The zitterbewegung interpretation of quantum mechanics david hestenes abstract. Jammer, among the books that have been thus far mentioned in this thread, is the only one that actually meets the criteria set out. A primer on quantum mechanics and its interpretations casey blood professor emeritus of physics, rutgers university sarasota, fl email. And quantum mechanics already has lots of wiggle room with regards to. Nov 28, 2009 what is the best book that covers all the various interpretations of quantum mechanics. Apr 03, 2019 an introduction to the interpretations of quantum mechanics. Sounds pretty nice, especially because relativity is a wellproven theory. To view the pdf, you must log in or become a member. Pdf the quantum theory is interpreted in the technical semantical sense. Introduction to quantum mechanics pdf download book. The fine structure constant and interpretations of quantum mechanics ke xiao. However, it is hard to understand quantum mechanics as a description of the.
As we know, the goal of most interpretations of quantum mechanics is to avoid the apparent intrusion of the observer into the measurement process. However, the phenomenon is real, and in line with the predictions of all viable interpretations of quantum mechanics. Decoherence, the measurement problem, and interpretations of. An introduction to the interpretations of quantum mechanics. And quantum mechanics already has lots of wiggle room with regards to your frame of observer versus system. Nov 19, 2007 but many other interpretations of quantum mechanics exist, and today copenhagenists have more subtle variants to choose from than the one that everett once called a philosophic monstrosity. Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics stanford. Waves, particles and events contents interpretations of quantum mechanics.
You can also read more about the friends of the sep society. Pdf on interpretations of quantum mechanics and quantum. Does quantum computing rely on particular interpretations. Interpretations of quantum mechanics quantum mechanics.
Interpretations of quantum mechanics simple english. As a rough approximation, an interpretation of a theory should show in what fundamental respects the theory is. Pdf how the different interpretations in quantum mechanics affect. The copenhagen interpretation considers two realms. An interpretation postulate specifies events which can be observed and it follows that the complex probability of such event is, in fact, a real positive number. The copenhagen version of quantum mechanics is formulated in a vague prosaic way, inconsistencies and paradoxes are the price. In contrast to some other interpretations, such as the copenhagen interpretation, the. There is a need to provide an account of the foundations of the theory because. What is the best book that covers all the various interpretations of quantum mechanics.
This book places emphasis on learning new theoretical methods applied to old nonrelativistic ideas, with a eye to what will be required in relativistic field theory and particle physics. We think, that no interpretation of the quantum theory can avoid this intrusion until we do not clarify the nature of observer. As we said in the abstract, it is not possible to adequately explain. I have a book called understanding quantum mechanics by ronald omens on the consistent histories approach and i. By an interpretation of quantum mechanics we mean something much less precise. Pdf the new interpretation of quantum mechanics and.
However, there are many ideas about the interpretations and meanings of quantum mechanics. The interpretation of quantum mechanics stanford university. Pdf this research report provides the effects of the various interpretations of quantum mechanics on the broad philosophies of physics. Not all interpretations of quantum mechanics share these assumptions, however, and in those that do not, time. Although quantum mechanics has held up to rigorous and extremely precise tests in an extraordinarily broad range of experiments not one prediction from quantum mechanics is found to be contradicted by experiments, there exist a number of contending schools. Interpretations of quantum mechanics the formalism of quantum mechanics is unambiguous. Similarly, the momentum of a quantum particle can be regarded as a wave with different amplitudes at different basic values of momentum. Decoherence, the measurement problem, and interpretations of quantum mechanics maximilian schlosshauer department of physics, university of washington, seattle, washington 98195, usa published 23 february 2005. The new interpretation of quantum mechanics is based on a complex probability theory. Interpretations of quantum mechanics philsciarchive. Dec 06, 2003 environmentinduced decoherence and superselection have been a subject of intensive research over the past two decades, yet their implications for the foundational problems of quantum mechanics, most notably the quantum measurement problem, have remained a matter of great controversy. Interpretations of quantum mechanics quantum mechanics is a physical theory developed in the 1920s to account for the behavior of matter on the atomic scale. But many other interpretations of quantum mechanics exist, and today copenhagenists have more subtle variants to choose from than the one that everett once called a. The manyworlds interpretation mwi is an interpretation of quantum mechanics that asserts that the universal wavefunction is objectively real, and that there is no wavefunction collapse.
