Volume 19: Pages 414-421, 2006
Quantum Interpretations
A. R. P. Rau 1
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803‐4001, U.S.A.
Difficulties and discomfort with the interpretation of quantum mechanics are due to differences in language between it and classical physics. Analogies to the special theory of relativity, which also required changes in the basic world‐view and language of nonrelativistic classical mechanics, may help in absorbing the changes called for by quantum physics. There is no need to invoke extravagances such as the many‐worlds interpretation or specify a central role for consciousness or neural microstructures. The simple, but basic, acceptance that what is meant by the state of a physical system is different in quantum physics from what it is in classical physics goes a long way in explaining its seeming peculiarities.
Keywords: quantum paradoxes, Schrödinger's cat, many‐worlds interpretation, state of a physical system, alternative representations, transformation theory, quasi‐classical concepts, elements of physical reality, decoherence, entanglement, Einstein‐Podolsky‐Rosen puzzle
Received: December 22, 2005; Published Online: December 15, 2008
