Physics – Quantum Physics
Scientific paper
1996-01-15
Physics
Quantum Physics
18 pages, LaTex2e with AMS-LaTeX, to appear in Erkenntnis, 1996 (the proceedings of the international conference ``Probability
Scientific paper
A source of much difficulty and confusion in the interpretation of quantum mechanics is a ``naive realism about operators.'' By this we refer to various ways of taking too seriously the notion of operator-as-observable, and in particular to the all too casual talk about ``measuring operators'' that occurs when the subject is quantum mechanics. Without a specification of what should be meant by ``measuring'' a quantum observable, such an expression can have no clear meaning. A definite specification is provided by Bohmian mechanics, a theory that emerges from Sch\"rodinger's equation for a system of particles when we merely insist that ``particles'' means particles. Bohmian mechanics clarifies the status and the role of operators as observables in quantum mechanics by providing the operational details absent from standard quantum mechanics. It thereby allows us to readily dismiss all the radical claims traditionally enveloping the transition from the classical to the quantum realm---for example, that we must abandon classical logic or classical probability. The moral is rather simple: Beware naive realism, especially about operators!
Daumer Martin
Dürr Detlef
Goldstein Sheldon
Zanghi Nino
No associations
LandOfFree
Naive Realism about Operators does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Naive Realism about Operators, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Naive Realism about Operators will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-71386