Iron Sonata of World War II

During the first three days of the Solvay meeting, forty physicists who were invited to the meeting stepped onto the podium one by one and reported their recent academic research results.In recent years, the progress of particle physics can be described as rapid progress. All the physicists attending the meeting were delighted and encouraged by this, and the venue was full of harmonious atmosphere.However, this peaceful atmosphere did not last long. When the agenda entered the academic discussion session, a strong smell of gunpowder permeated the venue again.

It has to be said that since the Fifth Solvay Conference, the contest between Einstein and others and the Copenhagen School has always been the focus of the conference.Although the theme of the 21th Solvay Conference was "Magnetism of Matter", the discussion of Einstein and Bohr was not even on the official agenda of the conference, but the rhythm of that conference was still dominated by these guys who were good at stealing the show The belt is crooked, causing the physics community in the [-]st century to remember the wonderful offensive and defensive battle between Einstein and Bohr on the "Einstein Light Box" thought experiment when recalling the sixth Solvay Conference. Magnetism, the theme of the conference, was almost forgotten by later generations.

As the agenda of the [-]th Solvay Conference enters the fourth day, the third round of competition between Einstein, Schrodinger and others and the Copenhagen School has officially started!Compared with the previous two meetings, Einstein and Schrödinger were obviously more prepared this time. Coupled with the "quantum cat" secretly conveyed by Helena as a hole card, the two great gods seemed full of confidence. From the very beginning, they will The spearhead of the attack points to the biggest weakness of the Copenhagen School: the quantum-classical transition problem.

We know that the interpretation of the Copenhagen School is only applicable to the microscopic quantum world.In this microscopic world, there is superposition, interference, and uncertainty.But there is nothing like this in the macroscopic world we are familiar with. Everything in the macroscopic world needs to obey the classical laws of physics.It is impossible for people in the macroscopic world to be in the playground, classroom, and library at the same time.It is also impossible for people in the macro world to rush towards a wall and pass through it without hindrance.After all, this is not the wizarding world of Harry Potter.

However, here comes the question, how does the microscopic quantum world transition to the macroscopic classical world?After all, our macroscopic world is also composed of microscopic particles. Why do the laws of the microscopic world not apply to the macroscopic world?

For this problem, the solution of the Copenhagen School is very simple and crude.As the head coach of the Copenhagen School, Bohr devised a set of "correspondence principles" for this purpose.Under this principle, the phenomena in the atomic domain and the macroscopic domain can respectively follow the laws in their respective domains.To put it simply, the microcosm is microcosm, the macrocosm is macrocosm; the quantum is quantum, and the classic is classic.

Heisenberg, another member of the Copenhagen School, firmly believes that there is a boundary, one side of which is the macroscopic and definite classical world, and the other side is the microscopic and uncertain quantum world.But if you want to ask where this "Heisenberg boundary" is, Heisenberg will tell you with a smile: "This boundary line is determined by the nature of the problem we are studying, but there should be no difference in the physical process." Continuity, so the position of this line has a complete degree of freedom." That is to say, where this "Heisenberg boundary" is itself is uncertain, or Heisenberg himself does not know.

The Copenhagen School's answer to the quantum-classical transition problem, in layman's terms, is that Bohr believed that the continuous physical world can be cut into two completely different parts, so he handed the knife to Heisenberg and let Heisenberg Responsible for the knife.Heisenberg believes that there is a boundary that allows him to perfectly separate the two worlds, but he is not sure where to cut the knife. He only said that the location of the knife should be determined by the properties of the research problem, but how exactly? Decided, he wasn't sure either.In short, Heisenberg deserves to be the master who proposed the uncertainty principle. According to him, uncertainty can cure all diseases, and uncertainty can solve thousands of problems. If one uncertainty cannot solve the problem, then add a few more uncertainties... …

Of course, the answers of the Copenhagen School cannot satisfy Einstein, Schrödinger and others.You can’t just say that this boundary exists because this boundary exists.Why does this boundary exist?have no idea.Where does it exist?have no idea.In what way does it exist?Still don't know.Heisenberg also said that because the physical process is continuous, the position of the boundary should also be free. Do you think this sounds like human words?

Although this interpretation of the Copenhagen School sounds like hooliganism, whenever Einstein and Schrödinger raised the quantum-classical transition problem, the Copenhagen School always used this "Heisenberg boundary" to prevaricate.After all, although the Copenhagen School could not prove the existence of the "Heisenberg boundary", Einstein could not prove the non-existence of this boundary either.What's more, the Copenhagen School is also supported by experimental evidence: all the experimental results seem to show beyond a doubt that the phenomena in the microcosm do follow completely different laws from those in the macrocosm.

When we returned to the venue of this conference, the debate between Einstein, Schrödinger and others and Bohr, Born, Heisenberg and others of the Copenhagen School was still going on fiercely.

