The quantum object is in general considered as displaying both wave and particle nature. By particle is understood an item localized in a very small volume of the space, and which cannot be simultaneously in two disjo...The quantum object is in general considered as displaying both wave and particle nature. By particle is understood an item localized in a very small volume of the space, and which cannot be simultaneously in two disjoint regions of the space. By wave, to the contrary, is understood a distributed item, occupying in some cases two or more disjoint regions of the space. The quantum formalism did not explain until today the so-called “collapse” of the wave-function, i.e. the shrinking of the wave-function to one small region of the space, when a macroscopic object is encountered. This seems to happen in “which-way” experiments. A very appealing explanation for this behavior is the idea of a particle, localized in some limited part of the wave-function. The present article challenges the concept of particle. It proves in the base of a variant of the Tan, Walls and Collett experiment, that this concept leads to a situation in which the particle has to be simultaneously in two places distant from one another—situation that contradicts the very definition of a particle. Another argument is based on a modified version of the Afshar experiment, showing that the concept of particle is problematic. The concept of particle makes additional difficulties when the wave-function passes through fields. An unexpected possibility to solve these difficulties seems to arise from the cavity quantum electrodynamics studies done recently by S. Savasta and his collaborators. It involves virtual particles. One of these studies is briefly described here. Though, experimental results are needed, so that it is too soon to conclude whether it speaks in favor, or against the concept of particle.展开更多
Different attempts to solve the measurement problem of the quantum me-chanics (QM) by denying the collapse principle, and replacing it with changes in the quantum formalism, failed because the changes in the formalism...Different attempts to solve the measurement problem of the quantum me-chanics (QM) by denying the collapse principle, and replacing it with changes in the quantum formalism, failed because the changes in the formalism lead to contradictions with QM predictions. To the difference, Ghirardi, Rimini and Weber took the collapse as a real phenomenon, and proposed a calculus by which the wave-function should undergo a sudden localization. Later on, Ghirardi, Pearle and Rimini came with a change of this calculus into the CSL (continuous spontaneous localization) model of collapse. Both these proposals rely on the experimental fact that the reduction of the wave-function occurs when the microscopic system encounters a macroscopic object and involves a big amount of its particles. Both these proposals also change the quantum formalism by introducing in the Schr<span style="white-space:nowrap;">?</span>dinger equation additional terms with noisy behavior. However, these terms have practically no influence as long as the studied system contains only one or a few components. Only when the amount of components is very big, these terms become significant and lead to the reduction of the wave-function to one of its components. The present work has two purposes: 1) proving that the collapse postulate is unavoidable;2) ap-plying the CSL model to the process in a detector and showing step by step the modification of the wave-function, until reduction. As a side detail, it is argued here that the noise cannot originate in some classical field, contrary to the thought/hope of some physicists, because no classical field is tailored by the wave-functions of entanglements.展开更多
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 form...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 mechanics (QM), neither with that of classical mechanics. This fact makes some physicists propose interpretations of QM, which avoid this postulate. However, the common procedure used in that is making assumptions incompatible with the QM formalism. The present work discusses the most popular interpretations. It is shown that because of such assumptions those interpretations fail, <em>i.e.</em> predict for some experiments results which differ from the QM predictions. Despite that, special attention is called to a proposal of S. Gao, the only one which addresses and tries to solve an obvious and major contradiction. A couple of theorems are proved for showing that the collapse postulate is necessary in the QM. Although non-explainable with the quantum formalism, this postulate cannot be denied, otherwise one comes to conclusions which disagree with the QM. It is also proved here that the idea of “collapse at a distance” is problematic especially in relativistic cases, and is a misunderstanding. Namely, in an entanglement of two quantum systems, assuming that the measurement of one of the systems (accompanied by collapse of that system on one of its states) collapses the other systems, too without the second system being measured, which leads to a contradiction.展开更多
