Quantum Physics: recent theories (General)

by dhw, Monday, May 28, 2018, 10:31 (2160 days ago) @ David Turell

DAVID:No one has solved any of the reality problems. It is the basis of the universe…
https://aeon.co/essays/what-really-happens-in-schrodinger-s-box?utm_source=Aeon+Newslet...

dhw: I decided to take the plunge, and have cherry-picked two quotes which greatly appeal to me. The first of these recognizes the reality we know and can test. For me it is absurd to assume that this is somehow less real than something we simply do not understand. That is why I invite all the theorists to step in front of a bus.
[…]
The second quote suggests the precise opposite to what you have claimed, David. Maybe quantum reality is not the basis of the universe at all.

DAVID: That is not the sense of what I get from all the reading I've done. The basis of all the particles that form matter is quantum mechanics.

Then how refreshing it is to read an article that recognizes the reality we know, and questions the universality of the reality nobody understands. Well worth repeating here:

2ND QUOTE: Quantum theory was developed to explain the behaviour of atoms and other small systems, and has been well tested only on small scales. It would always have been a brave and perhaps foolhardy extrapolation to assume that it works on all scales, up to and including the entire universe, even if this involved no conceptual problems. Given the self-contradictions involved in the extrapolation and the profound obstacles that seem to prevent any solution of the reality problem within standard quantum theory, the most natural assumption is that, like every previous theory of physics, quantum mechanics will turn out only approximately true, applying within a limited domain only.

DAVID: I just discovered an article which will prove my point. New ion electron colliders will poke into how matter is made by studying gluons.
http://bigthink.com/philip-perry/the-electron-ion-collider-will-unravel-some-of-science...

Hold on, hold on. Read this again:

QUOTE: "Where does 99% of an atom’s mass come from? This is one of the most compelling mysteries in quantum mechanics today. Finding out however, is going to take an incredible amount of energy and resources, not to mention some really precise equipment. That’s where the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) comes in. This facility, two actually—which are currently being constructed, are likely to deepen our understanding of the universe in ways that we can’t predict nor fathom. Moreover, the Electron-Ion Collider (EIC) is expected to birth technological capabilities heretofore unimagined.

We have a compelling mystery and are spending a fortune trying to solve it. It hasn’t been solved yet, and the research may lead to unpredictable and unfathomable findings. It will only prove your point if it proves your point!

QUOTE from second article:
"And in the microgravity of the ISS, atoms are expected to retain this state of matter for up to 10 seconds, offering researchers the possibility of observing quantum behavior never seen before, according to a CAL mission description."

DAVID’s comment: Quantum activity is the basis of the universe.

Sorry, but observing new forms of quantum behaviour does not mean that quantum activity is the basis of the universe. But even if it is, you will still have the same old “compelling mystery” of how it all started, and what it actually means, if anything! I doubt if quantum theorists will unite and tell us it means there is a God who created life and the universe in order to produce the brain of Homo sapiens!