QUANTUM WAVE PHENOMENA, QUANTUM PARADOXES; THE DOUBLE SLIT EXPERIMENT; THE SCHROEDINGER CAT; ENTANGLEMENT; SUPERPOSITION: ALL SOLVED.

THE DANCE OF THE WAVES 16/11/09 15:52:30/corrected version.

THE INTERPRETATION OF QUANTUM WAVE THEORY

The object of this book is to describe the quantum wave theory and to use it to describe a plethora of systems in nature using this new form of microscopic quantum theory. This theory gives a much more logical and sensible description of microscopic problems and phenomena than the conventional theory. It will also be shown that this new interpretation leads to a very different theory and some very surprising results and new insights. In the first instance this theory describes all microscopic phenomena in terms of quantized unified informationally and spatially coherent waves. The usual particle wave duality is dispensed of as not necessary and which is simply confusing and wrong. The concept of a classical particle is not used as it is not necessary. The nature of what we see as particles is elucidated in the course of the development of the theory. Various assumptions are challenged by quantum mechanics. 1. Realism. The results of experiments reveal features of the world which are independent of measurements. In this theory a measurement is an interaction, mainly between a classical large system and a q-wave. The result is that there is a spectrum of results. The q-wave is often destroyed or at least changed by the interaction. Therefore you do not measure the form of the q-wave before the interaction. You do not measure the form of the resultant q-wave either. At most you measure a transfer of information. In the classical case of the double slit experiment a p-wave is absorbed by a photo-diode. In this case the p-wave is absorbed, allowing an e-wave to increase its energy. There is a simple transfer of information in the form of energy. A bit is the energy needed to turn a spin over in a magnetic field. 2. Locality. The result of measurements here and now do not depend on some action that might be performed at a large distance away at exactly the same time. Locality is the denial of action at a distance It requires that all the information useful in predicting what will happen at a given location and time is contained in a sphere of influence. For an event that will occur in one second the sphere has a radius of 300,000 kilometres, the distance light travels in one second. Locality is the most powerful simplifying assumption in physics. Without it any event no matter how distant can influence any other event. Prediction would be impossible without locality or some other powerful restriction on what events can affect other events. Otherwise one would need to know the state of the universe to predict anything. Quantum mechanics is a local theory in configuration space but not in physical space. In qwt entanglement means that there is no locality. However we can not know about this. A q-wave is a unified whole with information coherence which means that all parts of the wave as seen from outside it, know what information is carried by the wave and what interactions are possible with other waves. Only interactions are possible which conform to the info on the wave in general and to the conservation laws in particular. Within a coherent wave no interactions are possible otherwise the wave would lose its coherence. Hence in a q-wave info can be transferred at infinite speeds. A q-wave is a unity and is not composed of parts. Hence a 3 spin wave is determine by its interactions and not by 3 spins. It is not clear how much can be known about the info on a q-wave. Only info can be known which can be found out without destruction of the wave, for instance the mass and the charge. 3. Contextuality The value of an unmeasurable observable depends in general on which observables are being measured. In this theory it will generally be shown that results depend on the measuring apparatus. This is even true in the case of the two slit experiment.

The double slit experiment. The solution

In the two slit experiment an e-wave is fired at two slits in a screen. A detector on the other side shows that an interference pattern is obtained. This means that we are dealing with a wave process. The wave spreads out from the two slits and interacts with a measuring device by overlap with another q-wave. When the overlap is large enough there is a transfer of information. The transfer of information can only occur once so the whole wave disappears upon interaction, and a new  wave is formed. An informationless wave can not interact because it has no information to give up. A q-wave can only interact with another q-wave and therefore interactions can be induced. Only exchanges of information can be observed because our mind processes information. The wave basically only exists at the interaction. An interaction is a relation between two waves so it can be said that nothing can exist in the form of an unchanging object.