It is not the first time for many of you here to attend the meeting, and they are naturally well aware of the virtues of Einstein, Bohr and others, so whenever these two groups of people discuss this topic, it is very important to attend the meeting. The centrists among the personnel will consciously sit around the venue, leaving the central area of ​​the venue for them to confront each other face to face.Helena, who was dedicated to being a melon eater, naturally sat next to the venue like the other neutrals. She felt that her current mentality was a bit like watching two groups of gangsters fight each other on the street in her previous life. Big feeling.

Unsurprisingly, when the quantum-classical transition problem was raised by Einstein again, Bohr still responded calmly with the "correspondence principle", and Heisenberg also used his "Heisenberg boundary" Echoed, in their view, Einstein's attack is nothing more than a cliché like a wheel, and there is nothing new.The generals in Copenhagen may not have noticed the evil smile on Schrödinger's face.

Just when Bohr was still full of confidence, Schrödinger stood up. He adjusted the round glasses on the bridge of his nose, and smiled at Helena who was watching a play not far away. She secretly compared a pair of thumbs to Schrödinger on her chest, and she meant: "Come on, Old Xue, take your kitten! I am very optimistic about you!"

Chapter 129 The First Victory

"In your opinion, the macrocosm and the microcosm follow their own laws of physics, and there is an invisible boundary separating the two worlds. Is that true?" Withdrawing his gaze from Helena, Schrödinger will Confidently looking at the core figures of the Copenhagen School sitting opposite, he said in a joking tone: "It's too late for you to give up your fallacies, I don't think everyone here will laugh at you. "

Hearing Schrödinger's provocation, Bohr couldn't help but exchanged glances with Heisenberg who was sitting next to him. In his opinion, Schrödinger's state today seemed a bit abnormal, and this abnormality made Bohr suddenly feel uneasy. Come.However, as the soul of the Copenhagen School, it is impossible for Bohr to back down at this time. If he did not even have this theoretical confidence, then the Copenhagen School would not be able to have the prosperity it is today.

"Yes." Bohr replied, he suppressed the unease in his heart, repeated the interpretation of the Copenhagen School on the quantum-classical transition problem, and finally concluded: "Quantum laws will not disturb the macroscopic world." , but the microcosm also asks classical physics to go away." As soon as Bohr finished speaking, Schrödinger stood up clapping his hands and said, "Very well, Mr. Bohr is really brave. But a friend of mine helped me design a Thought experiment, I think this thought experiment is very challenging, I wonder if the theories of the Copenhagen School dare to accept the challenge?"

"Mr. Schrödinger, please tell me about your thought experiment. The truth will not be afraid of the test of thought experiments." Bohr replied with a smile, and he did not reject the test of thought experiments.In fact, at the last Solvay conference, it was Bohr's ingenious answer to Einstein's "light box" thought experiment that secured the status of the Copenhagen interpretation in quantum physics in one fell swoop.Therefore, Bohr believes that although the current theoretical system in Copenhagen is far from perfect, he will not be afraid of the challenge of any thought experiment!

Seeing that Bohr stepped into the trap he had prepared in advance, Schrödinger licked his lips like a cat ready to hunt, and then began to slowly explain the thought experiment provided by Helena earlier: "Take A cat is kept in an opaque box, and the following device is set in the box: a Geiger counter is placed in a very small amount of radioactive material, which has a half probability of at least one atom decaying in an hour, when The decay occurs, and the Geiger counter discharges, and a relay-controlled hammer breaks a flask full of hydrogen cyanide."

Having said that, Schrödinger deliberately paused for a few seconds, and then a sarcastic smile climbed up the corner of his mouth: "Now, Mr. Bohr, please explain to everyone with your theory, before we open the box, the cat inside the box In what state? Dead? Alive? Or both dead and alive?"

Seeing that old Xue was so powerful and domineering, Helena gave Schrodinger a big praise in her heart, and then secretly looked towards the seat of the Copenhagen School, and saw that the faces of the "Three Musketeers" in Copenhagen were extremely exciting!Look: Bohr's face is so green that it turns blue, Heisenberg's face is so white that it turns blue, and Bonn's face is so red that it turns purple. Many different colors and faces complement each other, and together they paint a picture full of vitality. The beautiful picture, in this bleak late autumn, has brought warm spring to everyone!It's a pity that there was no color camera to record this historic moment.

Helena tried her best not to let the smile on her face be too obvious, while turning her head to scan the other people in the venue.I saw that even the bystanders who were not involved in this dispute sat up quietly at this moment.Everyone's faces showed a look of enthusiasm watching the show. Obviously, the physics melon of the year in front of them has fully whetted everyone's appetite!

At this time, the Copenhagen School seemed to be cursed by a witch, and they could no longer utter a word to refute Schrödinger. Looking at the deflated looks of everyone in the Copenhagen School, the thick beard on Einstein's lips It was almost impossible to hide the arc of his lips.Schrödinger, on the other hand, dusted his sleeves with his hands very coolly, as if the theory in Copenhagen was nothing but dust stuck to his sleeves.

