onsdag 29 november 2023

Quantum Mechanics: Probability or Not?

The main mystery of quantum mechanics in its proclaimed consensus version (whatever it is), is the interpretation of the wave function in terms real physics/ontology as the 

  • Probability of finding electrons at some specific locations in an atom.      (*)
When asking a physicist (or chatGPT) about the meaning of "finding an electron at some specific location in an atom", you get the answer that such a thing is impossible. Locating an electron experimentally in an atom is impossible. An electron is both everywhere and nowhere at the same time. So finding an electron in an atom is impossible and so (*) has no physical meaning. 

We must then conclude that it cannot be possible to make experimental statistics out of impossible findings and so (*) cannot be experimentally verified. It is like being prevented from tossing a specific coin in an investigation of the statistical characteristics as possible non-symmetry and bias of that specific coin, and so have to be satisfied with a message that a theoretical coin certainly is perfectly symmetric without any bias, saying nothing specific about a specific coin. Not very illuminating as concerns a real coin or atom. In short: It is impossible to give (*) a physical/ontological meaning.  

The proclaimed probabilistic nature of the wave function for an atom is in sharp contrast to very precise measurements of atomic spectra spectrum without any sign of randomness. 

If then only deterministic qualities of an atom (like spectrum) are possible to observe, and very sharply so, why are physicists still insisting on (*) while admitting that experimental verification is impossible?

The answer is simple, yet hidden to the general audience: The reason is the multi-dimensional nature of the wave function $\Psi (x1,x2,...,xN)$ depending on $N$ 3d spatial coordinates $x1, x2,...,xN$ for an atom with $N$ electrons, thus altogether $3N$ spatial coordinates, and so e g 6 spatial dimensions for Helium with two electrons. It is like each electron is given a separate 3d space to live in, and no common 3d space for all electrons. Only for Hydrogen with 1 electron does the wave function have a real physical meaning in physical 3d space as an electronic charge distribution in a classical continuum mechanical sense without any stroke of randomness. 

Schrödinger kick-started quantum mechanics in 1925 by writing down the Schrödinger equation for the Hydrogen atom guided by some heavenly inspiration, but directly stumbled on the Helium atom with two electrons. A formal mathematical extension from one to many electrons was possible with a stroke of pen without thought by introducing a multi-dimensional wave function. But Schrödinger was not happy with the result, because it lacked physicality or "Anschaulichkeit".  

For $N>1$ the multidimensional wave function $\Psi (x1,x2,...,xN)$ lives outside real 3d space and then can only be interpreted as possibility rather actuality/reality. It was Max Born who invented this probabilistic interpretation, which so upset Schrödinger that he gave up quantum mechanics saying in 1926 to Bohr:  
  • If all this damned quantum jumping were really here to stay, I should be sorry, I should be sorry I ever got involved with quantum theory. 
The proclaimed probabilistic nature of atomic physics is thus a consequence of a mathematical theoretical ad hoc assumption devoid of physics making generalisation to many electrons an easy/trivial catch, but then coming with many pseudo-problems without physics and answers filling physics books. It is like postulating that all celestial motion is circular or circle-upon-circle following Aristotle, because from mathematical point of view circles are perfect, which delayed scientific progress two millennia. What progress delay has been caused by (*) over the century it has served as road block? 

It is here that RealQM in the spirit of Schrödinger comes in with a different deterministic generalisation from Hydrogen to $N>1$ with direct extension to molecules and chemistry,  100 years later. Take a look. No statistics! Instead real physics!

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