The General Principles of Quantum Mechanics. Part II

Edwin C. Kemble

Christian DE RONDE

Niels Bohr introduced the concept of complementarity in order to give a general account of quantum mechanics, however he stressed that the idea of complementarity is related to the general difficulty in the formation of human ideas, inherent in the distinction between subject and object. The complementary descriptions approach is a framework for the interpretation of quantum mechanics, more specifically, it focuses in the development of the idea of complementarity and the concept of potentiality in the orthodox quantum formulation. In PART I of this article, we analyze the ideas of Bohr and present the principle of complementary description which takes into account Einstein's ontological position. We argue, in PART II, that this development allows a better understanding of some of the paradigmatic interpretational problems in quantum mechanics, such as the measurement problem and the quantum to classical limit. We conclude that one should further develop complementarity in order to elaborate a consistent worldview.

Wolfgang Ernst Friederich Pauli

Christian DE RONDE

Niels Bohr introduced the concept of complementarity in order to give a general account of quantum mechanics, however he stressed that the idea of complementarity is related to the general difficulty in the formation of human ideas, inherent in the distinction between subject and object. The complementary descriptions approach is a framework for the interpretation of quantum mechanics, more specifically, it focuses in the development of the idea of complementarity and the concept of potentiality in the orthodox quantum formulation. In PART I of this article, we analyze the ideas of Bohr and present the principle of complementary description which takes into account Einstein's ontological position. We argue, in PART II, that this development allows a better understanding of some of the paradigmatic interpretational problems in quantum mechanics, such as the measurement problem and the quantum to classical limit. We conclude that one should further develop complementarity in order to elaborate a consistent worldview.

Hilbrand Johannes Groenewold

Hernán Gustavo Solari, Mario Alberto Natiello

We reconstruct Quantum Mechanics in a way that harmonises with classical mechanics and electromagnetism, free from mysteries or paradoxes as the \emph{collapse of the wave-function} or \emph{Schrödinger's cat.} The construction is inspired by de Broglie's and Schrödinger's wave mechanics while the unifying principle is Hamilton's principle of least action, which separates natural laws from particular circumstances such as initial conditions and leads to the conservation of energy for isolated systems. In Part I we construct the Quantum Mechanics of a charged unitary entity and prescribe the form in which the entity interacts with other charged entities and matter in general. In Part II we address the quantum mechanics of the hydrogen atom, testing the correctness and accuracy of the general description. The relation between electron and proton in the atom is described systematically in a construction that is free from analogies or ad-hoc derivations and it supersedes conventional Quantum Mechanics (whose equations linked to measurements can be recovered). We briefly discuss why the concept of isolation built in Schrödinger's time evolution is not acceptable and how it immediately results in the well known measurement paradoxes of quantum mechanics. We also discuss the epistemic grounds of the development and provide a criticism of instrumentalism, the leading philosophical perspective behind conventional Quantum Mechanics.