Philosophical Consequences of Quantum Theory -

Philosophical Consequences of Quantum Theory

Reflections on Bell's Theorem
Buch | Hardcover
330 Seiten
1989
University of Notre Dame Press (Verlag)
978-0-268-01578-7 (ISBN)
103,50 inkl. MwSt
From the beginning, the implications of quantum theory for our most general understanding of the world have been a matter of intense debate. The contributors to this volume wrestle with questions such as how can a clash between the two fundamental theories of modern physics, relativity and quantum theory, be avoided?
From the beginning, the implications of quantum theory for our most general understanding of the world have been a matter of intense debate. Einstein argues that the theory had to be regarded as fundamentally incomplete. Its inability, for example, to predict the exact time of decay of a single radioactive atom had to be due to a failure of the theory and not due to a permanent inability on our part or a fundamental indeterminism in nature itself.


In 1964, John Bell derived a theorem which showed that any deterministic theory which preserved "locality" (i.e., which rejected action at a distance) would have certain consequences for measurements performed at a distance from one another. An experimental check seems to show that these consequences are not, in fact, realized. The correlation between the sets of events is much stronger than any "local" deterministic theory could allow. What is more, this stronger correlation is precisely that which is predicted by quantum theory. The astonishing result is that local deterministic theories of the classical sort seem to be permanently excluded. Not only can the individual decay not be predicted, but no future theory can ever predict it.


The contributors in this volume wrestle with this conclusion. Some welcome it; others leave open a return to at lease some kind of deterministic world, one which must however allow something like action-at-a distance. How much lit it? And how can one avoid violating relativity theory, which excludes action-at-a-distance? How can a clash between the two fundamental theories of modern physics, relativity and quantum theory, be avoided? What are the consequences for the traditional philosophic issue of causality explanation and objectivity? One thing is certain; we can never return to the comfortable Newtonian world where everything that happened was, in principle, predictable and where what happened at one measurement site could not affect another set of measurements being performed light-years away, at a distance that a light-signal could not bridge.


Contributors: James T. Cushing, Abner Shimony, N. David Mermin, Jon P. Jarrett, Linda Wessels, Bas C. van Fraassen, Jeremy Butterfield, Michael L. G. Redhead, Henry P. Stapp, Arthur Fine, R. I. G. Hughes, Paul Teller, Don Howard, Henry J. Folse, and Ernan McMullin.

James T. Cushing (1937 - 2002) was a US-American theoretical physicist and philosopher of science. He was professor of physics as well as professor of philosophy at the University of Notre Dame. Ernan McMullin (1924–2011) was John Cardinal O'Hara Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame.

Reihe/Serie Studies in Science and the Humanities from the Reilly Center for Science, Technology, and Values
Verlagsort Notre Dame IN
Sprache englisch
Maße 152 x 229 mm
Themenwelt Naturwissenschaften Physik / Astronomie Quantenphysik
ISBN-10 0-268-01578-3 / 0268015783
ISBN-13 978-0-268-01578-7 / 9780268015787
Zustand Neuware
Haben Sie eine Frage zum Produkt?
Mehr entdecken
aus dem Bereich
Grundlegende Vorstellungen und Begriffe

von Thomas Görnitz

Buch | Hardcover (2024)
Carl Hanser (Verlag)
44,99
Quantenmechanik

von Gerhard Franz

Buch | Softcover (2024)
De Gruyter Oldenbourg (Verlag)
89,95