Related papers: Why the wave function, of all things?
Conservation laws are discussed in conjunction with quantum-mechanical indeterminacies of the corresponding observables. The considered examples show that the connections between energy and its indeterminacy may be quite intricate. The…
This introductory text on the basics of quantum mechanics is intended to serve as a kind of travel guide through the quantum world. It starts by asking whether quantum physics is important, or weird, or incomprehensible. It explains why…
The most debated status of the wave function of Quantum Mechanics is discussed in the light of the epistemological vs ontological opposition.
We show that the principles of a ''complete physical theory'' and the conclusions of the standard quantum mechanics do not irreconcilably contradict each other as is commonly believed. In the algebraic approach, we formulate axioms that…
The physical constructs underlying the properties of quantum mechanics are explored. Arguments are given that the particle wave function as well as photon and phonon quanta must derive from a more fundamental physical construct that has not…
A physically motivated equation that determines the number of electrons of a molecule is proposed based on chemical common sense. It shows that all molecules are entangled in the number of electrons and results in the fundamental assumption…
Quantum mechanics led to spectacular technological developments, discovery of new constituents of matter and new materials. However there is still no consensus on its interpretation and limitations. Some scientists and scientific writers…
A goal of most interpretations of quantum mechanics is to avoid the apparent intrusion of the observer into the measurement process. Such intrusion is usually seen to arise because observation somehow selects a single actuality from among…
Quantum state diffusion shows how stochastic interaction with the environment may cause localisation of the wave-function, and thereby demonstrates that quantum mechanics need not invoke a separate axiom of measurement to explain the…
A thought experiment is considered on observation of instantaneous collapse of an extended wave packet. According to relativity of simultaneity, such a collapse being instantaneous in some reference frame must be a lasting process in other…
Two major deviations from causality in the existing formulations of quantum mechanics, related respectively to quantum chaos and indeterminate wave reduction, are eliminated within the new, universal concept of dynamic complexity. The…
The probabilistic interpretation of quantum mechanics has been a point of discussion since the earliest days of the theory. The development of quantum technologies transfer these discussions from philosophical interest to practical…
A critical re-examination of the double-slit experiment and its variants is presented to clarify the nature of what Feynmann called the ``central mystery'' and the ``only mystery'' of quantum mechanics, leading to an interpretation of…
In a recent paper a mathematical model for quantum measurement was presented. The phenomenon of wave particle duality, which is introduced in every beginning course of quantum theory, can be explained using this model. Although it is a…
Wave-particle duality, a fundamental principle of quantum mechanics, encapsulates the complementary relationship between the wave and particle behaviors of quantum systems. In this paper, we treat quantum coherence and classical…
Because quantum measurements have probabilistic outcomes they can seem to violate conservation laws in individual experiments. Despite these appearances, strict conservation of momentum, orbital angular momentum, and energy can be shown to…
It is argued that there is no evidence for causality as a metaphysical relation in quantum phenomena. The assumption that there are no causal laws, but only probabilities for physical processes constrained by symmetries, leads naturally to…
We still lack any consensus about what one is actually talking about as one uses quantum mechanics. There is a gap between the abstract terms in which the theory is couched and the phenomena the theory enables each of us to account for so…
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…
Difficulties and discomfort with the interpretation of quantum mechanics are due to differences in language between it and classical physics. Analogies to The Special Theory of Relativity, which also required changes in the basic worldview…