Related papers: Textbook myths about early atomic models
The spectacular successes of quantum physics have made it a commonplace to assert that we live in a quantum world. This idea seems to imply a kind of "quantum fundamentalism" according to which everything in the universe (if not the…
Some aspects of the interpretation of quantum theory are discussed. It is emphasized that quantum theory is formulated in the Cartesian coordinate system; in other coordinates the result obtained with the help of the Hamiltonian formalism…
Classical physics has enabled the acquisition of significant knowledge of the physical properties of nature on a standard macroscopic scale. These achievements were driven by use of the causal ontological approach (proposed originally by…
When most people think of physics, they think of what they learned in high school physics: that the world is fundamentally predictable. Given the position and velocity of a particle in space, it should be possible to predict its position at…
We argue that most advances in science and technology during the past and the present centuries rely on modern physics concepts developed in the early $20$th century. The reliance is so profound that any improvement of literacy of science…
I revisit the reply of Bohr to Einstein. Bohr's assertion that there are no causes in atomic scale systems is, as a closer analysis reveals, not in line with the Copenhagen interpretation since it would contain a statement about reality.…
The ongoing progress in quantum theory emphasizes the crucial role of the very basic principles of quantum theory. However, this is not properly followed in teaching quantum mechanics on the graduate and undergraduate levels of physics…
The modeling theory of instruction is widely applied and highly successful in high-school instruction, and seldom in university physics. One reason is lack of familiarity with models in the physics classroom. Ongoing curriculum development…
This study presents the design and the implementation of an inquiry-based reconstruction of Rutherford's gold foil experiment. The activity engaged students in collaborative exploration using a "black box" as an analogical model of the…
The procedure used to "do physics" in the macroscopic world is familiar: You take an object, start it off with a particular position and velocity, subject it to known forces (say gravity or friction, or both), and follow its trajectory. You…
For several decades there has been no breakthrough in fundamental physics as revolutionary as relativity and quantum physics despite the amazing advancement of applied physics and technology. By discussing several examples of what physics…
Quantum teleportation is a concept that fascinates and confuses many people, in particular, given that it combines quantum physics and the concept of teleportation. With quantum teleportation likely to play a key role in several…
This is an introductory chapter of the book in progress on quantum foundations and incompleteness of quantum mechanics. Quantum mechanics is represented as statistical mechanics of classical fields.
In this paper we discuss the relevance of the algebraic approach to quantum phenomena first introduced by von Neumann before he confessed to Birkoff that he no longer believed in Hilbert space. This approach is more general and allows us to…
The implications of the physical theory of quantum mechanics on the question of realism is much a subject of sustaining interest, while the background questions among physicists on how to think about all the theoretical notion and…
This paper explores the historical development of the theory of quantum mechanics between 1900 and 1927 by chronological examination of the foundational papers and ideas. Beginning with Planck's introduction of energy quantisation in…
We present a theoretical model of matter-wave diffraction through a material nanostructure. This model is based on the numerical solution of the time-dependent Schr{\"o}dinger equation, which goes beyond the standard semi-classical…
It is generally believed that the old quantum theory, as presented by Niels Bohr in 1913, fails when applied to few electron systems, such as the H2 molecule. Here we find new solutions within the Bohr theory that describe the potential…
The paper attempts to convince that the orthodox interpretation of quantum mechanics does not contradict philosophical realism by throwing light onto certain properties of quantum systems that seem to have escaped attention as yet. The…
By formulating the axioms of quantum mechanics, von Neumann also laid the foundations of a "quantum probability theory". As such, it is regarded a generalization of the "classical probability theory" due to Kolmogorov. Outside of quantum…