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Greg Bernhardt submitted a new blog post
9 Reasons Quantum Mechanics is Incomplete
Continue reading the Original Blog Post.
9 Reasons Quantum Mechanics is Incomplete
Continue reading the Original Blog Post.
I use it colloquially.thephystudent said:Looks interesting, I have two rather naïve questions.
1) What do you mean by completeness? Is it a term you use colloquially, or with a precise technical meaning?
No.thephystudent said:2) Can Gödel incompleteness have anything to do with it?
This variant of old Copenhagen is quite in spirit of modern consistent histories.DarMM said:A possible variant of Old Copenhagen:
Everything can be described by quantum mechanics, but not everything at once, therefore QM is incomplete.
Thanks for asking, they don't have trajectories in my view of BM (which somewhat differs from the standard view of BM).A. Neumaier said:''Bohmian mechanics: Only fundamental objects have trajectories.''
Electrons and photons in a medium (i.e., all electrons and photons we observe here on earth) are quasiparticles only. Do they have trajectories?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interpretations_of_quantum_mechanicseltodesukane said:What means a QM interpretation?
Any explanation of QM beyond pure operationalism.eltodesukane said:What mean a QM interpretation?
An ontology, like any physics theory has. Of course, an ontology doesn't need to be classical.eltodesukane said:What mean a QM interpretation?
A classical version of QM? A classical understanding of QM?
There need not be such thing.
A. Neumaier said:Electrons and photons in a medium (i.e., all electrons and photons we observe here on earth) are quasiparticles only. Do they have trajectories?
Because a photon in air or in glass is something different from a photon in vacuum (and similarly for an electron). Already their speed is different, and since all QED photons travel with the speed of light in vacuum, photons in a medium must have a different nature - they are quasiparticles only. Their nature changes each time they change the medium.haushofer said:Mmm, can you elaborate on that? Why wouldn't a photon I observe be fundamental?
Dr. Courtney said:Which physical theories are complete?
Dr. Courtney said:Very nice article, well articulated and thought provoking. Thank you for writing this. After reflecting on the issues for a couple days, the question at the top of my mind is, Which physical theories are complete?
1. Classical mechanics?
2. Classical electrodynamics?
3. Classical thermodynamics?
4. Quantum statistical mechanics?
5. Classical (Newtonian) gravity?
My tendency is to consider classical mechanics as the shining example of excellence in a physical theory to which other scientific ideas should be compared. But by your criteria (2), the inability to clearly articulate a boundary between systems where classical is applied and where quantum is applied means that neither theory is complete. But if we are dogmatic about this criterion, are there any complete theories at all anywhere in science?
atyy said:The distinction between classical electrodynamics and quantum mechanics is that the former is intrinsically complete (detailed experimental data is needed to show it is incomplete), while the latter is intrinsically incomplete (even without deviations from detailed experimental data, we know it is incomplete because measurement is considered to be a special process).
bhobba said:That is the conventional wisdom. But we have some curios things classically indicating classical physics is incomplete eg the a-causal runaway solutions of the Dirac-Lorentz equation:
https://arxiv.org/abs/gr-qc/9912045
atyy said:One can exclude point charges from the theory.
bhobba said:Then how do you handle a blob of matter?
That's one of them... .bhobba said:...some questions can't be asked...
bhobba said:Then how do you handle a blob of matter? It is usually done by breaking it into a lot of infinitesimal size bits. But even aside from that if you want to exclude point particles a theory that requires that is not complete.
atyy said:A point particle has infinite density. A blob of matter does not.
atyy said:Quantum general relativity is intrinsically incomplete, even without deviations from detailed experimental data, because we can see that it is mathematically undefined at high energies. (I think Zee says something like this in his QFT text.).
Neither theory is complete only if you claim that there is a strict border of that form. But if you say (which is more common in physics) that there is no strict border, but one theory is just an approximation of the other, then the other theory can be considered complete.Dr. Courtney said:But by your criteria (2), the inability to clearly articulate a boundary between systems where classical is applied and where quantum is applied means that neither theory is complete.
Jimster41 said:Isn't QM's (real) physical incompleteness both the observed symptom and the cause for the "No halting" problem. I mean Isn't the Halting Problem deeply connected to incompleteness? Wouldn't completeness imply the decidability of halting?
For that matter, I highly recommend https://www.amazon.com/dp/1568812388/?tag=pfamazon01-20Jimster41 said:Why your answer was so decisively "No" regarding connection to Godel completeness.
Adur Alkain said:Quantum mechanics is not incomplete. It is a complete description of observation.
Adur Alkain said:Quantum mechanics is not incomplete. It is a complete description of observation.
I think this mixes up the incompleteness of the Standard Model (mass and coupling parameters) with the incompleteness of Quantum Theory in general (measurement problem, meaning of contextuality).ftr said:QM is a physics theory and theories in physics must include predictions and since it does not predict everything( like mass and couplings), hence it is incomplete.
DarMM said:I think this mixes up the incompleteness of the Standard Model (mass and coupling parameters) with the incompleteness of Quantum Theory in general (measurement problem, meaning of contextuality).
Quantum mechanics is a branch of physics that studies the behavior of particles at the subatomic level. It explains how particles such as electrons and photons behave and interact with each other.
One of the main limitations of quantum mechanics is that it cannot fully explain the behavior of particles in certain situations, such as when they are observed or measured. This has led to the development of alternative theories, such as quantum field theory and string theory.
Quantum entanglement is a phenomenon in which two or more particles become connected in such a way that the state of one particle affects the state of the other, even if they are separated by large distances. This concept is a fundamental aspect of quantum mechanics and has been demonstrated through various experiments.
Quantum mechanics challenges our understanding of reality by introducing concepts such as superposition and wave-particle duality, which go against our classical understanding of how the world works. It also suggests that the act of observation can affect the behavior of particles, leading to questions about the nature of reality and consciousness.
The incompleteness of quantum mechanics has led to ongoing debates and research in the scientific community. Some potential implications include the search for a more complete theory that can unify quantum mechanics with other branches of physics, as well as the development of new technologies based on quantum principles, such as quantum computing and cryptography.