- #1
Steven Taylor
[SOLVED] QM and Classical Mechanics
It's been a long time since I've posted here (I used to post on the forums under the name 'Sputnik'), so I don't know if anyone who remembers me is still around, but if so, hello! In any case, I recently made what seemed like a dramatic intuitive leap concerning the conciliation of quantum mechanics and classical physics, and I'd like some help further developing my ideas.
Before I go any further, I want to emphasize that I don't have any formal training in mathematics or science, so please don't be too judgmental if any of the following arguments involve gross oversimplifications or simple inaccuracies (but at the same time, please do feel free to correct such errors). My background is in philosophy, logic and rhetoric, although I like to think I have a fairly good grasp of many higher mathematical concepts, if not their applications.
All that having been said, If I were a mathematician or theoretical physicist, here's the approach I might take to fitting quantum mechanics and classical physics together within a single, coherent theoretical framework.
First, I would introduce a new spatial dimension into my considerations: It would be called 'scale' and its value would range from approaching '0' as a limit on the microscopic end of the continuum to approaching 'oo' as a limit on the macroscopic end. Then I would consistently factor the dimensional variable scale into all of my calculations, whether involving quantum level systems or classical level systems. (Mathematically, I would take the value of the metric of 'scale' to be constant, although the relationship between successive values for 'scale' could perhaps be expressed rationally.)
An experimental method for determining the physical meaning (if any) of such a constant might involve comparing the predictive power of mathematical models across different levels of scale to detect a statistical pattern. If the theoretical framework I'm proposing holds, the following results would obtain: At lower-levels of scale (as values for scale approach '0'), quantum uncertainty could be expected to increase proportionally. Meanwhile, at higher-levels of scale (as values for scale approach 'oo'), the predictive power of classical models could be expected to increase proportionally.
At the quantum level, the Universe appears chaotic--even mathematically unstable. But moving up levels of scale, into the domain of classical physics, we find our mathematical models becoming increasingly accurate. It's as if, as one moves up through levels of scale, one begins to see a disorderly system coalescing into an increasingly orderly one until finally, viewed as a whole, the Universe approaches a kind of mathematical perfection. On the other hand, when viewed with increasing attention to its particulars, the Universe appears to fall steadily into disarray.
In the theoretical framework I'm proposing, there would be a probabilistic correlation between the applicability of quantum mechanical principles/classical physical principles and the value of the 'scale' metric for the system being modeled. At one end of the continuum, there would be complete quantum uncertainty; at the other, clockwork precision--only now, both could be seen as unified within a single, seamless whole, along the dimensional continuum of scale.
It's been a long time since I've posted here (I used to post on the forums under the name 'Sputnik'), so I don't know if anyone who remembers me is still around, but if so, hello! In any case, I recently made what seemed like a dramatic intuitive leap concerning the conciliation of quantum mechanics and classical physics, and I'd like some help further developing my ideas.
Before I go any further, I want to emphasize that I don't have any formal training in mathematics or science, so please don't be too judgmental if any of the following arguments involve gross oversimplifications or simple inaccuracies (but at the same time, please do feel free to correct such errors). My background is in philosophy, logic and rhetoric, although I like to think I have a fairly good grasp of many higher mathematical concepts, if not their applications.
All that having been said, If I were a mathematician or theoretical physicist, here's the approach I might take to fitting quantum mechanics and classical physics together within a single, coherent theoretical framework.
First, I would introduce a new spatial dimension into my considerations: It would be called 'scale' and its value would range from approaching '0' as a limit on the microscopic end of the continuum to approaching 'oo' as a limit on the macroscopic end. Then I would consistently factor the dimensional variable scale into all of my calculations, whether involving quantum level systems or classical level systems. (Mathematically, I would take the value of the metric of 'scale' to be constant, although the relationship between successive values for 'scale' could perhaps be expressed rationally.)
An experimental method for determining the physical meaning (if any) of such a constant might involve comparing the predictive power of mathematical models across different levels of scale to detect a statistical pattern. If the theoretical framework I'm proposing holds, the following results would obtain: At lower-levels of scale (as values for scale approach '0'), quantum uncertainty could be expected to increase proportionally. Meanwhile, at higher-levels of scale (as values for scale approach 'oo'), the predictive power of classical models could be expected to increase proportionally.
At the quantum level, the Universe appears chaotic--even mathematically unstable. But moving up levels of scale, into the domain of classical physics, we find our mathematical models becoming increasingly accurate. It's as if, as one moves up through levels of scale, one begins to see a disorderly system coalescing into an increasingly orderly one until finally, viewed as a whole, the Universe approaches a kind of mathematical perfection. On the other hand, when viewed with increasing attention to its particulars, the Universe appears to fall steadily into disarray.
In the theoretical framework I'm proposing, there would be a probabilistic correlation between the applicability of quantum mechanical principles/classical physical principles and the value of the 'scale' metric for the system being modeled. At one end of the continuum, there would be complete quantum uncertainty; at the other, clockwork precision--only now, both could be seen as unified within a single, seamless whole, along the dimensional continuum of scale.
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