February 1996, “QM is a Law of Thought” By the way, did you ever read the paper Carl and I wrote titled “Quantum Information: How Much Information in a State Vector?” In it we talk at some length about this idea of “Quantum Mechanics as a Law of Thought” and other Bayesian sounding things. (We even quote Gertrude Stein?!”!) Of course, all the ideas are loose now, but one day they'll be tight. September 1996, “Silly Latin” Allow me to continue my tradition of writing you only when I need something translated!! I've decided on an epithet for myself. Either: Quantum Theory is a Law of Thought or Quantum Mechanics is a Law of Thought What do you think? (…and don't tell me I'm plagiarizing Boole!) Anyway, the problem is that I would like to have these translated as closely as possible into Latin. Do you think you're up to the task? I would appreciate it so much. I can't wait to see you in Japan; I really miss the old gang. Rüdiger's First Reply: 19 September 1996 I like “Quantum Mechanics is a Law of Thought” better, but I can't give a good reason for that.
Emergent Quantum Mechanics (Em.QM) is defined here as the attempt to bridge the gap between quantum and classical mechanics, and to restore causality to the atomic world. An example described in the paper shows how a conspiracy of the classical laws produces a replica of the quantum harmonic oscillator. This is achieved using a droplet model of electrons, obeying Newton/Einstein dynamics in combination with Maxwell’s electromagnetic laws. A concise sketch of the droplet theory precedes the sections on the harmonic oscillator. This summary also briefly mentions other successes of the droplet theory, such as the derivation of the fundamental quantum laws
p=λh and
E=h.ν with a practically correct numerical value of Planck’s constant h. Although these subjects were already addressed in earlier publications about Em.QM, recently simpler and more transparent derivations were found and are reported here. Finally, the achievements of Em.QM until now are reviewed. Em.QM does not compete with conventional QM: the latter will always be superior for performing actual calculations, whereas Em.QM is concerned with possible interpretations of quantum phenomena. An assessment is given of the present status of Em.QM in this perspective.
Emergent Quantum Mechanics (Em.QM) is defined here as the attempt to bridge the gap between quantum and classical mechanics, and to restore causality to the atomic world. An example described in the paper shows how a conspiracy of the classical laws produces a replica of the quantum harmonic oscillator. This is achieved using a droplet model of electrons, obeying Newton/Einstein dynamics in combination with Maxwell’s electromagnetic laws. A concise sketch of the droplet theory precedes the sections on the harmonic oscillator. This summary also briefly mentions other successes of the droplet theory, such as the derivation of the fundamental quantum laws
p=λh and
E=h.ν with a practically correct numerical value of Planck’s constant h. Although these subjects were already addressed in earlier publications about Em.QM, recently simpler and more transparent derivations were found and are reported here. Finally, the achievements of Em.QM until now are reviewed. Em.QM does not compete with conventional QM: the latter will always be superior for performing actual calculations, whereas Em.QM is concerned with possible interpretations of quantum phenomena. An assessment is given of the present status of Em.QM in this perspective.