Something Deeply Hidden: Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime in Science and Inquiry

Mar 20, 2020 David Rubenstein rated it liked it

Shelves: science, physics

This book is about the "Many-Worlds" hypothesis of quantum mechanics. It is a deep description of the hypothesis, and its context in quantum mechanics. Quantum mechanics does not violate logic; its precise predictions are correct, and among the most accurate of any scientific theory. But its foundations are still quite controversial, especially when it comes to understanding the role of gravitation.

The Many-Worlds hypothesis is a simple way to explain some of the seeming paradoxes of quantum me This book is about the "Many-Worlds" hypothesis of quantum mechanics. It is a deep description of the hypothesis, and its context in quantum mechanics. Quantum mechanics does not violate logic; its precise predictions are correct, and among the most accurate of any scientific theory. But its foundations are still quite controversial, especially when it comes to understanding the role of gravitation.

The Many-Worlds hypothesis is a simple way to explain some of the seeming paradoxes of quantum mechanics. There are alternative hypotheses, and the book covers these as well.

I can't say that I learned anything (I am a physicist), but the book did focus my attention on a few key ideas. First, it is incorrect to say that atoms are made up mostly of empty space; particles are not tiny points, but are wave functions that are spread out in space.

Another example: The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle does not say that the act of measuring a quantity disturbs the system. In addition it does not say that you cannot simultaneously measure position and momentum perfectly at the same time. Instead, it says that a definite position and momentum (velocity) do not even exist simultaneously. The wave function solution to the Schrodinger Equation acts as a wave, and so it can be analyzed like a Fourier Transform. Think of a sudden audible transient--like a click. The click occurs at a definite point in time, but it has no specific pitch because its spectrum is broadband. Likewise, a pure audible tone must occur over a span of time; it does not occur at a specific, definite time.

Here's the problem with the book. Like many technical books that are aimed at non-specialists, it gets deep into jargon and concepts that are totally unfamiliar. The non-specialist can understand all the words, and maybe even entire sentences. But it comes off sounding like a foreign language. And, there is an additional problem with this book. Much of the book focuses on the Schrodinger Equation, which is a typical type of partial differential equation. But unless you have studied similar equations, you cannot really understand the physical concepts described in this book. A general form of the equation is written in the book, but it is so simplified, that to a mathematician it doesn't convey much of anything, and to a non-mathematician it is gibberish.

This book is an excellent attempt at explaining some of the deepest mysteries of quantum mechanics. But the fundamentals are not covered well enough for a general reader to grasp all the arguments presented here. ...more

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