Whats the big message behind quantum mechanics?

Question

If theres one idea we can take home from what weve learned from it, what is it?

Answer 1

This is a philosophical question. Even the greatest scientific minds which agreed so much regarding the mathematical aspects of quantum mechanics would all have deliciously different ideas and opinions about its philosophical aspect. So, I believe this is a matter of philosophy, or perhaps opinion; this is not a matter of science. The scientific question must be, what can I predict given these initial "boundary conditions"?

I find the multiple universes hypothesis lovely, in a sci-fi kind of way. I think the hidden variable hypothesis is for the desperate. But I agree the most with the theory that quantum logic is not human logic, so we better not measure the quantum world with the meter stick of humanity.

Answer 2

Uncertainty...that's the big message.

The Heisenberg uncertainty principle delPdelX > h-bar/2 is the most telling relationship that manifests that message. That is, we cannot fix both momentum P and position X with any certainty. There will always be some h-bar/2 or greater uncertainty in these measures. h-bar is the reduced Plank constant. [See source.]

The spin off of this uncertainty is that quanta cannot be pin pointed in time and space. The only way we can get a handle on these dimensions for the small stuff is through probability. Thus, we create probability density functions for things like the electron for example. So instead of solid deterministic orbits, like the Bohr model, we have probability "clouds" that provide densities of where an electron of certain energy level is most likely to be found.

The uncertainty that leads to probability densities also leads us to what is known as quantum jitter. That is, quanta are in constant motion in time and space. They are nervous little things that keep popping in and out. Some even believe these quanta could pop in and out anywhere in the universe with some finite, but very very small, probability.

(NB: Consider the Normal curve for example. Its two tails trail out to infinity, they are assymptotic. So at a very large distance from the most probable place (near the mean), there is still a finite, but very small probability, of something way way away from from the most probable, mean distance. And that's something like why a quantum could suddenly appear on the other side of the universe. And that profound result stems from the uncertainty principle.)

What is most remarkable, is that these derived probability densities have been verified through experiments. That is, for example, electrons are indeed most likely to be found (have higher densities) where the quantum mechanics probability functions predict.

Answer 3

quantum mechanics just wants to convey that even at sub-atomic level the world is not a good place to live in.

just joking. Quantum physics has been a mile stone in the study of sub-atomic particles

Answer 4

Subatomic entities travel like waves and interact like particles.

Answer 5

That there might be scientific evidence of mind-body Descartes duality

Answer 6

At the subatomic level everything is random.