What is the quantum system? Consider the wave-function of the electron—what we call “single particle wave-function”—and assume that it contains N wave-packets. If we pass all the wave-packets through an electric f...What is the quantum system? Consider the wave-function of the electron—what we call “single particle wave-function”—and assume that it contains N wave-packets. If we pass all the wave-packets through an electric field, all are deflected, as if each one of them contains an electron. However, if we bring any two wave-packets to travel close to one another, they don’t repel one another, as if at least one of them contains no charge. In trying to solve the measurement problem of the quantum mechanics (QM), different interpretations were proposed, each one coming with a particular ontology. However, only one interpretation paid explicit attention to the contradiction mentioned above. This interpretation was proposed by S. Gao who named it “random discontinuous motion” (RDM), because it assumes the existence of a particle that jumps from place to place at random. The particle carries all the physical properties of the respective type of particle, mass, charge, magnetic momentum, etc. It jumps under the control of an “instantaneous condition” about which Gao did not give details so far. Along with presenting problems of the QM that this interpretation solves, this text reveals difficulties vis-à-vis entanglements and the special relativity.展开更多
A thought-experiment is described and the probability of a particular type of results is predicted according to the quantum formalism. Then, the assumption is made that there exists a particle that travels from the so...A thought-experiment is described and the probability of a particular type of results is predicted according to the quantum formalism. Then, the assumption is made that there exists a particle that travels from the source to one of the detectors, along a continuous trajectory. A contradiction appears: for agreeing with the quantum prediction, the particle has to land at once on two space-separated detectors. Therefore, the trajectory of the particle—if it exists—cannot be continuous.展开更多
Is the wave-function a physical reality traveling through our apparatus? Is it a real wave, or it is only a mathematical tool for calculating probabilities of results of measurements? Different interpretations of the ...Is the wave-function a physical reality traveling through our apparatus? Is it a real wave, or it is only a mathematical tool for calculating probabilities of results of measurements? Different interpretations of the quantum mechanics (QM) assume different answers to this question. It is shown in this article that the assumption that the wave-function is a real wave entails a contradiction with the predictions of the QM, when the special relativity is invoked. Therefore, this text concentrates on interpretations that conjecture that the reality that moves in our apparatuses is particles, and they move under the constraints of the wave-function. The de Broglie-Bohm interpretation, which matches this picture, assumes that the particle travels along a continuous trajectory. However, the idea of continuous trajectories was proved to lead to a contradiction with the quantum predictions. Therefore this interpretation is not considered here. S. Gao conjectured that the particle is in a permanent random and discontinuous motion (RDM). As it jumps all the time from place to place, the total set of occupied positions at a certain time is given by the absolute square of the wave-function. As motivation for his idea, Gao argued that if a charged particle were simultaneously in two or more locations at the same time, the copies of the particle would repel one another, destroying the wave-function. It is proved here that the quantum formalism renders this motivation wrong. Although refuting this motivation, the RDM interpretation is examined here. A couple of problems of this interpretation are examined and it is proved that they don’t lead to any observable contradictions with the QM predictions, except one problem which seems to have no solution. In all, it appears that none of the wide-spread interpretations of the QM is free of contradictions.展开更多
A. Peres constructed an example of particles entangled in the state of spin singlet. He claimed to have obtained the CHSH inequality and concluded that the violation of this inequality shows that in a measurement in w...A. Peres constructed an example of particles entangled in the state of spin singlet. He claimed to have obtained the CHSH inequality and concluded that the violation of this inequality shows that in a measurement in which some variables are tested, other variables, not tested, have no defined value. In the present paper is proved that the correct conclusion of the violation of the CHSH inequality is different. It is proved that the classical calculus of probabilities of test results, obeying the Kolmogorov axioms, is unfit for the quantum formalism, dominated by probability amplitudes.展开更多
