Category Archives: Quantum foundations

Our Quantum Reality: A Physics-Art Project

Posted on April 1, 2019 by P A Knott

Cross posted from FQXi’s blog: https://fqxi.org/community/forum/topic/3253 I recently completed a collaborative art-physics project, with award-winning artist Joseph Namara Hollis, to produce a short, illustrated book about the quantum mechanical reality in which we live. From the start, this was an ambitious … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Quantum art, Quantum foundations, Science & Society, Superposition | 6 Comments

Discussion and review of Shadows of the Mind by Roger Penrose

Posted on January 23, 2019 by P A Knott

Humankind has a fantastically deep and complex understanding of many of the scientific and philosophical puzzles that have baffled our ancestors. We understand the inner workings of the sun, and what lives in the most remote places on Earth; we … Continue reading →

Posted in Artificial intelligence, Beyond quantum, Miscellanea, Quantum foundations, Science & Society | 2 Comments

General probabilistic theories and meta-theoretical knowledge

Posted on December 19, 2018 by ludovicolami

The vast body of scientific knowledge is a whole divided into three parts, or layers. The first falls under the name of empirical knowledge, and includes the descriptions and the results of all experiments ever attempted. The second part comprises … Continue reading →

Posted in Beyond quantum, Miscellanea, Quantum foundations, Quantum research | 1 Comment

Quantum Roundabout 2018

Posted on October 19, 2018 by 06bmorri30

Quantum Roundabout 2018 was the fourth iteration of a series of dedicated conferences looking at foundational mathematical topics within quantum physics. The etymology of the conference stems from the so called “Magic Roundabout” on the outskirts of Swindon. This roundabout … Continue reading →

Posted in Conferences, Quantum foundations, Quantum research, Thermodynamics, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Why the many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics is fantastic

Posted on May 18, 2018 by P A Knott

Why many worlds? Quantum mechanics is often presented as being “our most successful theory ever”. Despite 100 years of stringent experimental tests it has never been proved wrong. It has been confirmed to an accuracy of 1 part in 1012 … Continue reading →

Posted in Quantum foundations, Superposition | 7 Comments

What does quantum mechanics tell us about reality? Part II

Posted on April 23, 2018 by P A Knott

This blog post follows on from a previous post, “What does quantum mechanics tell us about reality”, in which I tried to give a balanced and non-technical overview of some of the interpretations of quantum mechanics. In this post I will … Continue reading →

Posted in Entanglement, Philosophy, Quantum foundations, Superposition | 9 Comments

How much coal do I need to put into my steam engine to get to Glasgow? How efficient can I make my power station? What’s the best way to cool down a cup of tea? The fundamental answers to these … Continue reading →

Posted on March 26, 2018 by 06bmorri30 | Leave a comment

What does quantum mechanics tell us about reality?

Posted on March 6, 2018 by P A Knott

In this blog post I will introduce a core philosophical issue at the heart of quantum mechanics, and some of the most popular resolutions to this problem. This will be a non-technical introduction – I will try to avoid jargon … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Quantum foundations, Quantum research | 5 Comments

Can we freeze something at room temperature? Yes, quantum coherence!

Posted on December 29, 2016 by Gerardo Adesso

  Happy 2017 from the Quanta Rei team! We close the current year with a guest post from our former member, long-time friend and collaborator Dr Rosario Lo Franco |RLF>   From the dawn of agriculture until the industrial revolution, all … Continue reading →

Posted in Dancing quanta, Interference, Quantum foundations, Quantum research, Superposition | 1 Comment

There is no local realism within the quantum realm!

Posted on June 25, 2016 by cianciarusomarco

What is reality? Is there a mathematically rigorous way to define it? Following the German philosopher Immanuel Kant, we can at least start by vaguely identifying two different kinds of reality: anything that we come across a posteriori as a … Continue reading →

Posted in Quantum foundations | 2 Comments