Classical and Quantum Physics

Gary E. Bowman

This introductory chapter outlines the differences between classical physics and quantum physics by positing three imaginary worlds. World 1 is governed by the laws of classical Newtonian mechanics, World 2 by classical field physics, and World 3 by quantum physics. The point is that classical physics deals with well-defined, continuously-existing physical quantities, including trajectories, while quantum physics is fundamentally about physical quantities defined in terms of probability functions.

R. Asokamani

Michele Marrocco

Classical physics fails where quantum physics prevails. This common understanding applies to quantum phenomena that are acknowledged to be beyond the reach of classical physics. Here, we make an attempt at weakening this solid belief that classical physics is unfit to explain the quantum world. The trial run is the quantization of the free radiation field that will be addressed by following a strategy that is free from operators or quantum-mechanical concepts

N. Rosen

E.L. Albuquerque

Janne Mikael Karimäki

In this paper the relationship of classical physics and quantum physics is studied by introducing a partial differential equation, which describes classical mechanics, but looks very similar to the Schrodinger wave equation of quantum mechanics. This work is largely based on David Bohm's causal interpretation of quantum mechanics, but is in some sense complementary to it. In Bohm's theory the Schrodinger wave equation is used to derive classical looking equations of motion for quantum physics. Here exactly the opposite is done. The equations of classical physics are put into a form resembling the Schrodinger equation of quantum physics.