Until the end of the day's agenda, the Copenhagen School still hadn't found a way to deal with the cat. When they walked out of the venue, Einstein and Schrödinger strode ahead, and Helena followed behind.Bohr caught up with Einstein from behind several times, blushing as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't say a word in the end.His state made Helena, the instigator, feel a little sympathetic.Obviously, this quantum cat caused much more trouble for Bohr than the "Einstein light box" three years ago.

"Hahahaha, I laughed so hard today. Albert, did you see that Bohr's expression is like swallowing a live fly!" As soon as Helena and the three returned to their residence, Schrödinger unloaded After taking off the sharp but gentle vest at the venue, he looked up to the sky and laughed out of shape, as if he wanted to release all the grievances that the Copenhagen School had caused him in the past few years.

"That's right, Helena has done a great job this time! It's just that the three live treasures in Copenhagen may not be able to sleep tonight, and the meowing of Helena's cat will always be heard It echoed in their ears. Don’t you think so? Miss Helena.” Einstein asked, leaning on the sofa next to the balcony in the living room with Schrödinger in a tacit understanding, and took out their respective books in a tacit understanding. pipe.

Facing Einstein's question, Helena, who had been acting as a small follower, nodded repeatedly and said yes, while helping the two bosses light the tobacco with a flattering face.Then he said: "Congratulations to the two uncles for their successful start today! Please chat slowly, and I will not disturb the two uncles' thoughts. See you tomorrow!" Then they exited the room of Einstein and Schrödinger.The moment she was about to close the door, Helena could still see the rising smoke rings spit out from the mouths of the two big men. "What a fairy-like character." Helena thought as she helped them close the door.

That night, Helena, who had watched the show all day, slept soundly.However, if Helena knew that there was a big pit waiting for her not far away, she probably wouldn't be able to sleep at night.Somewhat different from the pits she filled in before, the pits this time were purely dug by Helena herself.

1 Chapter Thirty

In the last plane, when the scientist Hawking stated his views on the issue of "Schrödinger's cat", he once said a famous joke: "Whenever I hear Schrödinger's cat, I will go get a gun!" As a physical beast that has puzzled generations of scientists, "Schrödinger's cat" is not so easy to defeat.In the next few days, in the face of Einstein and Schrödinger's battles, the members of the Copenhagen School headed by Bohr hung a "free battle card" outside the camp gate, and never answered Schrödinger's question directly.

Seeing Bohr, Bonn, and Heisenberg's reddened eyes and darkened eye circles day by day, Helena, the instigator, couldn't help feeling a little sympathetic to the great masters of the Copenhagen School.It is not difficult to imagine that since Schrödinger threw out the "quantum cat" thought experiment that day, these three great gods have never had a peaceful night's sleep.After all, the three of them, as the pillars of the entire school, cannot avoid the problem of "quantum cats", but if they have been acting as ostriches and do not respond forcefully to this thought experiment, then the newly established Copenhagen theoretical system will face the danger of falling apart. Danger!

Time passed quickly while Helena watched the theater, and the last day of the [-]th Solvay Conference came soon.Bohr, who had been the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the past few days, finally responded to Schrödinger's question. He said rather euphemistically: "The moment the box is opened, the wave function permeating the box collapses, and the wave mechanics equation can predict all possibilities. .”

After hearing Bohr's remarks, Helena in the audience couldn't help but sighed softly. Bohr in this plane still walked on the path he had walked in the previous plane.

It turned out that in order to prevent the theoretical system in Copenhagen from being defeated by this damn kitten, Bohr had to choose to survive with a broken arm.He abandoned the "correspondence principle" and "Heisenberg boundary" used by the Copenhagen School to separate the macrocosm and the microcosm, and admitted that the cat in the box is both dead and alive when it is not observed.

In other words, from this moment on, the stubborn Bohr simply overthrew the quantum frontier wall that he and Heisenberg had painstakingly built before, and openly claimed that the uncertainty of microscopic particles can lead to the uncertainty of macroscopic things, In this way, the scope of application of one's own theory is extended to the field of classical physics originally ruled by general relativity.

Bohr's strategy of attacking and defending will undoubtedly lead to such an incredible conclusion: when you don't observe, the universe is just superimposed fluctuations; only when you observe, the universe will appear in front of you as a definite world!In other words, it is our observation that creates the real existence of the universe!In the words of Wang Yangming, a Chinese psychologist in the Ming Dynasty, it is: "When you haven't looked at this flower, this flower will die together with you; when you look at this flower, the color of this flower will suddenly become clear."

In the previous plane, Bohr's almost idealistic interpretation made it impossible for Einstein and Schrödinger who insisted on "realism" to accept it.Einstein had a famous saying about this: "When you don't look at the moon, is it still there?" Schrödinger said that I don't want to talk to those fools in Copenhagen anymore. IQ, from now on we will switch to biological research.Then this wayward guy really went to the field of biology to start a school. In the field of biology, Schrödinger proposed the concept of "negative entropy", and single-handedly created the important branch of molecular biology. That's another story.

