The birth of quantum theory is often narrated as a story about the “mysterious laws of the microscopic world.” This paper argues that such a narrative is misleading. The essence of quantum theory originated from a classical pattern mismatch: physicists mistakenly applied the energy-distribution pattern of thermodynamics to the vibrational modes of electromagnetic radiation. Planck’s hypothesis of energy quantization was not the discovery of a new law of the microscopic world, but a forced mathematical patch introduced to reconcile the incompatible interfaces of two conceptual structures. Interpreting quantum theory as a revelation of “microscopic”mysteries is a philosophical error that has unnecessarily obscured its true origin. 量子论的诞生,通常被讲述为一个关于“微观世界神秘规律”的故事。本文指出,这种叙事是误导性的。量子论的本质,起源于一次经典的 模式错配:物理学家错误地将热力学的能量分配模式,套用在了电磁辐射的模式上。普朗克的能量量子化假设,并非发现了“微观世界”的新规律,而是为了在数学上弥合这两种模式之间的接口不匹配而被迫引入的修正项。将量子论归因于“微观”世界的神秘性,是一个哲学错误,它为后来的理解造成了不必要的障碍。
The birth of quantum theory is often narrated as a story about the “mysterious laws of the microscopic world.” This paper argues that such a narrative is misleading. The essence of quantum theory originated from a classical pattern mismatch: physicists mistakenly applied the energy-distribution pattern of thermodynamics to the vibrational modes of electromagnetic radiation. Planck’s hypothesis of energy quantization was not the discovery of a new law of the microscopic world, but a forced mathematical patch introduced to reconcile the incompatible interfaces of two conceptual structures. Interpreting quantum theory as a revelation of “microscopic”mysteries is a philosophical error that has unnecessarily obscured its true origin. 量子论的诞生,通常被讲述为一个关于“微观世界神秘规律”的故事。本文指出,这种叙事是误导性的。量子论的本质,起源于一次经典的 模式错配:物理学家错误地将热力学的能量分配模式,套用在了电磁辐射的模式上。普朗克的能量量子化假设,并非发现了“微观世界”的新规律,而是为了在数学上弥合这两种模式之间的接口不匹配而被迫引入的修正项。将量子论归因于“微观”世界的神秘性,是一个哲学错误,它为后来的理解造成了不必要的障碍。
Abstract With the failure of classical physics to explain the experimentally observed black body radiation spectrum, the photoelectric effect and the existence of narrow spectral lines in the light emitted by excited atoms, physicists were forced to reach out for new ideas. Following Planck’s initial “drastic hypothesis” of light “quanta”, Einstein led the way in exploring some of the myriad implications of this idea. In particular, the study of fluctuations led to a new understanding of the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with atoms. Einstein invented the photon by showing, through fluctuation studies, that light emitted by atoms must be in the form of plane waves. These ideas led to the first notions regarding the quantization of matter and its dynamics.
The origin of the relativity theories was closely bound up with the development of electromagnetic concepts, a development that approached a coherent fieldtheoretical formulation, according to which all actions may vary in a continuous manner. In contrast, quantum theory arose out of the development of atomic concepts, a development that was characterized by the acknowledgment of a fundamental limitation to classical physical ideas when applied to atomic phenomena. This restriction was expressed in the so-called quantum postulate, which attributed to any atomic process an essential discontinuity that was symbolized by Planck's quantum of action. Quantum field theory (QFT) is a later phase of the conceptual developments of quantum theory, and has the old quantum theory and non-relativistic quantum mechanics, essentially the preliminary analyses of the interactions between atoms and radiation, as its predecessors. This chapter will review some features of quantum physics that are relevant to the rise of QFT. The quantization of motion In solving the problem of the equilibrium between matter and radiation, Max Planck (1900) showed that the laws of heat radiation demanded an element of discontinuity in the description of atomic processes. In the statistical behavior of atoms represented, in Planck's description, by linear resonators in their interactions with radiation, only states of vibration should be taken into account whose energy was an integral multiple of a quantum, hv , where h is Planck's constant and v is the frequency of the resonator. Planck himself believed that the discontinuity of energy was only a property of atoms, and was not ready to apply the idea of energy quantization to radiation itself.
