Search arXiv⌕ Search

arXiv · 0705.4446

Einstein against quantum mechanics: randomness, ignorance and our ignorance about randomness

Abstract

Albert Einstein made fundamental contributions to the development of quantum mechanics. However, he was never satisfied with the quantum worldview. In fact, during most of his life he attempted to find inconsistencies and paradoxes within quantum mechanics. His famous quote "God does not play dice" shows how disturbing was to Einstein one of the most important aspects of quantum mechanics: non-determinism. In this paper we will present the basic concepts of quantum mechanics, we will describe Einstein's attempts to destroy it and we will discuss why we can nowadays state that, in this regard, Albert Einstein was not right.

Explore related subjects

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Juan Pablo Paz. 2007-05-30. Einstein against quantum mechanics: randomness, ignorance and our ignorance about randomness. https://arxiv.org/abs/0705.4446

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related papers

Relational Observables and Physical Perspectivalism in General Relativity: The View from Nowhere vs. The View from Everywhere

In General Relativity, relational constructions yield gauge-invariant Dirac observables by expressing physical fields relative to reference frames. This leaves open how the physical situations represented in different frames should be understood. I articulate two ontological interpretations within a common fibre-bundle framework, distinguishing \emph{frame-independence} from \emph{frame-freedom} to clarify appeals to perspective-neutrality. The \emph{View from Nowhere} treats the situations characterised by relational observables as partial aspects of a shared physical situation represented by a frame-free gauge-equivalence class. The \emph{View from Everywhere} takes each relational observable to characterise a comprehensive physical situation in its own right, without commitment to a shared frame-free reality. They articulate a qualified realisation of moderate and strong physical perspectivalism within GR, respectively. Using two GPS reference frames as a working example, I show that a physically constrained, frame-independent inter-frame map supplies a constructive counterexample to the claim that connecting perspectives requires frame-free structures in the ontology. The choice between the two interpretations remains open, with their ontological commitments made explicit. I conclude by outlining possible implications for quantum reference frames and relational quantum mechanics.

physics.hist-ph↗

From Mass to Energy-Momentum: The Field-Theoretic Perspective on the Energy-Mass Relation

The paper examines the energy-mass relation of Special Relativity (SR), its status and interpretation, through the lens of classical/non-quantum relativistic field theory. The latter arguably constitutes the fullest embodiment of SR as what Einstein labelled a "principle theory". It forms, we propose, the most appropriate perspective also for understanding the energy-mass relation. In a field-theoretic setting, the key notion is a system's energy-momentum (in local/differential or global/integral form, defined via a suitable energy-stress complex). The energy-mass relation then expresses the role that a system's _rest_-energy (provided it exists) plays as the functional counterpart of mass: thanks to important theorems, rest-energy qualifies as its field-theoretic generalisation or successor term. That is, while mass is dispensed with as a fundamental notion, rest-energy retains some---but not all---of its salient functional roles; for special cases, it turns out to be directly correlated with mass. In field theory as a general framework for more specific relativistic theories, energy-momentum replaces mass as the essential notion---a profound, yet often overlooked revision in basic physical concepts. Conservation in particular is guaranteed only for energy-momentum, but no longer for mass. In several regards, energy-momentum fuses energy, momentum and mass, with novel connections amongst them and concomitant physical effects. Situating the energy-mass relation within field theory is a surprisingly neglected, but deeply insightful vista for clarifying and philosophically reflecting on SR's foundations. The field-theoretic interpretation achieves a compelling inner coherence and unifying power, and ties it to the rich heuristic resources of field theory, crucial for post-1905 developments in physics.

physics.hist-ph↗

The Duality of Whittaker Potential Theory: Fundamental Representations of Electromagnetism and Gravity, and Their Orthogonality

E. T. Whittaker produced two papers in 1903 and 1904 that, although sometimes considered mere mathematical statements (Barrett, 1993), held important implications for physical theory. The Whittaker 1903 paper united electrostatic and gravitational attraction as resulting from longitudinal waves - waves whose wavefronts propagate parallel to their direction. The Whittaker 1904 paper showed that electromagnetic waves resulted from the interference of two such longitudinal waves or scalar potential functions. Although unexplored, the implications of these papers are profound: gravitational lensing, gravitational waves, the Aharonov-Bohm effect, the existence of a hyperspace above or behind normal space, the elimination of gravitational and point charge singularities, MOND, and the expansion of the universe. This last implication can be related to the recent finding that black holes with posited vacuum energy interior solutions alongside cosmological boundaries have a cosmological coupling constant of k=3, meaning that black holes gain mass proportionally to a3 in a parameterization equation within a Robertson-Walker cosmology and are a cosmological accelerated expansion species (Farrah et al., 2023). This expansion and many features of General Relativity can be explained by the mass-proportionality and preferred direction of the longitudinal waves within the two underlying non-local Whittaker potentials (Titleman, 2022). Expansion of the universe is produced as longitudinal motion within the Whittaker potentials only when dynamic electromagnetism is separate from time-static gravity in intergalactic space.

physics.hist-ph↗