• Question: Do you believe that at some as yet unexplored level, there is a rational explanation for quantum phenomena?

    Asked by kraknor to Adam, Geoff, Rob, Sheila, Suzie on 21 Mar 2011 in Categories: .
    • Photo: Suzie Sheehy

      Suzie Sheehy answered on 17 Mar 2011:

      I think quantum mechanics is, in it’s own crazy way, rational! There are many things in the world which we can really only describe in terms of statistics or probability – the chance of getting cancer, for instance. Quantum mechanics relies on probability as well. It has some weird counter-intuitive effects like particles being in two places at once, but to me, that makes sense!

    • Photo: Sheila Kanani

      Sheila Kanani answered on 17 Mar 2011:

      I like this question, very deep!

      Well before we knew about atoms and molecules we thought we knew everything, and before we knew about electrons and muons and baryons, we thought we knew everything, so it would be arrogant of us to think that we knew everything now. So in a non sciencey way of thinking, I totally believe there are unexplored levels left to learn about, and these could answer any questions we still have.

      What do you think?

    • Photo: Adam Tuff

      Adam Tuff answered on 17 Mar 2011:

      Deep! I think we’ve got a pretty good model for it at the moment, and we can describe a lot of quatum phenomena already – the problems come with the more complex systems though, and our simple models aren’t always useful. I think that the answer to your question is that we still don’t have a complete picture of our quantum world – which is good because if we did I wouldn’t have a job!

    • Photo: Geoff McBride

      Geoff McBride answered on 17 Mar 2011:

      I suspect the universe in inherently mathematical therefore there is a rational explanation for quantum phenomena.

    • Photo: Robert Simpson

      Robert Simpson answered on 21 Mar 2011:

      I’m not sure that quantum mechanics is rational or irrational – it just is. It lies so far beyond our everyday lives that we find it strange. Do you think that it is rational that Pi, the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, is a number that goes on forever? Whatever your answer, the fact still remains.

Comments

  • Photo: kraknor

    kraknor commented on :

    Well I think it’s unfortunate that many Physicists seem to have given up on trying to understand ‘why’ quantum physics works, and instead just describe its effects. I believe that we will eventually make sense of it some day, but perhaps we’re just not clever enough for that yet!