In this theory we dispose of the concept of a point particle. We explain the experiment purely in terms of unified coherent quantum waves. These waves are a unity in the sense that after interaction the original one is destroyed as a whole and a new one comes into being. These waves are coherent in the usual sense but also they have a property known as information coherence which means that the formation information carried by these waves concerning their interaction properties and parameters are available at all points of the the wave. These waves do not have a state as particles have in classical QM These waves are information waves which describe how information is transferred from wave to wave when they interact or when they combine or split up to form new waves. In the well known double slit experiment electron waves (e-waves) are sent towards a double slit whose spacing is of the order of the wavelength of the e-wave, atom wave (a-wave) or molecule wave. This leads to the production of the usual interference pattern produced by p-waves (photons). If there are no point particles then there is no problem about this. However if point particles are allowed then this leads to the well known particle-wave contradiction and a Hegelian construction which is very surprising as physics prides itself as being logical, especially as  mathematics is based on symbolic logic. . Feynman said that it was impossible to understand quantum mechanics, it just had to be accepted. He maintained that wave-particle duality was the most important problem in physics., `the last mystery`. In this theory this problem is solved by replacing particles by information transfer between interacting unified coherent quantum waves. In classical physics particles serve as carriers of information, but in microscopic physics point particles are simply not flexible enough to do the job. In the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum meechanics the particle is somehow directed by the wave to the various positions and thereby the particle appears to be at many points at the same time. The particle is considered to be in a superposition of states. In this theory the wave is paramount and it spreads out seeking an interaction partner, exploring all possibilities, until it is successful. The wave carries its information at all points on the wave and this determines how it interacts with the other coherent wave. This allows nature full flexibility to build up the full complexity of the Universe. In a non-coherent interaction information is transferred between the waves, leading to new coherent waves. Particles are not needed or present at the microscopic level. The transfer of quantized information can make it look as though a particle was present, but it is not. Waves can split into two in a decay process and or fuse together to give a new coherent wave or entangled waves. In this theory this problem is solved by replacing particles by information transfer between interacting unified coherent quantum waves. The diffracted wave interacts with the detector by wave overlap transmitting its information to the detector. The e-wave can be destroyed or it can go on to have many interactions with the detector before being incorporated into the wave function describing the detector. Such a detector can only measure the position of the interaction, and then only up to a certain volume in space. The position of the interaction can not be measured exactly. The position is determined by the e-wave and the nature of the detector. The information on the e-wave determines all possible potential interactions with other quantum waves. It is the interactions that can be observed and not the properties of the e-wave. In this sense the e-wave does not exist. If one tries to observe the properties of the e-wave say by an interaction with a photon then the e-wave is destroyed and a new one appears in its place with different interaction possibilities. The new wave probably has the same size initially as the p-wave. It will then spread out with time. If this wave is pushed back towards the double slit it can produce a new diffraction pattern on the other side of the double slit. There is no collapse of the wave to a particle. This is impossible. The problem of mixed states is solved in the following way. The composite wave in classical qm is composed of two parts one of which goes through one slit and another one which goes through the second slit. These interfere with each other and produce a single coherent wave. However the whole wave always had and has information coherence. The same information is carried at all points of the wave even when it is separated into two parts however far apart these two waves are. This wave can interact by overlap with another ucqw anywhere wherever there is sufficient amplitude. For instance if you fire a ph-wave at slit one an interaction takes place at slit 1. If you fire it at slit 2 it will interact there providing it is well enough localised.  Thus the observer can determine where the interaction takes place. However then a new e-wave forms with different information content. Note that there is no collapse to a particle only to a new more localised wave. This wave then spreads out again. Superposition or mixed waves is only saying that the interactions are multiple. The wave in space is a superposition of waves. This just says that this q-wave can interact over a volume of space or that it has a number of modes of interaction. The actual interactions which take place is determined by which other q-wave is available or in other words where the detector is positioned. The wave only exists when it interacts and information is exchanged. Existence is change and not unchanging. The normal concept of existence is really a q-wave which is constantly interacting. Constant interaction causes localization and a classical particle is in reality a very large system of strongly interacting q. waves which are constantly interacting with a stream of p-waves, i.e. constantly emitting or absorbing information. The information on the wave goes through both slits, and an interaction can be induced in either slit by firing a photon wave at the slit required, as long as it has a wavelength less than the slit separation distance. This is the solution to the double slit paradox.

The solution to the Schroedinger cat paradox.

This is definitely the weirdest of the paradoxes of quantum mechanics, because it says that a cat can be both dead and alive at the same time. It is in fact the same as saying that an electron spin can be both up and down at the same time, or spinning both ways at the same time. The problem of mixed states has been discussed in this theory and this paradox has been solved. However the S-cat problem is saying that macroscopic objects can also be in a mixed state. The solution is that first there can be no states because a state is an unchanging thing and we are living in a constantly changing world especially at the microscopic level. Secondly all processes are brought about by interaction of qwaves and only the interactions can be at least partially seen, whereas in between, a coherent qwave can not be seen so it does not exist in the normal sense. Qwaves carry the necessary information to determine the interactions but it is not possible to observe this information, we see only changes in information. The changes that take place are determined by the qwaves taking part in the interaction and not just by the qwave which is to be observed. The qwave itself is described by the set of all possible interactions with other qwaves, but this is not a state, it is a description of future possible behaviour which is to be determined by which other qwaves it interacts with. Since the cat can be seen and even in the normal description of the problem it is killed by poison which is released by an alpha particle or alphawave it is interesting to consider the death of a cat in normal life. Let's face it the cat suffers a classical death and not a quantum death. If the cat can be described by a qwave function then all these waves either carry a label A which means that they describe a live cat or a label D which describes a dead cat. The question then is can a function which is a linear combination of these two really describe a cat. The cat can make an A-A transition, and an A-D transition, but not a D-A transition. Poison causes an A-D transition but it is a classical transition. It is also worth noting that the alive cat has much lower entropy than a dead cat. Thus the cat can only be alive and dead in a classical sense. The nuclear decay does not play a role. This just causes the release of the poison and is equivalent to the bottle of poison fallling off a table due to vibration and breaking or the cat being struck by a bullet from a gun fired at random.When a cat goes out at night, you do not know whether the cat will come back alive or whether it will be lying dead in the road next morning. The possibility that the cat can run away is not considered here. The cat is assumed to be castrated and house trained. It is known that the cat was alive when he went out in the evening, but during the night it can not be known whether the cat will die or whether he will come back alive and kicking in the morning. The cat is not considered to be dead and alive, generally the cat is assumed to be alive until it is found dead. It can however be considered to be potentially dead or alive, and hence in a state of limbo, and you can only be sure he is alive when you see him in the morning.

