Searching for reality in the quantum world | Roger Penrose, Jacob Barandes, Alyssa Ney
585Physicists and philosophers Roger Penrose, Jacob Barandes, and Alyssa Ney discuss the collapse of the wave function, and how real it really is.
Is the collapse of the wave function the key to quantum, or is it a faulty explicative tool?
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'The collapse of the wave function' is a phrase we see constantly in relation to quantum physics. Whilst many claim to understand what it means, its true character remains unknown. A century ago, Heisenberg showed that when looking at the very small, particles could be in two places at once. That is, until the mysterious 'wavefunction collapse' occurs: the particle 'chooses' one location when measured. But there is no agreement on what 'collapse' means and, therefore, how the ordinary-looking world emerges. And if quantum mechanics is merely a mathematical law, what are the 'weird' objects it describes the dynamics of? Some see the wave function as a mathematical law, others as a real object. But 75% of physicists won’t commit to the wave function being real. If there are no real objects at this level, does this not make uncovering what 'collapse' means an impossible task, short-hand for ‘between unreal and real’?
Might 'the collapse of the wave function' be an Emperor's New Clothes phrase that describes precisely nothing? Does the failure to explain the mystery mean quantum mechanics isn’t our best fundamental theory after all? Or should we accept the weirdness and see it as an unbridgeable limit on our understanding?
#quantummechanics #quantumphysics #rogerpenrose #physics
Jacob Barandes is a Harvard University theoretical physicist and philosopher of science. His research explores the foundations of quantum theory, spacetime, and the nature of scientific explanation.
Alyssa Ney is a philosopher at LMU Munich whose work reshapes how we think about reality through the lens of quantum mechanics. Specializing in the metaphysics of physics, she challenges deeply held assumptions about the nature of the universe and our place within it.
Roger Penrose is a world-renowned mathematician, mathematical physicist, philosopher of science and Nobel Laureate in Physics.
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00:00 Introduction
00:21 Standard axioms of quantum theory
04:00 Alyssa Ney: Realist of physics
07:29 Roger Penrose: The collapse of the wave function is real
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