that probabilities need not apply at all to matter in the physical world, which may be entirely described by the amplitudes given by the quantum mechanical state. Instead, probabilities may apply only to conscious…