Public Libraries of Suffolk County, New York

Quantum reality, Jim Baggott

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

index present

non fiction

Quantum reality

electronic resource eBook

bibliographydictionaries

Jim Baggott

Quantum mechanics is an extraordinarily successful scientific theory. It is also completely mad. Although the theory quite obviously works, it leaves us chasing ghosts and phantoms; particles that are waves and waves that are particles; cats that are at once both alive and dead; and lots of seemingly spooky goings-on. But if we're prepared to be a little more specific about what we mean when we talk about 'reality' and a little more circumspect in the way we think ascientific theory might represent such a reality, then all the mystery goes away. This shows that the choice we face is actually a philosophical one.Here, Jim Baggott provides a quick but comprehensive introduction to quantum mechanics for the general reader, and explains what makes this theory so very different from the rest. He also explores the processes involved in developing scientific theories and explains how these lead to different philosophical positions, essential if we are to understand the nature of the great debate between Niels Bohr and Albert Einstein. Moving forwards, Baggott then provides a comprehensive guide toattempts to determine what the theory actually means, from the Copenhagen interpretation to many worlds and the multiverse.Richard Feynman once declared that 'nobody understands quantum mechanics'. This book will tell you why

Prologue: Why didn't somebody tell me about all this before? -- Part I: The Rules of the Game -- The complete guide to quantum mechanics (abridged): Everything you've ever wanted to know, and a few things you didn't -- Just what is this thing called 'reality', anyway? : The philosopher and the scientist: metaphysical preconceptions and empirical data -- Sailing on the sea of representation: How scientific theories work (and sometimes don't) -- When Einstein came down to breakfast: Because you can't write a book about quantum mechnics without a chapter on the Bohr-Einstein debate -- Part II: Playing the Game -- Quantum mechanics is complete so just shut up and calculate: The view from Scylla: The legacy of Copenhagen, relational quantum mechanics, and the role of information -- Quantum mechanics is complete but we need to reinterpret what it says: Revisiting quantum probability: Reasonable axioms, consistent histories, and QBism -- Quantum mechanics is incomplete so we need to add some things: Statistical interpretations based on local and crypto non-local hidden variables -- Quantum mechanics is incomplete so we need to add some other things: Pilot waves, quantum potentials, and physical collapse mechanisms -- Quantum mechanics is incomplete because we need to include my mind (or should that be your mind?): Von Neumann's ego, Wigner's friend, the participatory universe, and the quantum ghost in the machine -- Quantum mechanics is incomplete because... Okay, I give up: The view from Charybdis: Everett, many worlds, and the multiverse -- Epilogue: I've got a very bad feeling about this -- Appendix: Realist propositions and the axioms of quantum mechanics