"That is to say, Mr. Bohr thought that before we opened the box to observe, there was indeed a dead and alive cat in the box?" Einstein asked word by word.For Bohr's new interpretation, Einstein seemed confident, and apparently in private discussions with Schrödinger, they had found a way to deal with it.

Einstein and Schrödinger were able to consider Bohr's response in advance, which is actually the credit of Helena.After the thought experiment of "quantum cat" was put forward in Einstein's home, Helena helped the two masters sort out all the possible interpretations of the Copenhagen School, which is equivalent to revealing all the possible deployments of the enemy to the two in advance. God.

Since Helena didn't disturb the discussion between Einstein and Schrödinger these days, she didn't know what kind of counterattack strategy the two great gods had discussed these days.But seeing the confident expressions on the faces of the two great gods at this moment, Helena knew that they were absolutely prepared on this issue!Thinking of seeing another good show soon, Helena felt the blood boil all over her body. She secretly gave herself a thumbs up in her heart, thinking that the way she gave the two great gods an early leak was really clever.

"Yes, when you observe without opening the box, the cat is in a superposition state of life and death. To be more precise, the cat at this time is just a wave function diffused in the box." Bohr firmly replied, at this time he did not have any flinching room.

"Okay, very good." Einstein was not angry about Bohr's answer, he turned his head with a smile, and shouted: "Helena von Seckert!"

"Here!" Helena, who was still immersed in self-appreciation when she heard someone calling her name suddenly, suddenly trembled, and then she answered "Yes" loudly, just like when the teacher suddenly called out her name when she was wandering in class in her previous life. Standing up reflexively.Helena's stupid appearance made everyone in the meeting laugh. Helena, who came to her senses, blushed, wishing she could find a crack in the ground.

"To tell you the truth, Miss Helena is our friend and the earliest person who proposed the 'quantum cat' experiment." Just as Helena was still mourning for making a fool of herself in front of all the great gods, Ein Stan spoke again: "Miss Helena, as the proposer of this thought experiment, should not lack the spirit of dedication to science. I discussed it with Erwin and decided to carry out a little research on the basis of your thought experiment. Change, lock you and the cat in a box to observe the cat's life and death, what does Miss Seekert think of this idea?"

"I..." Before the stunned Helena could say a word, Schrödinger interrupted again. This guy obviously colluded with Einstein a long time ago: "If you don't speak, you will accept it. It seems that Helen Miss Na is very happy to take this job, everyone, don’t worry, in order to protect Miss Helena’s safety, we will give her a gas mask before locking her in.”

Einstein nodded to Schrödinger, and continued: "I can assure you with my honor that Miss Helena is by no means an animal protectionist or a cat lover. During the whole experiment, she just stood there quietly. Observe carefully, whether the cat is dead or alive, Miss Helena will not take any actions to interfere with the experiment."

"Now, Mr. Bohr, please tell everyone, before we opened the box, was the cat dead or alive? Or did Miss Helena see the dead cat or the cat alive?" Einstein threw out the last question, and then leisurely sat down.Leaving behind the pensive Copenhagen camp and Helena standing there with a dazed face.

The great gods are trying to kill me... Helena, who finally came to her senses, wailed in her heart that no one could hear.

Chapter 131 I'm Happy

Gritting her teeth and sitting back in her seat, Helena threw a series of throwing knives at Einstein and Schrödinger with eyes that could kill, but the two gods who were in a good mood didn't seem to feel the anger in Helena's eyes at all. Among them, Einstein stuck out his tongue very naughtily towards Helena.Seeing Einstein's grimace that can be included in future generations' emojis, Helena's little face was once again puffed up into a puffer fish shape.The only thing that comforted Helena was that it was not only herself who was turned into a puffer fish, but also the trio from the Copenhagen School.

In Helena's memory, the question Einstein just raised actually has a similar version in the previous plane. This is the famous "Wegener's Friend" thought experiment.The rudiment of this experimental idea was first proposed by Hugh Everett in 1956. Five years later, the famous physicist Wegener improved and re-raised this idea, thus making the "Schrödinger's cat" The resulting thought experiment became widely known.Perhaps because of the butterfly effect brought by Helena, this enhanced version of the "quantum cat" thought experiment was born more than 20 years earlier than the previous plane!

Seeing that no one from the Copenhagen trio came out to fight, Schrödinger stood up triumphantly, and the irony in his tone was a bit stronger than a few days ago: "For us outside the box, if we take Miss Helena If cats and cats are regarded as a bunch of material combinations that conform to the laws of physics and chemistry, then according to Bohr’s argument just now, the reality that has not been observed by us is not reality. Before we open the box, the cat should be in a state of superposition of life and death, and Helena Miss should be in a schizophrenic state of 'seeing cats dead' and 'seeing cats alive'."

"According to Bohr's logic just now, if we regard Miss Helena as the observer observer, then her observation will cause the wave function to collapse, thus making the cat's life and death in a certain state, when an hour later, we will Helena When the young lady was released from the box, she must have firmly told us that she felt no signs of being schizophrenic, and that the cat was dead or alive before we opened the box."

