What is real in quantum mechanics, and what are mere mathematical tricks? Can the probability waves be real, and what would that mean? What is Pilot-Wave theory?
Dec 8th: What is the Meaning of Quantum Mechanics? – Many Worlds, Infinite Possibilities
What is the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics? How does decoherence play a critical role? What are the strengths and weaknesses of this idea? Find the answer with @PaulMattSutter at #365DaysOfAstro
Nov 15th: What is the Meaning of Quantum Mechanics? Einstein’s Revenge
What were Einstein’s objections to quantum mechanics? Why was he so bothered by non-locality? What is the EPR paradox?
Nov 1st: What is the Meaning of Quantum Mechanics? Dreams of Copenhagen
What is the Copenhagen interpretation? How did the debates between Heisenberg and Schrodinger influence later physicists? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the “shut up and calculate” approach to quantum mechanics?
Oct 18th: What is the Meaning of Quantum Mechanics? It’s a Quantum, Quantum, Quantum World
What are the basic lessons of quantum mechanics? What does quantum mechanics teach us about the nature of reality? How does a quantum worldview differ from a classical one?
Oct 4th: What is the Meaning of Quantum Mechanics?There and Back Again
Who developed quantum theory and why? What experiments motivated the creation of quantum mechanics? How was quantum mechanics a total break from classical physics?
Sep 20th: What is the Meaning of Quantum Mechanics? (Part 2: Quantum Mechanics 102)
How do physicists understand quantum mechanics? What are the postulates and principles of quantum mechanics? How do the foundations of quantum mechanics compare to other theories?
Sep 6th: What is the Meaning of Quantum Mechanics? (Part 1: This Way to the Weird)
Where does quantum theory fit in the larger tapestry of physics? What is the domain of quantum mechanics? And most importantly, what are the limits of quantum physics?
Aug 16th: Wait, Super-Atoms are a Real Thing?
How do you make a super-atom? What can they be used for? What does this mean for quantum mechanics? I discuss these questions and more in today’s Ask a Spaceman!
Aug 2nd: What is the Principle of Least Action?
What makes the principle of least action so important? Who came up with it? Is it all just a bunch of math or does it actually mean something?