We present a particle model which was developed to explain special relativity by classical means. This model is also able to account for physical processes that are normally attributed to quantum mechanics. The model is able to describe several well-known QM processes by means of classical calculations, making them accessible to the imagination. An essential difference compared with the Standard Model of present-day particle physics is the fact that, in the model presented, particles are viewed as being extended rather than point-like. In addition, the strong force is shown to be the universal force operating in all particles. Also, the photon, which quantum mechanics views as being nothing but a quantum of energy, can be understood to have an internal structure. The model presented here is not merely a different way of explaining physics with similar results; in contrast to quantum mechanics, it has the ability to provide deeper insights into physical processes.
We propose a non-contextual hidden variable model, consistent with all predictions of quantum mechanics (QM). A careful scrutiny of consistency requirements of any hidden variable model with quantum mechanics and the corresponding no-go theorems, leads us to the conclusion that the notion of contextuality is not a necessary feature of QM. The alternative view that emerges, hinges on identifying a new classical property which we call multiplicativity. It turns out that by relaxing this condition of multiplicativity on hidden variable models, they can be made consistent with QM. The connection of non-multiplicativity to Bohm's model and to apparent contextuality is also discussed.
This paper develops a simplified pedagogical or toy model of (finite-dimensional non-relativistic) quantum mechanics (QM). The model uses vector spaces over
Z2={0,1}, where the
0,1-vectors can also be interpreted as sets, so the model is "quantum mechanics over sets" or QM/Sets. At the level of sets, the key notion is that of a partition or, equivalently, an equivalence relation. Partitions are the logical-level notions to model distinctions versus indistinctions, definiteness versus indefiniteness, or distinguishability versus indistinguishability. Those pairs of concepts are the key to understanding the non-classical 'weirdness' of QM. The key non-classical notion in QM is the notion of superposition, i.e., the notion of a state that is indefinite between two or more definite- or eigen-states. As Richard Feynman emphasized, all the weirdness of QM is illustrated in the double-slit experiment so the QM/Sets version is used to make the key points. The simplified model provides an explanation and intuitive picture to answer the key question: "How can the particle get to the detection wall without passing through one slit or the other?"