Further Thoughts on Quantum Physics

Henning Vinjusveen Myhrehagen, Berit Bungum

Abstract The thought experiment ‘Schrödinger’s cat’ exposes fundamental dilemmas in how we interpret quantum physics, and has a potential for deepening students’ understanding of this part of modern physics, including its philosophical consequences. In this paper we report results from the project ReleQuant on how Norwegian physics students in upper secondary schools interpret the thought experiment. The analysis resulted in nine categories, and we discuss how these relate to interpretations made by physicists, in particular the concept of superposition. Even if students’ responses in many cases can be related to interpretations that make sense in physics, we conclude that lack of knowledge about the purpose and the historical context of the thought experiment limits students understanding of the physics content. Exploring the thought experiment from a historical perspective might deepen student understanding of key concepts in quantum physics as well as of how physics develops.

Berthold‐Georg Englert

Kent A. Peacock

The author describes several thought experiments that are important in modern physics, by which he mean the physical theory and practice that developed explosively from the late 19th century onwards. Some thought experiments provide the basis for rigorous arguments with clear conclusions; others seem to work simply by drawing attention to an important question that otherwise might not have been apparent. While the thought experiments to be discussed here are key turning points in the history of modern physical theory, in several cases their full implications remain to be plumbed. It is an extraordinary fact that most of the decisive thought experiments in 20th-century physics were born from the fertile imagination of one person, Albert Einstein. This forces to ponder the importance of individual creativity in the advancement of science. The Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) thought experiment dominates investigations of the foundations of quantum mechanics and plays a defining role in quantum information theory.

Karl Popper

Alexander Bolano

Thought experiments have been the bread and butter of modern physics since its inception. Galileo used a thought experiment to argue that all objects fall at the same rate regardless of mass, Isaac Newton used a thought experiment to argue for the absolute nature of space, Maxwell used a thought experiment to argue the nature

Inge Svein Helland