dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaWhy Quantum Mechanics is Hard to Understand
| Authors | Doug Bilodeau |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | quant-ph/9812050 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/9812050 |
Abstract
To understand the foundations of quantum mechanics, we have to think carefully about how theoretical concepts are rooted in -- and limited by -- the nature of experience, as Bohr attempted to show. Geometrical pictures of physical phenomena are favored because of their clarity. Quantum phenomena, however, do not permit them. Instead, the historical and dynamical aspects of description diverge and must be expressed in different but complementary languages. Objective historical facts are recorded in terms of objects, which necessarily have an imprecise, empirical quality. Dynamics is based on quantitative abstraction from recurring patterns. The "quantum of action" is the discontinuity between these two ways of looking at the physical world.
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"abstract": "To understand the foundations of quantum mechanics, we have to think\ncarefully about how theoretical concepts are rooted in -- and limited by -- the\nnature of experience, as Bohr attempted to show. Geometrical pictures of\nphysical phenomena are favored because of their clarity. Quantum phenomena,\nhowever, do not permit them. Instead, the historical and dynamical aspects of\ndescription diverge and must be expressed in different but complementary\nlanguages. Objective historical facts are recorded in terms of objects, which\nnecessarily have an imprecise, empirical quality. Dynamics is based on\nquantitative abstraction from recurring patterns. The \"quantum of action\" is\nthe discontinuity between these two ways of looking at the physical world.",
"arxiv_id": "quant-ph/9812050",
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"Doug Bilodeau"
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"title": "Why Quantum Mechanics is Hard to Understand",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/9812050"
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