"Now there is a contradiction. Miss Helena's feelings clearly conflict with our theoretical predictions. May I ask Mr. Bohr, who is right and who is wrong between us outside the box and Miss Helena inside the box?" Schrödinger Glancing contemptuously at the Copenhagen trio, he asked the final question.The new question of Einstein and Schrödinger made the heads of the Copenhagen trio break out in cold sweat. This question obviously hit the weakness of the Copenhagen School again, and it still aimed at the problem of binary opposition in the Copenhagen theoretical system: decide There is a contradiction between the theoretical evolution of the wave function and the observed sudden collapse of the wave function.

If it is true that the observation of the observer leads to the collapse of the wave function, as the Copenhagen School said, then there must be a quantum-classical dividing line between objective things and the observation of the observer.Since the theory of the Copenhagen School cannot provide the exact position of this boundary line, when we use different observers as the coordinate system, it will inevitably lead to different interpretations of the position of this boundary line, so contradictions arise.

The subtlety of the thought experiment "Wegener's friend" is that no matter how the supporters of the Copenhagen School flicker between objective things and observers, contradictions will be entangled like tarsal maggots. .You can define the observer as the person outside the box, the person in the box, the cat, or the Geiger counter, as long as you think that the observation caused the sudden collapse of the wave function , this contradiction cannot be eliminated!And if the denial of observation leads to the collapse of the wave function, the entire Copenhagen theoretical building will be over.The Copenhagen School's loss of voice again made Einstein and Schrödinger even more proud. If it wasn't for the wrong occasion, they would probably be ready to open the champagne to celebrate the victory at this moment.

However, in Helena's view, Einstein and Schrödinger may have been too happy too early.This time, Einstein and Schrödinger really beat the Copenhagen School into a mess, and exposed the loopholes of the Copenhagen School to everyone.But if you want to defeat the Copenhagen School, it is definitely not enough to attack the opponent's shortcomings. You must come up with a more convincing theory to replace it, and this is what Einstein lacked.

We know that, as the main founders of quantum mechanics, what Einstein and Schrödinger opposed was not quantum mechanics itself, but the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics.So what about Einstein's own interpretation of quantum mechanics?We usually refer to Einstein's interpretation of quantum mechanics as local hidden variable interpretation.The general meaning of this interpretation is that there is no uncertainty in the behavior of particles, and there is no physical effect beyond the horizon.The reason why we feel that the behavior of particles is uncertain is only because there is a "hidden variable" that has not been discovered by us.

Unfortunately, a large number of experiments in later generations have proved that Bell's inequality is not true, that is to say, unless we deny the existence of free will, locality and reality cannot coexist, which basically sentenced Einstein's theory to death , because Einstein's theory is precisely based on the two premises of localization and reality.In a word, the Copenhagen School's interpretation of quantum mechanics has many loopholes, but Einstein's interpretation of local hidden variables is even more problematic!

This is like Einstein trying to prove to the world that the foundation of the quantum mechanics house built by Bohr has subsided, the walls are cracked, and the roof is leaking.The house built by Bohr did have these problems, so everyone asked Einstein if he had a better choice.Einstein confidently told everyone that there was, so he took everyone to a ruined house where only a few broken walls remained, and told everyone: This is the new house I prepared for you, named Dingyu Yin. Variable interpretation, let's live in it.

God!Although the quality of the house built by Bohr was not good, and there were wind and rain leaks everywhere, but the beams and columns were strengthened, and the roof was repaired, you can still live in it. Einstein, do you call this pile of ruins a house?Are you kidding us?Later, on the ruins of Einstein, Bohm perfected the pilot wave theory by giving up the locality, and rebuilt the house of hidden variables.The house with hidden variables can finally be lived in, but Einstein is still not happy because Bohm gave up the localization and did not fully use the traditional techniques of classical physics to build a house. Einstein's ideal house must be [-]% Built with classic traditional craftsmanship...

In short, in Helena's view, in the next 100 years, it will be difficult for human beings to come up with a truly perfect interpretation of quantum mechanics, and many imperfect interpretations will be worse.Whoever has fewer loopholes than others, and whoever explains the results of practice more convincingly, will gain more recognition!

If Einstein could not come up with a more convincing interpretation than the Copenhagen School, it would be impossible to really hit the dominance of the Copenhagen School just by criticizing the loopholes of the Copenhagen School.Just like before the heliocentric theory took shape, no matter how many loopholes the geocentric theory had, astronomers could only make do with it. Even if dozens of epicycles were added to the orbits of planets to describe their trajectories, astronomers would not dare to give up the geocentric theory, after all It is better to have an incomplete theory than to have no theory at all.

