Understanding Quantum Physics: An Advanced Guide for the Perplexed

Quantum physics is admittedly the most difficult subject to understand. Physicists, let alone students and laymen, are still puzzled by it today. As Richard Feynman once famously claimed, nobody understood quantum mechanics. The crux of the matter lies in the meaning of the mysterious wave function in the theory. An electron is represented by a wave function. But it remains unclear what physical state the mathematical wave function represents. Exactly what is an electron? Is it a spreading wave or a localized particle? If the electron is still a particle, then how does it move? e.g. how does a single electron pass through two slits? This book will convincingly show that the real meaning of the wave function can already be unveiled based on the established parts of quantum mechanics. It turns out that electrons are still localized particles, but their motion is not continuous but discontinuous and random, displaying wave-like behavior. For example, in the double-slit experiment with single electrons, each electron passes through two slits at the same time in a random and discontinuous way. Moreover, the book also answers another three fundamental questions about quantum mechanics. How come the Schrödinger equation? Does the wave function collapse during a measurement? If yes, then why and how? Is quantum mechanics compatible with special relativity? If not, then how to solve the incompatibility problem? The original ideas of this book, if confirmed, may finally unveil the mysterious quantum world and make quantum physics comprehensible for everyone. Cover Title Dedication Epigraph Contents Acknowledgements A True Story of Quantum Exploration 1. How Can We Understand Quantum Mechanics? 2. Meaning of the Wave Function Standard quantum mechanics and conventional measurements Weak measurements Protective measurements How does the mass and charge of a quantum system distribute? The origin of mass and charge density The wave function represents the state of random discontinuous motion of par- ticles 3. How Come the Schrödinger Equation? Spacetime translation and its invariance Relativistic invariance Derivation of the free Schrödinger equation Further discussions On the conservation of energy-momentum 4. The Solution to the Measurement Problem The reality of wavefunction collapse The origin of wavefunction collapse A discrete model of energy-conserved wavefunction collapse On the consistency of the model and experiments Critical comments on other dynamical collapse models 5. On the Unification of Quantum Mechanics and Special Relativity Distorted picture of motion On the absoluteness of simultaneity Collapse dynamics and preferred Lorentz frame Bibliography Notes