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Author Topic:   Have quantum interpretations been experimentally verified?
Percy
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Message 1 of 2 (785448)
06-05-2016 9:59 AM


"New evidence could break the standard view of quantum mechanics," says a headline at Science Alert. I wasn't sure what to think, so I began the thread, Article About New Developments in Quantum Mechanics. There were good responses, and Son Goku said that possibly there was something worth discussing, hence this thread proposal.
Son Goku explained that both the standard and Bohmian versions of quantum mechanics yield the same experimental results regarding quantum uncertainty ("particles don't have a location until they're observed"), and that the only way to distinguish between the two was to observe the trajectories suggested by the Bohmian model. The experiment described in the article suggests that such trajectories may have been observed, with the emphasis on "may." Son Goku questions how much weight should be given the experiment's use of "weak measurements," and the article echoes this when it says:
quote:
So let's step back for a second here and break this down. First thing's first, this is just one study, and A LOT more replication and verification would be needed before the standard view comes crumbling down. So don't go burning any text books just yet, okay? Good.
Particle trajectories seems to me an incredibly obscure subject of discussion, but as the article describes the implications are dramatic, for if the Bohmian model is correct it means that particles *do* have precise locations. Success of the Bohmian model would also mean that nonlocality is true, meaning that everything in the universe is always affected by everything else in the universe, no matter how far apart, which would have implications for our interpretation of what Einstein called, "spooky action at a distance," what we observe as quantum entanglement.
According to the article the Bohmiam view fell into disfavor when a 1992 study found that it required outlandish particle trajectories, but this new study suggests that because of nonlocality the information about trajectories is not reliable.
The article doesn't describe the actual experimental results. The paper itself, Experimental nonlocal and surreal Bohmian trajectories, is a bit above my pay grade. I'd like to see someone more qualified tackle it first, but I'll wade in on my own if necessary.
Usually threads about quantum mechanics go in Big Bang and Cosmology.
--Percy

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Message 2 of 2 (785460)
06-05-2016 1:15 PM


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