Chapter 132

The thought experiment proposed by Einstein and Schrödinger similar to the "Friends of Wegener" in the previous plane put the Copenhagen School in a dilemma again, and made Bohr feel the deep malice from this world.The “maliciousness” of this thought experiment lies in the fact that within the framework of Copenhagen’s interpretation, the only way to be logically consistent is to admit that the observer’s “consciousness” plays a decisive role in the collapse of the wave function.In fact, in the last plane, physicists such as Wegener and von Neumann did this in the future, and they argued that the wave function collapsed in "consciousness".

Although Bohr had repeatedly emphasized the role of the observer before, he always tried to avoid discussing the issue of the "consciousness" of the observer.This is because Bohr deeply understood how dangerous it is to introduce the concept of "consciousness" which does not belong to the physical world into the physical world.

Just imagine, if it is admitted that the "consciousness" of the observer causes the wave function to collapse, it means that before the first "conscious" creature appears, the universe is just a cloud of probability, until the first "consciousness" in the universe appears. Only when a creature with "consciousness" appeared, and it glanced at the universe, did the universe collapse into a definite form in its "consciousness"!If so, how did the first "conscious" creature emerge from a cloud of probability?

Just when the Copenhagen School was at a loss and Einstein and Schrödinger were complacent, Lang Zhiwan, the host of the meeting who had been acting as the audience, suddenly spoke: "Everyone is tired after arguing for so long, why don't you take a break and listen to the discussion?" How about hearing Miss Sektor's views on this issue? After all, Miss Sektor is the one who proposed this thought experiment."

"Is there any need to say Miss Helena's opinion? Of course it is on our side, am I right? Miss Helena." Einstein winked at Helena.

"I really don't agree with the interpretation of the Copenhagen School." Helena stood up and said slowly but firmly: "In order to explain the so-called wave function collapse mechanism, the Copenhagen interpretation has to combine the difficult-to-define 'observation' and even 'consciousness' Introduced into the theory, that is to say, the theoretical edifice interpreted by Copenhagen is actually based on an unfalsifiable hypothesis, which is not the quality that a truly complete scientific theory should possess.”

After hearing Helena's criticism of the Copenhagen School, both Einstein and Schrödinger had knowing smiles on their faces, but in the next second, Helena pointed her finger at them: "But I also disapprove of Uncle Einstein and Uncle Schrödinger's interpretation of local hidden variables, I think, it may be worse than Uncle Bohr's interpretation!"

It must be explained that punching Copenhagen and kicking Einstein was not Helena's original intention.After being dragged into the water by Einstein, Helena felt that she, who handed out the "quantum cat" to Einstein and Schrödinger, the sharp sword that stabbed at Copenhagen interpretation, was unlikely to reach a settlement with the Copenhagen School.But she also has no way to agree with Einstein's interpretation of localized hidden variables. After all, the scientific practice of later generations has basically proved that this way does not work.If you want to stick to the hidden variable interpretation, you must give up the locality like David Bohm's pilot wave theory, and Einstein has always been firmly opposed to giving up the locality.

"Oh?" Hearing Helena so clearly objected to his interpretation of hidden variables for the first time, Einstein was obviously a little unexpected. He was slightly taken aback, but he said with a smile in the next second : "It seems that our Miss Helena is also very assertive. If you have any opinions, you might as well express them for everyone to hear."

"Since Uncle Albert loves you so much, then Helena is making a fool of herself. If there is anything wrong, please give me your advice." Helena walked up to the stage and bowed deeply to the audience.

The reason why Helena added the word "aunt" here is because apart from herself, there was another woman who attended the meeting: Marie Curie, also known as Mrs. Curie.However, if there are no major changes in history, this will be the last time Mrs. Curie will attend a large academic conference.In the last plane, less than nine months after attending the seventh Solvay Conference, this great female scientist died of pernicious anemia caused by long-term exposure to radioactive substances.But at this time Helena has no time to mourn for Madame Curie's fate.

"I think you have seen the embarrassment that the Copenhagen interpretation is facing these days." Helena said: "In my opinion, the crux of this embarrassment is that in the Copenhagen theoretical system, the waves of the quantum world Functions must 'collapse' to transform into the classical world in our eyes, in order to explain this damn 'collapse', the Copenhagen School had to introduce an external observer to make this collapse complete."

"Everyone has seen the badness of this approach, and it will produce a series of ironic inferences. If we continue to circle in the framework of Copenhagen, I don't think it will be long before someone claims that the wave function collapses in consciousness. At that time, he probably will have to worry about how the first consciousness in the universe was born in an uncertain wave function, and even further, the issue of whether consciousness can be separated from the material world will be discussed.”

Helena's words caused hearty laughter from the audience. Only a few representatives of the Copenhagen School did not laugh, because Helena's words just pointed out their deep-seated fears: If the Copenhagen Interpretation continues like this, , in the past several centuries, the people who were driven out of the center of the universe by Copernicus will return to the center of the universe in the form of souls.

"It can be said that the inexplicable collapse of the wave function in the Copenhagen interpretation is like drawing an ugly scar on the face of a peerless beauty, which greatly reduces the charm of the whole theory. To solve the contradiction caused by the sudden collapse of the wave function, we must Admitting that the wave function never collapses, we must admit that there are no observers independent of the quantum world, we must admit that the world only obeys a set of universal rules, and we must admit that the so-called quantum-classical boundary has never existed!"