This is all relative to you as the observer, not for the cat who knows he is alive, or for people or other cats and animals who have seen him in the course of the night. Thus this is all relative to who the observer is. This is not the case when a radio sender or a camera is attached to the back of the cat. Then if the signal is received by your computer you can always tell whether he is dead or alive, by looking at your computer screen. Suddenly the cat is alive or dead. Hence the more times you measure the cat the more certalnty there is that he is alive or dead. You could even arrange fot your computer to call you on your iphone if the cat`s heart stops beating. Of course you can also do this for the S-cat in his box. Then Schroedinger is seen to be totally wrong when he said that the cat can be dead and alive. Of course eveybody knew that it was complete nonsense anyway. The cat is killed by the poison  and it does not make any difference if the poison is released initially by an alpha particle or it falls off a table due to vibration or any other mechanism you can think off such as being hit by a stray bullet. It dies the same death, a classical death if you like and not a quantum death as Schroedinger would have us believe. In between measurements you can not know whether the cat is dead or alive, but you could know in principle because a measurement does not kill the cat. A measurement on a qwave destroys the coherence of the qwave as information is transferred to the measuring apparatus. Another wave can be created which has less information. This can be applied to the whole Universe and the Universe can exist or not exist at the same time. Human beings could also be alive and dead at the same time. Actually the Schrödinger cat should be renamed the Cheshire cat after Lewis Carol who created it. This cat can appear and dissapear slowly so it can be partially alive and dead. This cat fully represents a two state system which can be in a mixed state. Perhaps with a sufficient number of cats a quantum computer could be built. The cat is however not alive and dead. These are just the possible results of the next interaction, but these can not be used to describe the state of the cat or any other system. There has to be a final interaction in which info is sent out that the cat is dead before it is known that the cat is dead. Beforehand the cat is only potentially dead or alive. A person, a human being is also only potentially alive or dead. The next interaction will decide which event will happen, whether it is perfectly harmless or whether it causes death. If pd(t) is the cumulative probability of dieing, then 1 – pd(t) is the cumlative probability of being alive after time t. By 120 this is one and by 0 it is 0, at conception, which is the only scientific time where life begins, being the `phase transition` involved. However it is wrong to say that a human being is dead and alive just because he has not been seen for a certain time. Such probablities can not be used to describe the state of a system before it interacted.

A nucleus is similarly not `decayed`or `not decayed´. It is potentially unchanged or decayed. As it searches for a reaction partner to react with, it can be said to be unchanged, but which interaction it will make has not yet been decided. The nucleus wave has to make an interaction with sone other wave in order that the alphawave can escape as an individual entity so that the alphawave can find its next reaction partner. The alphawave then releases the poison which eventually kills the cat. The argument is that the nucleus is in a mixed state, so the cat must be in a mixed state. This can hardly be surpassed for its naivety. The reasons why have been given above. The fact that the cat is in the box is irrelevant. A video camera can be used. Further the box would introduce uncertainty with any other mechanism.

