4 ms·
The experiment seems flawed if they cannot rely on classical observers and measuring tools. The whole point of reality is that it is classical, not quantum. You
by inshard 2y ago
The experiment seems flawed if they cannot rely on classical observers and measuring tools. The whole point of reality is that it is classical, not quantum. You need to collapse the quantum wave function through entanglement with a classical super system (physical reality).
- goatlover 2y agoThat's called decoherence, and it doesn't actually collapse the wave function, it just spreads it out over everything. The measuring device, observer, labaratory, etc all become entangled. You need an additional assumption that collapse actually occurs to get rid of the world being in a massive superposition we can't observe, if you don't want Many Worlds Interpretation. Also, physical reality is made up of quantum systems, so there is a real question as to whether the classical is actually quantum. MWI and some other realist interpretations like Bohmian Mechanics would say yes. The Copenhagen Interpretation would say the math is just a predictive tool and we don't know what's actually going on when not making measurements.
- inshard 2y agoI feel entanglement post measurement is the exchange of which way information with a classical system (all matter beyond a mass threshold when other forces override quantum uncertainty). Which way information integrity is critical and is non local (see delayed choice quantum eraser). But reality is mostly classical, a network of entanglements starting from the Big Bang, crystallized which way information.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- jfengel 2y agoJust the opposite. Quantum mechanics is real. Classical mechanics is an approximation that holds for large scales. We're really attached to classical physics because we're macroscopic objects. Any observation we make will inherently be an aggregate that cannot support the delicate equilibria that characterize quantum superpositions. We actually do have a pretty good understanding of how that works. The implications of it are hard to stomach, but the mathematics of it is well understood and experimentally confirmed to a dozen decimal places. Where it contradicts our classical intuition, it is always quantum physics that wins out.
- swayvil 2y agoWe're also really attached to the highly-focused way of looking at things, and thinking... And there are probably some other massive biases lurking there too.
- Loughla 2y ago>The implications of it are hard to stomach, What does that mean?
- jfengel 2y agoOne way or another, part of the wave function is inaccessible. It's really hard to fit that into our expectations about the world, where the truth can be known. The idea of an untestable truth is upsetting. What does it even mean? Interpretations of quantum mechanics try to shove that inaccessible part of the wave function into a place where we can feel comfortable about it. But they are all a serious blow to what we think of as reality.