The structure and interpretation of quantum mechanics. Chapter 6 also demonstrates that thermodynamics is a straightforward consequence of quantum mechanics and that we no longer need to derive the laws of thermodynamics through the traditional, rather subtle, arguments about heat engines. Many of the interpretations of quantum mechanics deny a central element of quantum theory, one that einstein himself established in 1916, namely the role of indeterminism, or chance, to use its traditional name, as einstein did in physics in german, zufall and as william james did in philosophy in the 1880s. Philosophical issues in quantum theory stanford encyclopedia. The following pages are a reply to erwin schrodingers article, are. The copenhagen version of quantum mechanics is formulated in a vague prosaic way, inconsistencies and. The first 500 people to sign up via my link will get two free months of skillshare premium. Jan 28, 2020 the copenhagen interpretation considers two realms. Environmentinduced decoherence and superselection have been a subject of intensive research over the past two decades, yet their implications for the foundational problems of quantum mechanics, most notably the quantum measurement problem, have remained a matter of great controversy. Quantum mechanics the interpretation of quantum mechanics. Around the millennium a new recognition of the copenhagen interpretation has emerged.
In the same time, there are implicit and hidden assumptions about his role. This is a modern classic, a seminal work by one of our. Decoherence, the measurement problem, and interpretations. For the complex square to be meaningful statistically, we need the probabilities to sum to 1. It was introduced in 1996, with quantum gravity as a remote motivation rovelli 1996. An interpretation of quantum mechanics is an attempt to explain how the mathematical theory of quantum mechanics corresponds to reality. The interpretations of quantum mechanics in historical perspective on free shipping on qualified orders. Max tegmark institute for advanced study, princeton, nj 08540. There are so many interpretations of quantum mechanics that it is difficult to summarize all of them succinctly. Pdf the interpretation of quantum mechanics researchgate. Pdf the interpretations of quantum mechanics cory j. A cat is penned up in a steel chamber, along with the following diabolical device which must be secured.
Interpretations of quantum mechanics peter pickl1,a 1mathematisches institut lmu munchen theresienstr. Environmentinduced decoherence and superselection have been a subject of intensive research over. The zitterbewegung is a local circulatory motion of the electron presumed to be the basis of the electron spin and magnetic moment. Find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. This paper is intended to clarify key features of the decoherence program, including its. Sep 28, 2014 what are some good textbooks dealing with various interpretations of quantum mechanics.
Rob clifton and hans halvorson 1999, 2002 argue that bohms interpretation of quantum mechanics can be seen as a special case of bohrs complementarity interpretation if it is assumed that all measurements ultimately reduce to positions measurement. Epj web of conferences interpretations of quantum mechanics peter pickl 0 0 mathematisches institut lmu munchen theresienstr. The many interpretations of quantum mechanics scientific. Books on interpretations of quantum mechanics physics forums. Interpretations of quantum mechanics semantic scholar. Next, combining these two chapters i will discuss the implications of the decoherence program for the measurement problem itself in chapter 3. I have a book called understanding quantum mechanics by ronald omens on the consistent histories approach and i am looking for something like that. When one is measured then, no matter how far apart they are, the state of each is instantaneously determined.
What parts of the measurement problem does the theory claim to solve if any. Foundations and interpretation of quantum mechanics. By an interpretation of quantum mechanics we mean something. There are no facts to prove any interpretation over the others, but there are some that are more accepted than others. Free download the feeling, despite the fact that all these characterological traits refer not to a single image of the narrator, is unpredictable. Box 961, manhattan beach, ca 90267, usa received 10 october 2011, accepted 7 december 2011, published 17 january 2012 abstract. Sep 28, 2019 pdf theorems of quantum philosophy, quantum logic, quantum metaphysics and interpretations of quantum mechanics. This paper is intended to clarify key features of the decoherence program, including its more recent results. The copenhagen interpretation is the basis for schrodingers famous cat. Quantum mechanics is a physical theory developed in the 1920s to account for the behavior of matter on the atomic scale.