Further it is the poison and its poisoning mechanism which kills the cat and not the nucleus or the alphawave or particle. A normal mechanism would not be any different if it was random. Hence the S-cat can be buried as a dead duck, and the normal cat which has 9 lives or one,can live on in peace without worrying about quantum mechanics and being dead and alive, and it can concentrate on catching the next mouse without worrying about the mouse suddenly being dead before it was caught. The cat is not alive and dead (whatever this means, 5 minutes dead and two minutes alive?) because it can be determined whether a cat is dead or alive without destroying or killing the cat or changing the cat into another cat. When the cat is in the box or out at night you simply do not know anything about the cat, but saying the cat is dead and alive is a definite statement about the cat. In the case of the box, the cat goes in alive and comes out after a given time either dead or alive. This residence time can be made as short as you like and the cat is then always alive or dead, independent of whether its death process was started by a nuclear decay or by its birth. A cat is potentially dead or alive depending on the external and internal interactions which the cat experiences. The cat goes into the box alive and once in the box it is supposed to be dead and alive. This does not make sense because outside the box we can decide whether the cat is alive or dead. Light strikes the cat`s fur , is absorbed and reemitted and then we can see if the cat is dead or alive and the cat remains unaffected. A simple quantum wave on the other hand can not be observed without change. So you  can not see inside a quantum wave and you perhaps can imagine saying it has spin up and spin down. However alive and dead for a complicated system such as a cat which we can see is not the same as spin up and spin down. Whereas a spin up can change into spin down by emitting a photon or change the other way by absorbing a photon no one has seen a cat go from dead to alive. A living cat has considerably lower entropy than a dead cat, a dead cat can not reorganize itself to be alive. In fact the construction of a living cat must be done in a very complicated process starting from the fusion of two special cells. Interesting then is that when the poison is released by the alpha particle the cat goes from dead and alive to dead. This does not make sense either. Once it is dead it can not go to dead and alive as it is still supposed to be for the person outside. If it comes out alive at the end then how can it have been dead and alive since nothing has changed. Basically we know that a cat is always dead or alive so why should it be any different in the box. Also the cat dies at a definite time, so it must have been alive before.  In short the idea that the cat is dead and alive is absurd and the cat dies a normal classical death from poisoning. It doesn`t matter whether the bottle is  broken due originally to the alpha particle or due to a blow from a hammer or by falling to the ground. The Schrödinger cat myth is hence dead, not even dead and alive. 

The Bohm-Aharonov effect.

This effect really deals the death stroke to the particle-wave theory as it involves purely a phase shift in the double slit experiment which is determined by the total magnetic flux in the area between two parts of the wave each going through one slit. The interference pattern is thus shifted and this can be measured as a phase difference between the two waves. This shows that each part of the wave has a definite phase and this can only be true of a wave. All that has to be done is to place a long sollenoid which carries a current in between the two slits and the phase shift can be measured. It should be noted that the magnetic field is zero outside the solenoid and that the wave function is zero inside the solenoid. However the magnetic potential is not zero outside the selenoid, and it is this that determines the phase shift. Thus either the interaction has to be non-local or the magnetic potential has to be real. The magnetic potential can be measured to a certain accuracy. The phase shift is the integral over the path difference each side of the solenoid. For a constant A and the length of the path and the symmetry an estimate of A can be calculated.

Photosynthesis. 

Some scientists have proposed  that quantum effects are essential to the efficient working of photosynthesis. In order that the exciton generated by the photabsorption can reach the active site the exciton wave, which is an electon bound to a hole explores various channels which it can go along. Given that the wave has information coherence an interaction can take place anywhere where the wave amplitude is finite. A particle can not do this so this wave theory is essential in order to explain photosynthesis. In the normal theory coherence means that the electron can be in several states at once. This of course leads to an unnecessary paradox. The information on the wave function determines how it interacts with another wave function.  The wave can explore various paths through the protein molecules and choose the most efective as the one the wave travels in the least time. This part of the wave can then deliver the photon enery to the active site.

The uncertainty relation.

In the Copenhagen interpretation of qm, the uncertainty relation says that the uncertainty in the momentum times the uncertainty in the position must be greater  than Planck's constant divided by 4pi, when a measuremnt is made on a particle. This is due to the spread in the wave function and is reflected in the Fourier transform of the wave function. In the wave theory of course the wave is well spread out and the uncertainty where the wave will interact or can interact is very much larger. This theory focuses on interactions of which measurement is only one kind. I f a q-wave interacts say with an atom it can be localized as a new wave in the atom, and the uncertainty relation puts a lower bound on this localization. However q-waves can not be seen, only there interactions can be seen and only then when information is sent out from the interaction in say the form of a photon. Hence neither the first wave nor the second wave has been measured, only the  resulting emission can be registered by the eye or a detector.in another interaction. This theory focusses on the interactions  rather than on the wave propagation. In this case the uncertainty as to where the wave is much much greater. Think of the double slit or triple slit experiments. This is the real uncertainty. A similar very large uncertainty exists in the spectrum of any distributed variable. Only variables that are associated  with a symmetry can be exact, but this is a tiny minority, and this does not mean that a particle is present. The size of an e-wave determines its volume of influence. It can interact with a quantum wave anywhere in this volume if there is a sufficientl large overlap with another quantum wave, which implies that there must be a minimum overlap. Even if there were particles this volume would have to be accepted as the true size of an electron, as influence is a condition of existence. An e-wave only exists when it interacts, and before hand it is not possible to know what it is. It is only known that a p-wave had existed after it has interacted with a measuring device and then it no longer exists as its energy has been absorbed by another q-wave. 

Copyright. Dr Keith Anthony Long, 2009. 2014.

dr.keith.long@amperavon.com