dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaQuantum-mechanical motion and the stillness of experimental records
| Authors | F. Hadi Madjid, John M. Myers |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | quant-ph/0305096 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0305096 |
Abstract
Experimenting with metastability in recording devices leads us to wonder about an interface between equations of motion and the stillness of experimental records. Here we delineate an interface between wave functions as language to describe motion and Turing tapes as language to describe experimental records. After extending quantum formalism to make this interface explicit, we report on constraints and freedoms in choosing quantum-mechanical equations to model experiments with devices. We prove that choosing equations of wave functions and operators to achieve a fit between calculated probabilities and experimental records requires reaching beyond both logic and the experimental records. Although informed by experience, a "reach beyond" can fairly be called a guess. Recognizing that particles as features of wave functions depend on guesswork, we introduce their use not as objects of physical investigation but as elements of thought in quantum-mechanical models of devices. We make informed guesses to offer a quantum-mechanical model of a 1-bit recording device in a metastable condition. Probabilities calculated from the model fit an experimental record of an oscillation in a time-varying probability, showing a temperature-independent role for Planck's constant in what heretofore was viewed as a "classical" electronic device.
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"abstract": "Experimenting with metastability in recording devices leads us to wonder\nabout an interface between equations of motion and the stillness of\nexperimental records. Here we delineate an interface between wave functions as\nlanguage to describe motion and Turing tapes as language to describe\nexperimental records. After extending quantum formalism to make this interface\nexplicit, we report on constraints and freedoms in choosing quantum-mechanical\nequations to model experiments with devices. We prove that choosing equations\nof wave functions and operators to achieve a fit between calculated\nprobabilities and experimental records requires reaching beyond both logic and\nthe experimental records. Although informed by experience, a \"reach beyond\" can\nfairly be called a guess.\n Recognizing that particles as features of wave functions depend on guesswork,\nwe introduce their use not as objects of physical investigation but as elements\nof thought in quantum-mechanical models of devices. We make informed guesses to\noffer a quantum-mechanical model of a 1-bit recording device in a metastable\ncondition. Probabilities calculated from the model fit an experimental record\nof an oscillation in a time-varying probability, showing a\ntemperature-independent role for Planck\u0027s constant in what heretofore was\nviewed as a \"classical\" electronic device.",
"arxiv_id": "quant-ph/0305096",
"authors": [
"F. Hadi Madjid",
"John M. Myers"
],
"categories": [
"quant-ph"
],
"title": "Quantum-mechanical motion and the stillness of experimental records",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0305096"
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