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Quantum mechanics is a beautiful and frustrating thing.
Its explanatory power is outstanding. Armed with the workings of quantum theory, we have unlocked the secrets of atomic energy, unraveled the inner workings of chemistry, built sophisticated electronics, and discovered the power of entanglement. By some estimates, about a quarter of the world’s GDP depends on quantum mechanics.
Yet despite its overwhelming success as a framework for understanding how nature works, quantum mechanics tells us little about how nature works. Quantum mechanics provides a powerful set of tools for making good predictions about what subatomic particles will do, but the theory itself is sparse when it comes to how those subatomic particles actually live. I am silent.
For example, consider the familiar quantum jump concept. Electrons in atoms change energy levels, absorbing or releasing energy in the form of single photons of radiation. No big deal, right? But how does an electron “jump” from one energy level to another? Like literally everything else in the universe, if it moves smoothly, so does the associated energy. You can see that it changes smoothly. But we don’t.
So do electrons magically disappear from one energy level and magically reappear at another? If so, what other physical object in the universe behaves that way? Please list. By the way, please physically describe the unfolding of this magical act. wait.
Quantum mechanics is completely silent about how electrons change orbits. It simply states that it is and tells you what to expect when it happens.
How do we understand it? How can we make sense of a theory that doesn’t explain how things work? People have struggled with these problems since quantum mechanics was developed. I’ve come up with a number of ways to understand the Let’s see if there are any.
copenhagen interpretation
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If you’re not the kind of person who cares about details, the Copenhagen interpretation is for you. A precise and definitive interpretation of Copenhagen is not one, but a collection of ideas that share a similar set of values.
In this case, those values are best described as “shut up and do the math”.
Although the Copenhagen Interpretation was named in the 1950s, its lineage goes back to some of the founders of quantum theory who were based in the city in the early 20th century: Werner Heisenberg and Niels Bohr.