"Now if we don't have the courage to make the most shocking assumptions, we will be doomed to be forever cursed by the ridiculous wave function collapse, and physics will always be stuck in the gap between consciousness and matter!" Helena's The voice echoed in the venue: "Physicists all over the world, take action! What physics will lose in this process is only the chains, and what physics will gain is the whole world, and even countless worlds!"

Chapter 133 The Stone Breaker

We know that the German physicist Max Planck first proposed the concept of "quantization of energy" in 1900, which marked the birth of quantum mechanics, a new field of physics research.After the birth of quantum mechanics, as more and more miraculous quantum phenomena were discovered, scientists quickly realized with trepidation and excitement that it was not feasible to explain the quantum phenomena in the microscopic world with the physical models that described the macroscopic world in the past. .

In order to define the nature and behavior of the quantum world, scientists have to build a new theoretical model, so various versions of the theory of quantum mechanics have sprung up like mushrooms after rain.After more than 100 years of scouring the sand, before Helena traveled through the 21st century, there are roughly three schools of quantum mechanics that are still widely accepted, namely, the Copenhagen interpretation, the wide-field hidden variable interpretation, and the many-worlds interpretation.Of course, the division of the above three schools is only a very rough classification, because even within each school of interpretation, different scholars have many differences in the specific manifestations of theoretical models.

Regarding the contention among the three major schools of quantum mechanics theory, if Helena before the time-travel still held an indifferent attitude, then Helena after the time-travel has become a die-hard supporter of the multi-world interpretation.This is not only because in the 21st century before she traveled, the many-worlds interpretation has overwhelmed the other two interpretations and has become the most recognized theory of quantum mechanics in the academic circle, but also because, as a staunch materialist, Helena needs to provide for herself. Looking for a slightly more reasonable scientific explanation through time travel, the multi-world interpretation combined with decoherence theory just meets Helena's psychological needs.

"I think that any isolated system evolves strictly according to the Schrödinger equation, and what evolves according to the Schrödinger equation is not some illusory probability cloud, but the real state of the universe itself!" Helena on the Internet is amazing.Although setting up the banner of multi-world interpretation at this time is a bit of a suspicion of burning yourself, and may even make yourself stand on the opposite side of the Copenhagen School and Einstein at the same time, but Helena has no way to retreat at this time, and can only run one way It's dark.

In the last plane, the multi-world interpretation was first proposed by the American physicist Hugh Everett in 1957. After several decades of continuous improvement by several generations of theoretical physicists, the multi-world interpretation was finally It has become the mainstream interpretation of quantum mechanics, and its momentum in the 21st century physics circle has even surpassed the Copenhagen interpretation and hidden variable interpretation.Due to her past life experience, Helena is quite optimistic about the future of the multi-world interpretation.However, this is talking about the future, and the reality is that the timeline of this plane has just climbed to the end of 1933, and Helena is the only physicist in the world who holds the view of many worlds!

If Helena's current situation is placed in the Xianxia game, it is like you just created a game character, and suddenly got an epic magic weapon inheritance, and then was forced to become the head of a certain future sect However, the reason for becoming the head is that she is the only three-legged cat in the entire sect.Then the game assigns you the first main task, allowing you to challenge the leaders of all the top sects in the world alone!Now, Helena, the first person in charge of the interpretation of many worlds, has chosen to take over the task and take on the Copenhagen School, Einstein and others.

Helena went on to say: "Please pay attention to the wording I just said 'isolated system', only when a system does not exchange matter, information and energy with the outside world at all, this system can be considered as 'isolated'. In fact, our No system in the universe is really "isolated", except our universe itself! That is to say, our universe itself evolves strictly according to the Schrödinger equation. But any part of our universe, as small as elementary particles, As large as the entire galaxy, it will inevitably interact with the outside world, and once this interaction occurs, the original system will lose its independence."

"This is why in a double-slit experiment we cannot observe an electron passing through both the left slit and the right slit, and that is why in everyday life we ​​cannot observe an electron that is both dead and alive. Cat. When we interact with electrons, the wave function does not collapse, but the original wave function of electrons loses its independence, and our wave function also loses its independence, that is to say, we and electrons form a A new system, this new system of us and electrons, is itself in superposition. One sees electrons going through the left slit, one sees electrons going through the right slit."

Having said that, Helena paused for a while, probably because Helena's new ideas were too wild and unconstrained.It took a long time before someone in the venue reacted. "Miss Helena is trying to say that the world is split into two? In one world, electrons pass through the left slit, and we see electrons pass through the left slit; in the other world, electrons pass through the right slit." slit, and we also see the electron go through the slit on the right?"

