Related papers: Textbook myths about early atomic models
One hundred years after the creation of quantum theory, there is no consensus on the kind of reality that is described by the theory. Here, I attribute the lack of progress to the prevailing interpretative methodology, which invariably…
The properties of the quantum universe on extremely small spacetime scales are studied in the semi-classical approach to the well-defined quantum model. It is shown that near the initial cosmological singularity point quantum gravity…
The complexity of the science underlying quantum technology may pose a barrier to its democratization. This study investigated whether metaphors improve comprehension of, and shape attitudes toward, quantum technology. In an online…
The foundations of quantum mechanics have been plagued by controversy throughout the 85 year history of the field. It is argued that lack of clarity in the formulation of basic philosophical questions leads to unnecessary obscurity and…
Some recent experiments claim to show that any model in which a quantum state represents mere information about an underlying physical reality of the system must make predictions which contradict those of quantum theory. The present work…
Quantum Mechanics (QM) stands alone as a (very) successful physical theory, but the meaning of its variables and the status of many quantities in the mathematical formalism is obscure. This unique situation prompted the need for attribution…
Quantum physics is a linear theory, so it is somewhat puzzling that it can underlie very complex systems such as digital computers and life. This paper investigates how this is possible. Physically, such complex systems are necessarily…
This is a non-technical presentation (in historical context) of the quantum theory that is strictly based on global unitarity. While the first part was written for a general readership, Sect. 5 may appear a bit provocative. I argue that the…
Schroedinger's first proposal for the interpretation of quantum mechanics was based on a postulate relating the wave function on configuration space to charge density in physical space. Schroedinger apparently later thought that his…
Students often begin physics courses with misconceptions rooted in everyday experience and intuition, which can be resistant to change. While research has identified strategies for addressing misconceptions across physics, it remains…
Most educational literature on conceptual change concerns the process by which introductory students acquire scientific knowledge. However, with modern developments in science and technology, the social significance of learning successive…
What Niels Bohr called the `epistemological lesson' of `complementarity' was the result of reasoning analogically from the classical conception of a mechanical state to a new quantum mechanical conception of an `object' in a mechanical…
Semi-classical approaches approximate fully quantum descriptions with partially classical ones. Here we use a toy model to highlight the failings of the standard mean-field semi-classical approach, and show how including environmental…
Niels Bohr's doctrine of the primacy of "classical concepts" is arguably his most criticized and misunderstood view. We present a new, careful historical analysis that makes clear that Bohr's doctrine was primarily an epistemological…
This book examines a number of problems of quantum mechanics, most of which are not usually discussed. What is the origin of probabilities in the mechanics of the microworld? What is the nature of Planck's constant h? What is the nature of…
The notion from ab-initio molecular dynamics simulations that nuclear motion is best described by classical Newton dynamics instead of the time-dependent Schr{\"o}dinger equation is substantiated. In principle a single experiment should…
The persistent debate about the reality of a quantum state has recently come under limelight because of its importance to quantum information and the quantum computing community. Almost all of the deliberations are taking place using the…
The main assumptions the Copenhagen quantum mechanics has been based on will be summarized and the known (not yet decided) contradiction between Einstein and Bohr will be newly analyzed. The given assumptions have been represented basically…
Niels Bohr introduced the concept of complementarity in order to give a general account of quantum mechanics, however he stressed that the idea of complementarity is related to the general difficulty in the formation of human ideas,…
Among the many perplexing results of quantum mechanics is one that contradicts a result from introductory physics: the possibility of finding a quantum particle in a region that would be forbidden classically by energy conservation. An…