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| related topics |
| {theory, mechanics, state} |
| {particle, mechanics, theory} |
| {measurement, state, measurements} |
| {time, systems, information} |
| {alice, bob, state} |
|
The Pondicherry interpretation of quantum mechanics
Ulrich Mohrhoff
abstract: This article presents a novel interpretation of quantum mechanics. It extends
the meaning of ``measurement'' to include all property-indicating facts.
Intrinsically space is undifferentiated: there are no points on which a world
of locally instantiated physical properties could be built. Instead, reality is
built on facts, in the sense that the properties of things are extrinsic, or
supervenient on property-indicating facts. The actual extent to which the world
is spatially and temporally differentiated (that is, the extent to which
spatiotemporal relations and distinctions are warranted by the facts) is
necessarily limited. Notwithstanding that the state vector does nothing but
assign probabilities, quantum mechanics affords a complete understanding of the
actual world. If there is anything that is incomplete, it is the actual world,
but its incompleteness exists only in relation to a conceptual framework that
is more detailed than the actual world. Two deep-seated misconceptions are
responsible for the interpretational difficulties associated with quantum
mechanics: the notion that the spatial and temporal aspects of the world are
adequately represented by sets with the cardinality of the real numbers, and
the notion of an instantaneous state that evolves in time. The latter is an
unwarranted (in fact, incoherent) projection of our apparent ``motion in time''
into the world of physics. Equally unwarranted, at bottom, is the use of causal
concepts. There nevertheless exists a ``classical'' domain in which language
suggestive of nomological necessity may be used. Quantum mechanics not only is
strictly consistent with the existence of this domain but also presupposes it
in several ways.
- oai_identifier:
- oai:arXiv.org:quant-ph/9903051
- categories:
- quant-ph
- comments:
- TeX, 38 pages, forthcoming in American Journal of Physics under the
title ``What quantum mechanics is trying to tell us'', v2: revised
submission, v3: changes in proof
- doi:
- 10.1119/1.19535
- arxiv_id:
- quant-ph/9903051
- journal_ref:
- Am.J.Phys. 68 (2000) 728-745
- report_no:
- SAAPS-990313
- created:
- 1999-03-14
- updated:
- 2000-03-04
Full article ▸
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