Related papers: Quantum mechanics: Myths and facts
The theories of quantum mechanics and relativity dramatically altered our understanding of the universe ushering in the era of modern physics. Quantum theory deals with objects probabilistically at small scales, whereas relativity deals…
Despite its name, Quantum Field Theory (QFT) has been built to describe interactions between localizable particles. For this reason the actual formalism of QFT is partly based on a suitable generalization of the one already used for systems…
The search for a consistent and empirically established quantum theory of gravity is among the biggest open problems of fundamental physics. The obstacles are of formal and of conceptual nature. Here, I address the main conceptual problems,…
A number of issues related to measurement show that self-consistency is lacking in quantum mechanics as this theory has been generally understood. Each issue is presented as a point in this paper. Each point can be resolved by incorporating…
Quantum set theory (QST) and topos quantum theory (TQT) are two long running projects in the mathematical foundations of quantum mechanics that share a great deal of conceptual and technical affinity. Most pertinently, both approaches…
This article presents an analysis of the extent to which local causal models or local realistic models of quantum theory (QT), including quantum field theory (QFT), are theoretically possible and practically feasible in light of the present…
The a priori time in conventional quantum mechanics is shown to contradict the uncertainty principle. A possible solution is given.
The mutual conceptual incompatibility between GR and QM/QFT is generally seen as the most essential motivation for the development of a theory of Quantum Gravity (QG). It leads to the insight that, if gravity is a fundamental interaction…
Two questions are suggested as having priority when trying to bring together Quantum Mechanics and General Relativity. Both questions have a scope which goes well beyond Physics, and in particular Quantum Mechanics and General Relativity.
Quantum gravity is likely the deepest problem facing current physics. While traditionally associated with short distance nonrenormalizability, it is evident that the long distance problem of unitarity, arising at high energies with black…
Is quantum mechanics (QM) local or nonlocal? Different formulations/interpretations (FI) of QM, with or without hidden variables, suggest different answers. Different FI's can be viewed as different algorithms, which leads us to propose an…
How can quantum mechanics be (i) the fundamental theoretical framework of contemporary physics and (ii) a probability calculus that presupposes the events to which, and on the basis of which, it assigns probabilities? The question is…
A critique of the state of current quantum theory in physics is presented, based on a perspective outside the normal physics training. From this perspective, the acceptance of quantum nonlocality seems unwarranted, and the fundamental…
The postulate of the collapse of the wave function stands between the microscopic, quantum world, and the macroscopic world. Because of this intermediate position, the collapse process cannot be examined with the formalism of the quantum…
It is argued that, contrary to conventional wisdom, no trustworthy universal self-force/radiative corrections to the Lorentz force equation, can be derived from the basic tenets of classical electrodynamics. This concords with the apparent…
The ontology emerging from quantum field theory and the results following from Bell's theorems allowed the development of an intuitive picture of the microscopic world described by quantum mechanics, that is, we can say that we understand…
An intense effort is being made today to build a quantum computer. Instead of presenting what has been achieved, I invoke here analogies from the history of science in an attempt to glimpse what the future might hold. Quantum computing is…
On the base of years of experience of working on the problem of the physical foundation of quantum mechanics the author offers principles of solving it. Under certain pressure of mathematical formalism there has raised a hypothesis of…
In quantum gravity there is no notion of absolute time. Like all other quantities in the theory, the notion of time has to be introduced "relationally", by studying the behavior of some physical quantities in terms of others chosen as a…
This paper compares and contrasts relational quantum mechanics (RQM) with a pragmatist view of quantum theory (DP). I'll first explain important points of agreement. Then I'll point to two problems faced by RQM and sketch DP's solutions to…