First real evidence of a strange quantum distortion in empty space
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Re: First real evidence of a strange quantum distortion in empty space
#2"In the classical physics of Newton and Einstein, the vacuum of space is entirely empty, but the theory of quantum mechanics assumes something very different.
According to quantum electrodynamics (QED) - a quantum theory that describes how light and matter interact - it’s predicted that space is actually full of 'virtual particles' that pop in and out of existence and mess with the activity of light particles (photons) as they zip around the Universe."
So, does this mean that this explanation for Quantum mechanics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIyTZDHuarQ has been vindicated?
i.e. the double slit with the fields being the cause of the oddity instead of... something that is hard to explain.. including the observer effect
Re: First real evidence of a strange quantum distortion in empty space
#3I see by "first" they meant the first evidence of vacuum birefringence. Quantum vacuum fluctuation is by itself well established. E.g., Casimir effect.
Re: First real evidence of a strange quantum distortion in empty space
#4I'm not a physicist but I wonder how is it possible to disambiguate this effect from classical "Einsteinian" gravitational deflection? Neutron stars must have strong gravitational effects on light as well.
Re: First real evidence of a strange quantum distortion in empty space
#5"In the classical physics of Newton and Einstein, the vacuum of space is entirely empty, but the theory of quantum mechanics assumes something very different. According to quantum electrodynamics (QED) - a quantum theory that describes how light and matter interact - it’s predicted that space is actually full of 'virtual particles' that pop in and out of existence and mess with the activity of light particles (photon…
...I thought the article implied the opposite -- against the pilot wave theory.
Can someone weigh in and put this article in the context of the pilot wave theory?
(Not a physicist!)
Re: First real evidence of a strange quantum distortion in empty space
#6"In the classical physics of Newton and Einstein, the vacuum of space is entirely empty, but the theory of quantum mechanics assumes something very different. According to quantum electrodynamics (QED) - a quantum theory that describes how light and matter interact - it’s predicted that space is actually full of 'virtual particles' that pop in and out of existence and mess with the activity of light particles (photon…
No. Quantum field theories and their vacuum state has nothing to do with pilot wave theory (PWT).
PWT is oddly popular amongst internet people, but is just a mathematical transformation of the Schrodinger equation, with some associated interpretation. It makes no additional predictions.
Re: First real evidence of a strange quantum distortion in empty space
#7I see by "first" they meant the first evidence of vacuum birefringence. Quantum vacuum fluctuation is by itself well established. E.g., Casimir effect.
The Casimir effect, contrary to popular understanding, doesn't require reference to vacuum zero point energy, it's a relativistic quantum effect: http://journals.aps.org/prd/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevD.72.021...
Re: First real evidence of a strange quantum distortion in empty space
#8"In the classical physics of Newton and Einstein, the vacuum of space is entirely empty, but the theory of quantum mechanics assumes something very different. According to quantum electrodynamics (QED) - a quantum theory that describes how light and matter interact - it’s predicted that space is actually full of 'virtual particles' that pop in and out of existence and mess with the activity of light particles (photon…
>So, does this mean that this explanation for Quantum mechanics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIyTZDHuarQ has been vindicated?
If anything the virtual particles are an alternative to the pilot wave theory. Instead of having quantum effects mediated by virtual particles the pilot wave theory uses a 'pilot wave'. Now as far as I know most phenomena caused by virtual particles can be explained by the pilot wave, but I'm not sure how easily.
Either way, results like these which seem to be in favour of the existence of virtual particles are weak evidence against the pilot wave theory.
Re: First real evidence of a strange quantum distortion in empty space
#9"In the classical physics of Newton and Einstein, the vacuum of space is entirely empty, but the theory of quantum mechanics assumes something very different. According to quantum electrodynamics (QED) - a quantum theory that describes how light and matter interact - it’s predicted that space is actually full of 'virtual particles' that pop in and out of existence and mess with the activity of light particles (photon…
No. Vacuum birefringence is understandable from a perfectly conventional understanding of quantum field theory, and does not remotely require anything about the pilot wave idea to be true. Every quantum field theory, including QED, has a roiling vacuum of virtual particles, whether you hold an orthodox view or not.
Source: am physicist ;P
Re: First real evidence of a strange quantum distortion in empty space
#10"In the classical physics of Newton and Einstein, the vacuum of space is entirely empty, but the theory of quantum mechanics assumes something very different. According to quantum electrodynamics (QED) - a quantum theory that describes how light and matter interact - it’s predicted that space is actually full of 'virtual particles' that pop in and out of existence and mess with the activity of light particles (photon…
...I thought the article implied the opposite -- against the pilot wave theory. Can someone weigh in and put this article in the context of the pilot wave theory? (Not a physicist!)
It's against pilot wave theory. Pilot wave theory is another form of hidden variable theory, that has been proved wrong again and again.
Source: check wikipedia.