dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaThe Emergence of Classical Dynamics in a Quantum World
| Authors | Tanmoy Bhattacharya, Salman Habib, Kurt Jacobs |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | quant-ph/0407096 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0407096 |
| Journal | Los Alamos Science 27, 110 (2002) |
Abstract
Ever since the advent of quantum mechanics, it has been clear that the atoms composing matter do not obey Newton's laws. Instead, their behavior is described by the Schroedinger equation. Surprisingly though, until recently, no clear explanation was given for why everyday objects, which are merely collections of atoms, are observed to obey Newton's laws. It would seem that, if quantum mechanics explains all the properties of atoms accurately, they, too, should obey quantum mechanics. This reasoning led some scientists to believe in a distinct macroscopic, or ``big and complicated,'' world in which quantum mechanics fails and classical mechanics takes over, although there has never been experimental evidence for such a failure. Even those who insisted that Newtonian mechanics would somehow emerge from the underlying quantum mechanics as the system became increasingly macroscopic were hindered by the lack of adequate experimental and theoretical tools. In the last decade, however, this quantum-to-classical transition has become accessible to experimental study and quantitative description, and the resulting insights are the subject of this article.
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"abstract": "Ever since the advent of quantum mechanics, it has been clear that the atoms\ncomposing matter do not obey Newton\u0027s laws. Instead, their behavior is\ndescribed by the Schroedinger equation. Surprisingly though, until recently, no\nclear explanation was given for why everyday objects, which are merely\ncollections of atoms, are observed to obey Newton\u0027s laws. It would seem that,\nif quantum mechanics explains all the properties of atoms accurately, they,\ntoo, should obey quantum mechanics. This reasoning led some scientists to\nbelieve in a distinct macroscopic, or ``big and complicated,\u0027\u0027 world in which\nquantum mechanics fails and classical mechanics takes over, although there has\nnever been experimental evidence for such a failure. Even those who insisted\nthat Newtonian mechanics would somehow emerge from the underlying quantum\nmechanics as the system became increasingly macroscopic were hindered by the\nlack of adequate experimental and theoretical tools. In the last decade,\nhowever, this quantum-to-classical transition has become accessible to\nexperimental study and quantitative description, and the resulting insights are\nthe subject of this article.",
"arxiv_id": "quant-ph/0407096",
"authors": [
"Tanmoy Bhattacharya",
"Salman Habib",
"Kurt Jacobs"
],
"categories": [
"quant-ph"
],
"journal_ref": "Los Alamos Science 27, 110 (2002)",
"title": "The Emergence of Classical Dynamics in a Quantum World",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0407096"
},
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