Don’t fear the f-word in quantum physics

WHEN Max Planck came up with the notion of the quantum at the turn of the 20th century, he couldn’t justify it. Nevertheless, the idea that energy couldn’t be split infinitely many times – that there was an indivisible quantum of energy – was the only way he could fit the observed spectrum of radiation from a hot body to a mathematical law. This ruse was, he later said, “an act of despair”.

The strange nature of quantum theory is still forcing us to think outside the scientific comfort zone. Those who do research in quantum physics tend to subscribe to one of a number of “interpretations” of the nature of the real world that flow from the theory.

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http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20927961.500-dont-fear-the-fword-in-quantum-physics.html

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