Quantum Sense and Nonsense

Description

Permeated by the author's delightful humor, this little book explains, with nearly no mathematics, the main conceptual issues associated with quantum mechanics: The issue of determinism. Does quantum mechanics signify the end of a deterministic word-view? The role of the human subject or of the "observer" in science. Since Copernicus, science has increasingly tended to dethrone Man from his formerly held special position in the Universe. But quantum mechanics, with its emphasis on the notion of observation, may once more have given a central role to the human subject. The issue of locality. Does quantum mechanics imply that instantaneous actions at a distance exist in Nature? In these pages the author offers a variety of views and answers - bad as well as good - to these questions. The reader will be both entertained and enlightened by Jean Bricmont's clear and incisive arguments. Front Matter ....Pages i-x What Are the Issues Raised by Quantum Mechanics? (Jean Bricmont)....Pages 1-16 The First Mystery: Interference (Jean Bricmont)....Pages 17-29 “Philosophical” Intermezzo I: What Is Determinism? (Jean Bricmont)....Pages 31-47 How Do Physicists Deal with Interference? (Jean Bricmont)....Pages 49-68 Schrödinger’s Cat and Hidden Variables (Jean Bricmont)....Pages 69-85 “Philosophical” Intermezzo II: What Is Wrong with “Observations”? (Jean Bricmont)....Pages 87-100 The Second Mystery: Nonlocality (Jean Bricmont)....Pages 101-136 How to Do “The Impossible”, a Quantum Mechanics Without Observers: The de Broglie–Bohm Theory (Jean Bricmont)....Pages 137-172 Many Worlds? (Jean Bricmont)....Pages 173-182 A Revised History of Quantum Mechanics (Jean Bricmont)....Pages 183-207 The Cultural Impact of Quantum Mechanics (Jean Bricmont)....Pages 209-241 Summary of the Main Theses of This Book (Jean Bricmont)....Pages 243-247 Back Matter ....Pages 249-286