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Soviet Studies in Philosophy

On the Logic of Microphysics

A. A. Zinov’ev

Published Dec 1, 1970• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The distinctive features of the properties and conditions of research into phenomena of the microworld relative to investigations into phenomena of the macroworld created so strong an impression in important circles that people have even begun to speak of a special logic of the microworld (a logic of microphysics, a logic of quantum mechanics) differing fundamentally from that familiar logic which came into being on the basis of the study of phenomena of the macroscopic world. The reader can find information about this in the works of Kuznetsov (1), Piatnitsyn (2), and the present author. (3)

DOI
10.2753/rsp1061-19670903222

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The distinctive features of the properties and conditions of research into phenomena of the microworld relative to investigations into phenomena of the macroworld created so strong an impression in important circles that people have even begun to speak of a special logic of the microworld (a logic of microphysics, a logic of quantum mechanics) differing fundamentally from that familiar logic which came into being on the basis of the study of phenomena of the macroscopic world. The reader can find information about this in the works of Kuznetsov (1), Piatnitsyn (2), and the present author. (3)
The discovery of the microworld presented a serious trial for many systems of views held by mankind, including its logic. This world was found to lack the familiar solid bodies, the unchanging particles and interrelations between them, the reflection of which, in one way or another, is the logic of the macroscopic world. What elementary particle physics encountered in the microscopic world seemed illogical: the rest-mass of a particle equals zero; a part that is not smaller than the whole; a particle that in diffraction experiments moved like a wave; and much else that was unusual and strange in the properties of elementary particles. One of these properties was actually so named by physicists — "strangeness."
Why should anyone think that what is so deeply puzzling about the quantum world is really a matter of logic? Why should anyone think that studying the logic of quantum mechanics should be a route to a proper understanding of quantum mechanics? There is a tradition in the philosophy of quantum mechanics, a tradition stronger among philosophical commentators than among physicists, which sees the subject as the business of understanding quantum mechanical language and the way that language relates to the world. It is an idea more strongly held by philosophers – it comes much more naturally to them – because the analytic tradition, in which most Anglo-American philosophers of science are raised, is generally much exercised about words and how they hook on to things. The analytic tradition in the philosophy of quantum mechanics is not unreasonable. Everyone admits that we cannot picture the microphysical world, that a graphic or iconic representation of quantum systems is impossible. Therefore understanding quantum mechanics must be a matter of understanding the logic of the words and the mathematics of quantum mechanics. If this seems implausible, it is because of an ambiguity in our use of the verb ‘to understand’. We understand the physical world, and we understand physics. But physics is not the physical world. It is something of an entirely different sort, a human product, a way of representing the world.
This paper identifies the substantial nature of microworld wave-corpuscle duality and sets out fundamental differences between the microworld and macroworld wave-corpuscle duality. Wave-corpuscle duality of microscopic objects over a century has been among the most intriguing features of microworld. The fact is that microworld objects typically exhibit corpuscularity properties, that is, properties of strictly localized objects, and at the same time in special conditions have properties of spatially distributed and spatially unbounded media. Wave-corpuscle properties of microscopic objects were revealed during diffraction experiments when moving microscopic objects are passing through slots, through crystal lattices, nearby edges of bodies etc. Microscopic objects which have cleared diffractive obstacles (diffracted microobjects) leave spot traces on observation screen which speaks for their corpuscularity while distribution of numerous traces reminds in its nature intensity distribution of diffracted purely wave flows. Experiments prove that wave-corpuscle properties are exhibited by each individually diffracted microobject. Substantial nature of microobjects is still unknown. According to quantum physics a
One can and often does use the word ‘logic’ in a variety of metaphorical ways, speaking of “the logic of the situation”, “the logic of events”, “the logic of history”, and so on. No harm is done, so long as one realizes that these usages are metaphorical, and should not be given any deeper significance – at least without extensive discussion of the meaning of the word ‘logic’ in these phrases. In this metaphorical sense, one may speak of “the logic of quantum mechanics”, just as one may speak of “the logic of modern art”, for example. But if we want to use the term ‘logic’ in a non-metaphorical sense – and I take it that this is the intent in all serious discussions of ‘quantum logic’–we are under some obligation to give an account of the significance to be given to the word ‘logic’ and to demonstrate that the proposed usage does not do violence to the several-thousand-year-old tradition in the field.
In the last two decades, the scientific community has witnessed a surge in activity, interesting results, and notable progress in our conceptual understanding of computing and information based on the laws of quantum theory. One of the significant aspects of these developments has been an integration of several fields of inquiry that not long ago appeared to be evolving, more or less, along narrow disciplinary paths without any major overlap with each other. In the resulting body of work, investigators have revealed a deeper connection among the ideas and techniques of (apparently) disparate fields. As is evident from the title of this volume, logic, mathematics, physics, computer science and information theory are intricately involved in this fascinating story. The inquisitive reader might focus, perhaps, on the marriage of the most unlikely and intriguing fields of quantum theory and logic and ask: Why quantum logic? By many, “logic” is deemed to be panacea for faulty intuition. It is often associated with the rules of correct thinking and decision-making, but not necessarily in its most sublime role as a deep intellectual subject underlying the validity of mathematical structures and worthy of investigation and discovery in its own right. Indeed, within the realm of the classical theories of nature, one may encounter situations that defy comprehension, should one hold to the intuition developed through experiencing familiar macroscopic scenarios in our routine impressions of natural phenomena. One such example is a statement within the special theory of relativity that the speed of light is the same in all inertial frames. It certainly defies the common intuition regarding the observation of velocities of familiar objects in relative motion. One might be tempted to dismiss it as contrary to observation. However, while analyzing natural phenomena for objects moving close to the speed of light and, therefore, unfamiliar in the range of velocities we are normally accustomed to, logical deductions based on the postulates of the special relativity theory lead to the correct predictions of experimental observations. There exists an undeniable interconnection between the deepest theories of nature and mathematical reasoning, famously stated by Eugene Wigner as the unreasonable efficacy of mathematics in physical theories.