On the occasion of World Quantum Day on April 14, 2025, we not only celebrate the centenary of the advent of quantum theory, but also look forward to its profound impact across disciplines. This day—symbolically named after Planck's constant (h≈4.14 × 10^-15 eV·s)—invites us to break down the traditional boundaries between physics and the social sciences. Quantum theory reveals the nature of probability fluctuations, particle entanglement, and the observer effect, completely overturning our existing understanding of reality. These core concepts are increasingly becoming metaphors and models for understanding complex social phenomena. From "quantum entanglement," which is an analogy for social connections, to the "uncertainty principle," which maps the uncertainty of decision-making, the quantum perspective has opened up new paths for analyzing collective behavior.
On the occasion of World Quantum Day on April 14, 2025, we not only celebrate the centenary of the advent of quantum theory, but also look forward to its profound impact across disciplines. This day—symbolically named after Planck's constant (h≈4.14 × 10^-15 eV·s)—invites us to break down the traditional boundaries between physics and the social sciences. Quantum theory reveals the nature of probability fluctuations, particle entanglement, and the observer effect, completely overturning our existing understanding of reality. These core concepts are increasingly becoming metaphors and models for understanding complex social phenomena. From "quantum entanglement," which is an analogy for social connections, to the "uncertainty principle," which maps the uncertainty of decision-making, the quantum perspective has opened up new paths for analyzing collective behavior.
World Quantum Day is an international initiative dedicated to promoting public understanding of quantum science and technology.Celebrated annually on April 14, the date reflects the first three digits of Planck's constant (expressed as 4.14 × 10 -¹⁵ electronvolt-seconds).The word quantum refers to the smallest discrete unit of a physical quantity that can be exchanged or measured.Quantum science developed during the early 20th century.Pioneers such as Max Planck, Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr, and Erwin Schrödinger developed theories explaining how energy and matter behave at atomic and subatomic scales.Medical applications of quantum mechanics include imaging such as ultrasound, magnetic resonance, and positron emission tomography; tissue imaging in microscopy, radiation therapy, and nuclear medicine; drug discovery; quantum communication and cybersecurity; education and public outreach, decision-making, and the development of new computational systems.In this review, we present an updated overview of quantum computing based on an extensive literature review using the databases PubMed, EMBASE, and Scopus.
The United Nations General Assembly has officially designated 2025 as the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology (IYQ). This global initiative, supported by UNESCO and co-sponsored by several countries, marks the centenary of quantum sciences, which encompass quantum mechanics, quantum chemistry, and related fields. These disciplines serve as the foundation for fundamental research across the natural sciences. Quantum mechanics provides the theoretical framework for understanding matter and energy at the microscopic scale. While public celebrations of the International Year of Quantum Science and Technology often showcase quantum technologies to engage a broader audience, it is crucial to remember that the emergence of quantum theory primarily represented a ground-breaking shift in the basic sciences. This article explores the complex relationship between quantum mechanics and concepts of traditional chemistry, particularly concerning the microscopic world of atoms and molecules. It highlights how quantum mechanics, a holistic and nonlocal theory, features concepts such as entanglement and the indistinguishability of components that challenge classical chemical notions of distinct interatomic interactions and well-defined molecular structures. While quantum mechanics excels at determining the overall stability and dynamics of the system, the article explains that quantum chemistry relies on the classical Born-Oppenheimer approximation to maintain the view of local interactions and identifiable atoms within a molecule. Then, the article discusses the historical development and limitations of transition state theory in explaining chemical reactions, highlighting chemistry’s specific focus on bond breaking and bond making as a fundamental explanatory principle.
We look into the ontology of quantum theory as distinct from that of the classical theory in the sciences, following a broadly Kantian tradition and distinguishing between the noumenal and phenomenal realities where the former is independent of our perception while the latter is assembled from the former by means of fragmentary bits of interpretation. Within this framework, theories are conceptual constructs applying to models generated in the phenomenal world within limited contexts.The ontology of quantum theory principally rests on the view that entities in the world are pervasively correlated with one another not by means of probabilities as in the case of the classical theory, but by means of probability amplitudes involving finely tuned phases of quantum mechanical states (entanglement). The quantum correlations are shared globally in the process of environment-induced decoherence whereby locally generated correlations are removed, the removal being especially manifest in the case of systems that appear as classical ones, in which case the process is almost instantaneous, being, in all likelihood, driven by field fluctuations in the Planck regime. This points to factors of an unknown nature determining its finest details, since Planck scale physics remains an obscure terrain. In other words, the present day quantum theory holds within a limited context set by the Planck scale.
Quantum entanglement, a cornerstone of quantum mechanics characterized by non-local correlations between particles, has transcended its physical origins to inspire models in social sciences. This paper explores the metaphorical and formal applications of quantum entanglement in social scientific inquiry, focusing on decision theory, social connectivity, game theory, computational simulations, and collective behavior phenomena. By integrating mathematical formulations such as Bell states and deriving their extensions, we demonstrate how these concepts address classical limitations in modeling human irrationality and interconnectedness. A particular emphasis is placed on the Hundredth Monkey Effect, reinterpreted through entanglement to elucidate tipping points in cultural transmission. Drawing on interdisciplinary literature, this work argues for quantum-inspired frameworks as tools for enhanced predictive power in social dynamics, while acknowledging their primarily analogical nature. Implications for policy, education, and future empirical validation are discussed. Keywords: Quantum entanglement, Quantum social science, Decision theory, Collective consciousness, Hundredth Monkey Effect, Non-locality
In recent years, the application of quantum mechanics in life sciences has given rise to quantum biology, which deeply investigates the impact of quantum effects on biological processes, such as quantum transfer in photosynthesis and quantum coherence phenomena in bird navigation. However, the connection between quantum mechanics and the social sciences, particularly linguistics, has not been widely explored. This paper draws analogies between the discrete nature, superposition states, and entanglement phenomena in quantum mechanics, and the discreteness, ambiguity, and context-dependence in linguistics, revealing interdisciplinary similarities between the two fields. This analogy provides a new perspective for understanding the uncertainty and complexity involved in human language processing, and suggests the possible existence of macroscopic quantum states. Future research may uncover the impact of quantum effects on higher cognitive functions and promote a deeper integration of quantum physics and social sciences.
In 2025, the global scientific community will celebrate the centenary of two remarkable events that form the foundation of modern quantum theory: the formulation of the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics and the creation of the concept of spin in elementary particles. Over the past 100 years, quantum theory has evolved from the recognition of the quantum nature of the fundamental laws of the microworld and the creation of a fundamentally new mathematical framework for describing these laws to the use of quantum systems and processes in applied research, from physics to biology, and in the fundamentally new nanotechnologies of 21st-century engineering.