Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acronyms
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Questions and Answers
- 3 Classical Bits
- 4 Quantum Bits
- 5 Classical and Quantum Registers
- 6 Classical Register Mechanics
- 7 Quantum Register Dynamics
- 8 Partial Observations
- 9 Mixed States and POVMs
- 10 Double-Slit Experiments
- 11 Modules
- 12 Computerization and Computer Algebra
- 13 Interferometers
- 14 Quantum Eraser Experiments
- 15 Particle Decays
- 16 Nonlocality
- 17 Bell Inequalities
- 18 Change and Persistence
- 19 Temporal Correlations
- 20 The Franson Experiment
- 21 Self-intervening Networks
- 22 Separability and Entanglement
- 23 Causal Sets
- 24 Oscillators
- 25 Dynamical Theory of Observation
- 26 Conclusions
- Appendix
- References
- Index
25 - Dynamical Theory of Observation
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 November 2017
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acronyms
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Questions and Answers
- 3 Classical Bits
- 4 Quantum Bits
- 5 Classical and Quantum Registers
- 6 Classical Register Mechanics
- 7 Quantum Register Dynamics
- 8 Partial Observations
- 9 Mixed States and POVMs
- 10 Double-Slit Experiments
- 11 Modules
- 12 Computerization and Computer Algebra
- 13 Interferometers
- 14 Quantum Eraser Experiments
- 15 Particle Decays
- 16 Nonlocality
- 17 Bell Inequalities
- 18 Change and Persistence
- 19 Temporal Correlations
- 20 The Franson Experiment
- 21 Self-intervening Networks
- 22 Separability and Entanglement
- 23 Causal Sets
- 24 Oscillators
- 25 Dynamical Theory of Observation
- 26 Conclusions
- Appendix
- References
- Index
Summary
Introduction
In this chapter we discuss how quantized detector network (QDN) theory can be extended to cover the creation and decommissioning of apparatus, from the perspective of observers and their laboratories. This extension will be referred to as extended QDN. It allows us to discuss bit power sets, laboratories, the universal register, contextual vacua, and the creation of quantized detector apparatus. This extended formalism is used to describe the Elitzur–Vaidman bomb-tester experiment and the Hardy paradox experiment.
A central concept running through this book is that of the observer, the enigmatic “I” of I think therefore I am. The problem is that, despite the many triumphs of quantum mechanics (QM), the physics of the observer and observation is still not well understood.
Regardless of how observers are defined and whether classical or quantum principles are involved, physicists generally believe that classical information in some form is extracted from systems under observation (SUOs) in actual physics experiments. In all branches of science, their language reflects this belief: experimentalists talk of measuring an electron's spin or the mass of a new particle, and so on.
The conceptual issues in quantum mechanics such as wave–particle duality, quantum interference, and nonlocality gave the first indication that all might not be well with this perspective. We need only to look at the photon concept to appreciate some of the problems with the idea that photons are particles (Paul, 2004). There are experiments where a photon (that is, a signal) is detected from a crystal, but the atom “from whence it came” cannot be identified, suggesting that a cooperative process is involved, rather like the phonon concept in the physics of crystals.
The problem we have with the photon-as-particle concept is the gap in logic. If the particle interpretation is taken literally, then obvious questions about the physical structure or its equivalent of such particles spring up. Does such a particle have a “surface”? If it has a surface, what is that surface made of? These and other simple (minded) questions quickly lead to the conclusion that the particle concept is a convenient and economical objectification of context. In other words, a useful illusion.
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- Information
- Quantized Detector NetworksThe Theory of Observation, pp. 322 - 342Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2017