Quantum mechanics, interpretations of internet encyclopedia. It has been enormously successful in explaining phenomena at the atomic and subatomic level. The zitterbewegung interpretation of quantum mechanics. However, collapse interpretations such as the grw theory, or penroses gravitational collapse seem to prohibit coherence in quantum systems larger than some certain size or mass. Extending this to quantum mechanics, there is no one quantum state but instead are ways to relate them via difference frames of reference. Relational quantum mechanics rqm is the most recent among the interpretations of quantum mechanics which are most discussed today.
Although quantum mechanics has been applied to problems in physics with great success, some of its ideas seem strange. Quantum mechanics quantum mechanics the interpretation of quantum mechanics. The theory by griffiths, based on the idea of consistent histories, is therefore not standard qm but is instead, like bm, an attempt to complete qm, by adding histories that consist of real events that occur independently of any measurements made on the quantum system a measurement means an interaction with that system that may affect what would happen to it in the absence of measurements. What are popular interpretations of quantum mechanics. One element of the authors approach to this topic that makes his treatment more accessible to the reader is his general avoidance of mathematical proofs. Which other interpretations of quantum mechanics connect well. This implies that all possible outcomes of quantum measurements are physically realized in some world or universe. It has subsequently been developed into arguably the most empirically successful theory in the history of physics. In this chapter, we outline some of the more popular interpretations of quantum mechanics. The copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics tells us complex square of the wave function gives the probability density function pdf of a quantum system. Semiconductors, transistors, microchips, lasers and nuclear power are among its fruitful applications. In quantum mechanics, the mathematical formalism is very difficult to interpret physically. Youngs aforementioned experiment in which a parallel beam of monochromatic light is passed through a pair of narrow parallel slits figure 5a.
The statistical interpretation of quantum mechanics is also explained in terms of hilbert space. If the address matches an existing account you will receive an email with instructions to reset your password. An interpretation of quantum mechanics is an attempt to explain how the mathematical theory of. Philosophical issues in quantum theory first published mon jul 25, 2016 this article is an overview of the philosophical issues raised by quantum theory, intended as a pointer to the more indepth treatments of other entries in the stanford encyclopedia of philosophy.
What are current interpretations of quantum mechanics, and. To limit the applicability of quantum mechanics by asserting that the quantum mechanical description fails when applied to observers, or to measuring. The result provides an introduction to quantum mechanics which is, unique. A primer on quantum mechanics and its interpretations. The fine structure constant and interpretations of quantum. The nobel prize in physics 1954 was divided equally between max born for his fundamental research in quantum mechanics, especially for his statistical interpretation of the wavefunction and walther bothe for the coincidence method and his discoveries made therewith.
As dan points out in his excellent answer, most alternative interpretations reproduce standard quantum mechanics by construction. Relational quantum mechanics stanford encyclopedia of. What are some good textbooks dealing with various interpretations of quantum mechanics. Figure1 a century after its inception, quantum mechanics continues to puzzle us with deadandalive cats, waves collapsing into particles, and spooky action at a distance. A reformulation of the dirac theory shows that the zitterbewegung need not.
Interpretations of quantum mechanics information philosopher. Pdf theorems of quantum philosophy, quantum logic, quantum metaphysics and interpretations of quantum mechanics. But the question remains open as to what it really means. Quantum entanglement if two particles interact in such a way that they are in a singlet statei. Quantum interpretations god does not play dice with the universe. The problem, he noted, arose because, for the most part, the different interpretations of quantum mechanics cannot be empirically distinguished from one another. Quantum mechanics fundamental principles and applications. Einstein there is no question that quantum mechanics is a theory that works.