"You can also say that, but I don't like the word 'split' very much. The universe is not physically split." Helena smiled and replied: "The two worlds are just superimposed, just like the same thing in different directions. Different projections are generated, which is like a cone in the three-dimensional world. Its projection on the plane may be a perfect circle, an ellipse, a fan, or a triangle. Can you say that the world is "split"? No So, right? Because the cone in the three-dimensional world is the complete thing, and the shapeless projection on the two-dimensional plane is just one side of the complete cone!"

"The world in which we see electrons passing through the left slit is as real as the world in which we see electrons passing through the right slit, and the world in which we see the cat dead is as real as the world in which we see the cat alive. Like perfect circles, ellipses, sectors, and The triangles are the same as the true projection of the cone. It’s just that when we see the side projection of the triangle of the cone, we can’t see the circular projection of the bottom of the cone, but the world still exists.”

"In fact, each sub-world is a feasible solution for the evolution of the universe according to Schrödinger's equation, and all the sub-worlds are added together to form a complete world. Just like the true shape of a three-dimensional object is its entire two-dimensional projection Superposition!" Helena expressed her point of view with a common-sense metaphor, in order to prevent misunderstandings, and to make her point of view not seem too shocking, Helena avoided the previous plane as much as possible in her statement Supporters of the multi-world interpretation and science fiction writers often use expressions such as "world splitting" and "parallel world".

Chapter 134 Fighting against the Heroes

"That is to say, just to explain the state of an electron or a cat, Miss Seekert would make the entire universe in a superposition state, which sounds too absurd." Helena's many-worlds interpretation attracted Bohr's Strong objection: "Miss Seekert does not know that the principle of complementarity is a property of the electron itself, and is the only possible interpretation."

"First of all, I do not agree with Bohr's principle of complementarity. But it is even more difficult for me to believe that just because we have a relationship with a small electron, the entire universe has undergone tremendous changes." Just now and Bohr Einstein, who had won a bloody battle, also questioned Helena's point of view at this time.

As soon as Einstein finished speaking, Schrödinger raised his own question again: "In the particle double-slit experiment, if indeed, as Miss Helena said, two superimposed worlds are produced, and the electrons in one of the worlds pass through the left slit , the electrons in the other world pass through the right slit. Then why do the electrons exhibit wave-like properties and interfere? Could it be said that the electrons in one world can still feel the existence of the copy of themselves in the other world ?”

"Why can't you feel each other?" Helena asked back with a smile. Although she couldn't find a single supporter at the venue, she still firmly believed that the theory of many worlds was the most reliable interpretation of quantum mechanics. Things like time travel have happened, and she couldn't help but not believe it.Fortunately, the elaboration of the theory of many worlds in later generations is quite complete, enough to deal with the doubts of the great gods.

"Now we can assume that there is a particle person A who lives on the X world axis formed by a straight line; and another particle person B who lives on the Y world axis formed by another straight line on the same plane. Now if an event occurs in the plane where the X-axis and Y-axis are located, we use vector R to represent it. If the X world axis and the Y world axis are not perpendicular to each other, and the vector R is not perpendicular to any of the X or Y axes A vertical line, what will happen at this time? The vector R will form a section of projection on the X-axis and the Y-axis respectively, and the particle person A and the particle person B can feel this event at the same time! What’s more amazing is that what they feel Events are not only incomplete and distorted, but most likely would have been different if the vector R had not been on the bisector of the angle between the two worlds."

Helena said while drawing a schematic diagram with chalk on the small blackboard behind the podium: "If the event represented by the vector R happened to happen on the Y world axis, what would happen? Since the two world axes are not perpendicular , the events that happen on the Y world axis (that is, the vector R) will still have a projection on the X world axis, and the events that happen on the Y world axis can still be perceived by the X world! Only those who live on the Y axis Particle Man B is very lucky to be able to feel the whole picture of the event, while Particle Man A who lives on the X axis can only feel the distorted projection of the event."

"The above two worlds are not perpendicular to each other, so that they can perceive each other, we can say that these two worlds are 'coherent'. Now let's consider a special case, if the Y world axis and The axis of world X happens to be vertical, so what happens? No matter what happens in world Y, the projected length in world X is zero! In other words, world X can no longer experience Y that is perpendicular to its own world What happened in the world, at this time we can say that world X and world Y are 'irrelevant', or 'decoherent'."

"Now, does anyone still have any doubts?" Helena's eyes swept across the audience. Helena felt frustrated, but it gave her more fighting spirit. After all, declaring war on the world is very much in line with the appetite of a middle school youth (Lafayette: I think you are mocking me, but I have no proof).

"Since Miss Helena believes that one world can see the event projection of another 'coherent world', and at the same time thinks that in the previous cat experiment, the worlds of 'seeing the cat dead' and 'seeing the cat alive' are superimposed on each other, Then why has no one seen a cat that is both dead and alive in reality? In other words, why can’t we see the projection of a cat in another state in another world?” Heisenberg proposed own doubts.

"Because the world of 'we saw the cat dead' and the world of 'we saw the cat alive' are two decoherent worlds." Helena replied calmly, and she was well prepared for this question.