Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Physics Essays

Why do we live in a quantum world?

Craig Alan Feinstein

Published Mar 14, 2017• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Anybody who has ever studied quantum mechanics knows that it is a very counterintuitive theory, even though it has been an incredibly successful theory. This paper aims to remove this counterintuitiveness by showing that the laws of quantum mechanics are a natural consequence of classical Newtonian mechanics combined with the digital universe hypothesis of Konrad Zuse and Edward Fredkin. We also present a possible way to test the digital universe hypothesis.

DOI
10.4006/0836-1398-30.1.57

Related papers

Classical Mechanics

Jeffrey Alan Barrett

Abstract While quantum mechanics is one of the most successful physical theories we have ever had, it is deeply counterintuitive. It must be given the empirical evidence it explains. We consider some of the historical evidence for the theory and the conceptual arguments that led from classical mechanics to quantum mechanics. These considerations illustrate some of the ways in which our commonsense and philosophical intuitions are simply incompatible with the physical world.

•Dec 26, 2019•0 citations

Can the clicks of the detectors provide a complete description of Nature?

Ovidiu Cristinel Stoica

No matter how counterintuitive they are, quantum phenomena are all simple consequences of the laws of Quantum Mechanics. It is not needed to extend the theory with hidden mechanisms or additional principles to explain what Quantum Mechanics already predicts. This indubitable fact is often taken as supporting the view that all we can know about the universe comes from the outcomes of the quantum observations. According to this view, we can even learn the physical laws, in particular the properties of the space, particles, fields, and interactions, solely from the outcomes of the quantum observations. In this article it is shown that the unitary symmetry of the laws of Quantum Mechanics imposes severe restrictions in learning the physical laws of the universe, if we know only the observables and their outcomes.

arXiv:1402.3285•Feb 13, 2014•1 citation

Wherefore Quantum Mechanics?

S. P. Boughn

After the development of a self-consistent quantum formalism nearly a century ago, there ensued a quest to understand the often counterintuitive predictions of the theory. These endeavors invariably begin with the assumption of the "truth" of the mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics and then proceed to investigate the theory's implications for the physical world. One of the outcomes has been endless discussions of the quantum measurement problem, wave/particle duality, the non-locality of entangled quantum states, Schroedinger's cat, and other philosophical conundrums. In this essay, I take the point of view that quantum mechanics is a mathematical model, a human invention, and rather than pondering what the theory implies about our world, I consider the transposed question: what is it about our world that leads us to a quantum mechanical model of it? One consequence is the realization that discrete quanta, the quantum of action in particular, leads to the wave nature and statistical behavior of matter rather than the other way around.

arXiv:1910.08069•Jan 1, 2019•0 citations

Are we living in a quantum world? Bohr and quantum fundamentalism

Henrik Zinkernagel

The spectacular successes of quantum physics have made it a commonplace to assert that we live in a quantum world. This idea seems to imply a kind of "quantum fundamentalism" according to which everything in the universe (if not the universe as a whole) is fundamentally of a quantum nature and ultimately describable in quantum-mechanical terms. Bohr's conception of quantum mechanics has traditionally been seen as opposed to such a view, not least because of his insistence on the necessity of the concepts of classical physics in the account of quantum phenomena. Recently, however, a consensus seems to be emerging among careful commentators on Bohr to the effect that he, after all, did subscribe to some version of quantum fundamentalism. Against this consensus, and by re-examining the historical record, I will defend a variant of the traditional reading of Bohr in which (1) the answer to what an object is (quantum or classical) depends on the experimental context; and (2) in principle, any physical system can be treated quantum-mechanically but not all systems can be treated that way at the same time.

arXiv:1603.00342•Mar 1, 2016•22 citations

Quantum physics explains Newton’s laws of motion

Jon Ogborn, Edwin F. Taylor

Newton was obliged to give his laws of motion as fundamental axioms. But today we know that the quantum world is fundamental, and Newton's laws can be seen as consequences of fundamental quantum laws. This article traces this transition from fundamental quantum mechanics to derived classical mechanics.

Physics Education•Dec 24, 2004•37 citations

Classical Physics Versus Quantum Physics: an Overview

Hardev Singh Virk

Newtonian mechanics is the foundation of Classical Physics. Newton’s mechanics, Thermodynamics, Wave theory of Optics and Maxwell’s electromagnetic theory belong to regime of Classical Physics and can be used to explain a wide range of phenomena in the Universe at macroscopic scale. These theories fail spectacularly when applied to phenomenain the atomic and nuclear regime, for example, proton-atom scattering or the flow of electrons in a semiconductor. Quantum mechanics is the most successful scientific theory that has ever been created and it has completely changed our view of the world. The failure of Classical Physics was highlighted by black body radiation and photoelectric effect. Max Planck and Albert Einstein provided explanations of both phenomena based on quantum hypothesis and are thus considered founders of Quantum Physics. The origin of quantum mechanics goes back to the mid-1920s.It was formulated first as matrix mechanics by Werner Heisenberg, Max Born and Pascual Jordan; then as wave mechanics by Louis de Broglie and Erwin Schrödinger; and later on asquantum statistics of subatomic particles by Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein. Combining relativistic mechanics with quantum mechanics, Dirac formulated his relativistic quantum mechanics during 1930s. Uncertainty Principle is thecornerstone of Quantum Physics. The role of randomness in microscopic physical processes shatters the myth that the universe is deterministic. Quantum world is unpredictable in the classical sense and demolishes the idea of an objective universe. The Copenhagen interpretation remains the quantum mechanical formalism that is currently most widely accepted amongst physicists.Quantum theories support cosmic spirit pervading the cosmos and inter – relationship of individuals in the world society. Quantum philosophy is holistic and is going to revolutionize our world-view.