When a quantum system is described by a superposition of wave-packets, each wave-packet traveling on a separate path, a commonly asked question is <em>why</em> only one of the wave-packets is able to trigg...When a quantum system is described by a superposition of wave-packets, each wave-packet traveling on a separate path, a commonly asked question is <em>why</em> only one of the wave-packets is able to trigger a click in a detector. In the second half of the last century many scientists considered the possibility that not all these wave-packets are identical. Namely, that there exist “full waves” and “empty waves”. The two types of waves were supposed to be identical only in the sense that they are able to produce interference when crossing one another, however, the full wave was supposed to be able to trigger a click in a detector, while the empty wave was supposed to leave the detector silent. The present text describes an experiment in which, for explaining the results, it seems necessary to admit the existence of full and empty waves.展开更多
文摘The quantum object is in general considered as displaying both wave and particle nature. By particle is understood an item localized in a very small volume of the space, and which cannot be simultaneously in two disjoint regions of the space. By wave, to the contrary, is understood a distributed item, occupying in some cases two or more disjoint regions of the space. The quantum formalism did not explain until today the so-called “collapse” of the wave-function, i.e. the shrinking of the wave-function to one small region of the space, when a macroscopic object is encountered. This seems to happen in “which-way” experiments. A very appealing explanation for this behavior is the idea of a particle, localized in some limited part of the wave-function. The present article challenges the concept of particle. It proves in the base of a variant of the Tan, Walls and Collett experiment, that this concept leads to a situation in which the particle has to be simultaneously in two places distant from one another—situation that contradicts the very definition of a particle. Another argument is based on a modified version of the Afshar experiment, showing that the concept of particle is problematic. The concept of particle makes additional difficulties when the wave-function passes through fields. An unexpected possibility to solve these difficulties seems to arise from the cavity quantum electrodynamics studies done recently by S. Savasta and his collaborators. It involves virtual particles. One of these studies is briefly described here. Though, experimental results are needed, so that it is too soon to conclude whether it speaks in favor, or against the concept of particle.
文摘Different attempts to solve the measurement problem of the quantum me-chanics (QM) by denying the collapse principle, and replacing it with changes in the quantum formalism, failed because the changes in the formalism lead to contradictions with QM predictions. To the difference, Ghirardi, Rimini and Weber took the collapse as a real phenomenon, and proposed a calculus by which the wave-function should undergo a sudden localization. Later on, Ghirardi, Pearle and Rimini came with a change of this calculus into the CSL (continuous spontaneous localization) model of collapse. Both these proposals rely on the experimental fact that the reduction of the wave-function occurs when the microscopic system encounters a macroscopic object and involves a big amount of its particles. Both these proposals also change the quantum formalism by introducing in the Schr<span style="white-space:nowrap;">?</span>dinger equation additional terms with noisy behavior. However, these terms have practically no influence as long as the studied system contains only one or a few components. Only when the amount of components is very big, these terms become significant and lead to the reduction of the wave-function to one of its components. The present work has two purposes: 1) proving that the collapse postulate is unavoidable;2) ap-plying the CSL model to the process in a detector and showing step by step the modification of the wave-function, until reduction. As a side detail, it is argued here that the noise cannot originate in some classical field, contrary to the thought/hope of some physicists, because no classical field is tailored by the wave-functions of entanglements.
文摘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 mechanics (QM), neither with that of classical mechanics. This fact makes some physicists propose interpretations of QM, which avoid this postulate. However, the common procedure used in that is making assumptions incompatible with the QM formalism. The present work discusses the most popular interpretations. It is shown that because of such assumptions those interpretations fail, <em>i.e.</em> predict for some experiments results which differ from the QM predictions. Despite that, special attention is called to a proposal of S. Gao, the only one which addresses and tries to solve an obvious and major contradiction. A couple of theorems are proved for showing that the collapse postulate is necessary in the QM. Although non-explainable with the quantum formalism, this postulate cannot be denied, otherwise one comes to conclusions which disagree with the QM. It is also proved here that the idea of “collapse at a distance” is problematic especially in relativistic cases, and is a misunderstanding. Namely, in an entanglement of two quantum systems, assuming that the measurement of one of the systems (accompanied by collapse of that system on one of its states) collapses the other systems, too without the second system being measured, which leads to a contradiction.
