Quantum Mechanics: Not Mysterious

Yakir Aharonov, J. Anandan

Ilayda Gokgoz

Tim Palmer

Feynman famously asserted that interference is the only real mystery in quantum mechanics (QM). It is concluded that the reason for this mystery, and thereby the related mysteries of complementarity, non-commutativity of observables, the uncertainty principle and violation of Bell's equality, is that the axioms of QM depend vitally on the continuum nature of Hilbert Space, deemed unphysical. We develop a theory of quantum physics - Rational Quantum Mechanics (RaQM) - in which Hilbert Space is gravitationally discretised. The key to solving the mysteries of QM in RaQM is a number-theoretic property of the cosine function, concealed in QM when angles range over the continuum. This number-theoretic property describes mathematically the utter indivisibility of the quantum world and implies that the laws of physics are profoundly holistic. We contrast holism with nonlocality. In theories which embrace the continuum, the violation of Bell's inequality requires the laws of physics to be either nonlocal or not realistic; both incomprehensible concepts. By contrast, holism, as embodied in Mach's Principle or in the fractal geometry of a chaotic attractor, is neither incomprehensible nor unphysical. As part of this, we solve the deepest mystery of all; why nature makes use of complex numbers.

Narasimhaiengar Mukunda

Marcello Poletti

Allen C. Dotson

Much has been written in recent years about the strange features associated with the quantum-mechanical description of nature at the atomic level. Physics teachers should help their students to see that many of these mysterious features are direct results of interpretive principles added to the basic theory of quantum mechanics, and that therefore they may or may not reflect the best possible understanding we can achieve of how nature works at that level. This paper discusses three such principles and their connection to well-known quantum mysteries. The practical significance of distinguishing between quantum mechanics itself and these principles is that it remains possible that other explanatory ideas may be found which lead to less mysterious consequences.