OmniScience A Multi-disciplinary Journal•Aug 1, 2014•2 citations
Anybody who has ever studied quantum mechanics knows that it is a very counterintuitive theory, even though it has been an incredibly successful theory. This paper aims to remove this counterintuitiveness by showing that the laws of quantum mechanics are a natural consequence of classical Newtonian mechanics combined with the digital universe hypothesis of Konrad Zuse and Edward Fredkin. We also present a possible way to test the digital universe hypothesis.
No matter how counterintuitive they are, quantum phenomena are all simple consequences of the laws of Quantum Mechanics. It is not needed to extend the theory with hidden mechanisms or additional principles to explain what Quantum Mechanics already predicts. This indubitable fact is often taken as supporting the view that all we can know about the universe comes from the outcomes of the quantum observations. According to this view, we can even learn the physical laws, in particular the properties of the space, particles, fields, and interactions, solely from the outcomes of the quantum observations. In this article it is shown that the unitary symmetry of the laws of Quantum Mechanics imposes severe restrictions in learning the physical laws of the universe, if we know only the observables and their outcomes.
After the development of a self-consistent quantum formalism nearly a century ago, there ensued a quest to understand the often counterintuitive predictions of the theory. These endeavors invariably begin with the assumption of the "truth" of the mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics and then proceed to investigate the theory's implications for the physical world. One of the outcomes has been endless discussions of the quantum measurement problem, wave/particle duality, the non-locality of entangled quantum states, Schroedinger's cat, and other philosophical conundrums. In this essay, I take the point of view that quantum mechanics is a mathematical model, a human invention, and rather than pondering what the theory implies about our world, I consider the transposed question: what is it about our world that leads us to a quantum mechanical model of it? One consequence is the realization that discrete quanta, the quantum of action in particular, leads to the wave nature and statistical behavior of matter rather than the other way around.
The spectacular successes of quantum physics have made it a commonplace to assert that we live in a quantum world. This idea seems to imply a kind of "quantum fundamentalism" according to which everything in the universe (if not the universe as a whole) is fundamentally of a quantum nature and ultimately describable in quantum-mechanical terms. Bohr's conception of quantum mechanics has traditionally been seen as opposed to such a view, not least because of his insistence on the necessity of the concepts of classical physics in the account of quantum phenomena. Recently, however, a consensus seems to be emerging among careful commentators on Bohr to the effect that he, after all, did subscribe to some version of quantum fundamentalism. Against this consensus, and by re-examining the historical record, I will defend a variant of the traditional reading of Bohr in which (1) the answer to what an object is (quantum or classical) depends on the experimental context; and (2) in principle, any physical system can be treated quantum-mechanically but not all systems can be treated that way at the same time.
Newtonian mechanics is the foundation of Classical Physics. Newton’s mechanics, Thermodynamics, Wave theory of Optics and Maxwell’s electromagnetic theory belong to regime of Classical Physics and can be used to explain a wide range of phenomena in the Universe at macroscopic scale. These theories fail spectacularly when applied to phenomenain the atomic and nuclear regime, for example, proton-atom scattering or the flow of electrons in a semiconductor. Quantum mechanics is the most successful scientific theory that has ever been created and it has completely changed our view of the world. The failure of Classical Physics was highlighted by black body radiation and photoelectric effect. Max Planck and Albert Einstein provided explanations of both phenomena based on quantum hypothesis and are thus considered founders of Quantum Physics. The origin of quantum mechanics goes back to the mid-1920s.It was formulated first as matrix mechanics by Werner Heisenberg, Max Born and Pascual Jordan; then as wave mechanics by Louis de Broglie and Erwin Schrödinger; and later on asquantum statistics of subatomic particles by Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein. Combining relativistic mechanics with quantum mechanics, Dirac formulated his relativistic quantum mechanics during 1930s. Uncertainty Principle is thecornerstone of Quantum Physics. The role of randomness in microscopic physical processes shatters the myth that the universe is deterministic. Quantum world is unpredictable in the classical sense and demolishes the idea of an objective universe. The Copenhagen interpretation remains the quantum mechanical formalism that is currently most widely accepted amongst physicists.Quantum theories support cosmic spirit pervading the cosmos and inter – relationship of individuals in the world society. Quantum philosophy is holistic and is going to revolutionize our world-view.