文摘What is the quantum system? Consider the wave-function of the electron—what we call “single particle wave-function”—and assume that it contains N wave-packets. If we pass all the wave-packets through an electric field, all are deflected, as if each one of them contains an electron. However, if we bring any two wave-packets to travel close to one another, they don’t repel one another, as if at least one of them contains no charge. In trying to solve the measurement problem of the quantum mechanics (QM), different interpretations were proposed, each one coming with a particular ontology. However, only one interpretation paid explicit attention to the contradiction mentioned above. This interpretation was proposed by S. Gao who named it “random discontinuous motion” (RDM), because it assumes the existence of a particle that jumps from place to place at random. The particle carries all the physical properties of the respective type of particle, mass, charge, magnetic momentum, etc. It jumps under the control of an “instantaneous condition” about which Gao did not give details so far. Along with presenting problems of the QM that this interpretation solves, this text reveals difficulties vis-à-vis entanglements and the special relativity.
文摘A thought-experiment is described and the probability of a particular type of results is predicted according to the quantum formalism. Then, the assumption is made that there exists a particle that travels from the source to one of the detectors, along a continuous trajectory. A contradiction appears: for agreeing with the quantum prediction, the particle has to land at once on two space-separated detectors. Therefore, the trajectory of the particle—if it exists—cannot be continuous.
文摘Is the wave-function a physical reality traveling through our apparatus? Is it a real wave, or it is only a mathematical tool for calculating probabilities of results of measurements? Different interpretations of the quantum mechanics (QM) assume different answers to this question. It is shown in this article that the assumption that the wave-function is a real wave entails a contradiction with the predictions of the QM, when the special relativity is invoked. Therefore, this text concentrates on interpretations that conjecture that the reality that moves in our apparatuses is particles, and they move under the constraints of the wave-function. The de Broglie-Bohm interpretation, which matches this picture, assumes that the particle travels along a continuous trajectory. However, the idea of continuous trajectories was proved to lead to a contradiction with the quantum predictions. Therefore this interpretation is not considered here. S. Gao conjectured that the particle is in a permanent random and discontinuous motion (RDM). As it jumps all the time from place to place, the total set of occupied positions at a certain time is given by the absolute square of the wave-function. As motivation for his idea, Gao argued that if a charged particle were simultaneously in two or more locations at the same time, the copies of the particle would repel one another, destroying the wave-function. It is proved here that the quantum formalism renders this motivation wrong. Although refuting this motivation, the RDM interpretation is examined here. A couple of problems of this interpretation are examined and it is proved that they don’t lead to any observable contradictions with the QM predictions, except one problem which seems to have no solution. In all, it appears that none of the wide-spread interpretations of the QM is free of contradictions.
文摘A. Peres constructed an example of particles entangled in the state of spin singlet. He claimed to have obtained the CHSH inequality and concluded that the violation of this inequality shows that in a measurement in which some variables are tested, other variables, not tested, have no defined value. In the present paper is proved that the correct conclusion of the violation of the CHSH inequality is different. It is proved that the classical calculus of probabilities of test results, obeying the Kolmogorov axioms, is unfit for the quantum formalism, dominated by probability amplitudes.
文摘When a quantum system is described by a superposition of wave-packets, each wave-packet traveling on a separate path, a commonly asked question is <em>why</em> only one of the wave-packets is able to trigger a click in a detector. In the second half of the last century many scientists considered the possibility that not all these wave-packets are identical. Namely, that there exist “full waves” and “empty waves”. The two types of waves were supposed to be identical only in the sense that they are able to produce interference when crossing one another, however, the full wave was supposed to be able to trigger a click in a detector, while the empty wave was supposed to leave the detector silent. The present text describes an experiment in which, for explaining the results, it seems necessary to admit the existence of full and empty waves.
