Abstract
THERE are undoubted difficulties in the interpretation of quantum physics, and Prof. A. Landé1 has made a determined effort to circumvent them in a straightforward and ‘common-sense’ way. He says: “Actually, an electron always behaves exactly as a particle ought to behave. It is a myth that it sometimes misbehaves”2. Irreducibly statistical relationships are central to Prof. Landé's treatment, and the appropriate recognition of their central importance is for him the special feature of quantum theory. But matter (unlike light) for him consists of “genuine particles”, and neither matter nor light has a genuine wave-particle schizophrenia. This is what he means by unity in his quantum physics, and his purpose is to re-frame quantum physics on this basis. It is the purpose of this communication to question his success. In addition to providing a new version of the content of quantum physics, Prof. Landé also offers a new derivation of it, which is based on “non-quantal” principles. This communication is not concerned with the derivation; however, if the present remarks concerning the body of the theory as presented are well founded, then it cannot be the case both that Prof. Landé's premises are valid, and that they lead validly to his version of quantum physics.
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References
Landé, A., From Dualism to Unity in Quantum Physics (Cambridge University Press, 1960).
Op. cit., p. xi.
“And here it must be emphasised that position in space-time defines a ‘state’.” Op. cit., p. 29. See also p. 67 where he interprets Heisenberg as demonstrating only a spread in the observations “of more exactly determined px-values”
Duane, W., Proc. U.S. Nat. Acad. Sci., 9, 158 (1923).
Landé, A., Op. cit., p. 69; italics in original. See also p. xii and p. 70.
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STOPES-ROE, H. Interpretation of Quantum Physics. Nature 193, 1276–1277 (1962). https://doi.org/10.1038/1931276a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1931276a0
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