Quantum Mechanics and its Interpretations Peter E. Hodgson (bio) Quantum Mechanics is an elegant and indeed beautiful formalism, and enables the results of many physical measurements to be calculated with great accuracy. But from the earliest days there has been intense debate about the interpretation of quantum mechanics, and it shows no signs of being settled; if anything, it is becoming more intense over the years. It should therefore be evident that the most that can be done here is to try to show where the real difficul-ties lie, and how the failure to recognize that quantum mechanics is an essentially statistical theory has led to a series of confusing quantum paradoxes. It is just these paradoxes that have often been used to support theological speculations. The Discovery of the Quantum The quantum nature of the physical world was discovered by Max Planck in the early years of the twentieth century. He was studying thermodynamics and his attention was drawn to the frequency distribution of black-body radiation. This radiation is emitted from a small hole in a heated enclosure with rough walls, which ensures [End Page 62] that the radiation reaches statistical equilibrium before emission. The frequency distribution is found to be independent of the material lining the walls of the oven, so Planck realized that it must be a fundamental characteristic of all matter. This frequency distribution had been measured by several experimentalists, and Planck resolved to try to see how it can be derived theoretically. Already Rayleigh and Jeans had used classical radiation theory to derive an expression that fitted the data well at low frequencies but tended to infinity at high energies, which was of course unacceptable. The physicist Wien had derived a formula that fitted the data at high frequencies but failed at low frequencies. Planck used an ingenious argument based on entropy to interpolate between these two formulae and obtained a formula, now known as the Planck distribution, that fitted the data perfectly. His next task was to understand the physics behind his formula. He used the familiar technique of assuming that the energy is emitted in small finite amounts, and then let their size tend to zero, so as to represent a continuous distribution. To his great surprise, the intermediate formula with discrete amounts of energy, called quanta, gave the Planck distribution, but the final result, with infinitely small quanta, did not. All his instincts as a physicist rebelled against this conclusion. Surely energy must be emitted continuously. He tried hard to find a way to avoid this unwelcome conclusion, but without success. He had to admit that it is a feature of the world. Soon it was confirmed by Einstein’s interpretation of the photoelectric effect. This story shows clearly that physicists do not impose their ideas on the world, but recognize and accept what they find, whether or not it agrees with their original ideas. The world is made by God in ways that often we cannot imagine. [End Page 63] The Old Quantum Theory A few years later Rutherford discovered that the atom has a small central nucleus containing most of its mass surrounded by a number of electrons. Bohr used the idea of the quantum to build his model of the atom. He assumed that the electrons go around the nucleus in discrete orbits, and that radiation is emitted when an electron falls from one orbit to a lower one. With this model, he was able to calculate to high accuracy the frequencies of the radiation emitted from an excited hydrogen atom. This was a great achievement, but to get his result he had to assume that the electrons stayed in their orbits, whereas classical theory predicted that they would continuously lose energy and rapidly spiral into the nucleus. Quantum Mechanics and its Interpretations These problems were solved by the development of quantum mechanics in the 1920s by Heisenberg, Schrodinger, Dirac, and others. This enabled what is called the wave function to be calculated for any physical system, and from the wave function the probabilities of occurrence of measurable quantities can be found. It is a beautiful theory, and is the indispensable means of calculation for atomic, nuclear...
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.
Quantum physics began with a mystery. Max Planck discovered that a heated blackbodydid not behave according to classical expectations and was forced to introduce aproportionality constant that today bears his name. This discovery is generally regarded asthe birth of quantum mechanics and the beginning of the notion that nature isfundamentally quantized.The Space-Phase (SP3) interpretation offers a different perspective. The mathematicaldiscoveries of quantum physics are not disputed. Rather, the physical interpretation isreconsidered. From the SP3 viewpoint, Planck's experiment was simultaneously the firstcharacterization of how the space-phase medium responds to energy. The subsequentmysteries of quantum physics may therefore be manifestations of a single underlyingphenomenon—a conditionable and organizing medium reacting to matter and energy inorderly and reproducible ways.This paper discusses how many of the enduring mysteries of quantum mechanics may beinterpreted as fingerprints of space-phase behavior rather than independent mysteries ofnature.
Introduction Chapter 1 dealt with one of the deepest mysteries in modern science: how to explain consciousness. This Part deals with another mystery: how to make sense of quantum mechanics. Both involve a problem of reconciliation with the classical worldview, which is one hint that the two mysteries might be related. A second is that, unlike classical physics, which makes no reference to or allowance for consciousness, quantum theory raises the issue of consciousness and its relationship to the physical world in a very direct way. These hints do not necessarily mean there is a connection between the two mysteries, but by the end of this Part I hope to have shown why it would be natural to look for one. My more immediate aim here is to give the social scientific reader an introductory understanding of the experimental findings of quantum theory, its key concepts, and the debates about its interpretation. The discussion assumes no prior knowledge of quantum physics and makes no use of mathematics. Quantum theory without equations might seem like an oxymoron, and certainly reading this Part will not enable anyone to use quantum theory. But to a perhaps surprising degree it is possible to understand quantum theory without being able to use it. Its findings can be communicated in ordinary language, and the same goes for its main concepts and interpretive debates. One consequence of this has been the emergence of a virtual cottage industry of books on quantum theory for a lay audience. Most are written by physicists, and many are quite good. However, it is not just popular treatments that do without equations: much of the professional philosophical literature does as well. (I draw on both kinds of literature below.) Philosophers of physics are trained to understand the math, of course, which is necessary for a full appreciation of the issues.