Dr. Jorge A. Pullin
Louisiana State University
Rodolfo Gambini
University of the Republic, Montevideo, Uruguay
Project Title:
Relational Physics with Real Rods and Clocks and the Measurement Problem of Quantum Mechanics
Summary:
As paradoxical as this may sound, the theory of quantum mechanics that describes the microscopic world is ordinarily formulated in terms of classical, macroscopic quantities. In particular, one assumes that one has access to arbitrarily accurate clocks and rulers. Such an assumption is clearly an idealization. This idealization becomes even more untenable in the context of theories of nature that include gravity. We show that relaxing such an idealization can help solve some of the conceptual problems of traditional quantum mechanics. These include the problem of how a classical world arises from the quantum theory and the problem of how to interpret the quantum theory and therefore to form a proper physical picture of reality.
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