January 14, 2018 Monday
Bedtime Story
Origin of the Term "Copenhagen Interpretation"
It is not exactly known how the term
Copenhagen interpretation came into being.
It is well known that both Niels Bohr and
Werner Heisenberg did their pioneering work at the Institute of Theoretical
Physics founded by Bohr within the University of Copenhagen.
Did you know who or what funded the
establishment of this Institute?
It was the money that came from alcoholics,
tipplers and beer lovers as it was founded by the donation from Carlsberg
Group.
Later Rockefeller Foundation poured in its extra
bit.
Following their pioneering work Heisenberg
was invited in 1929 by the University of Chicago to conduct a series of
lectures explaining the new field of quantum mechanics.
The content of these lectures were later
converted into a book titled “The Physical Principles of Quantum Theory” (1930)
that has been described as “less technical and less involved account of the
theory”.
In the preface of this first edition
Heisenberg wrote:
“On the whole, the book contains nothing that
is not to be found in previous publications, particularly in the investigations
of Bohr.
The purpose of the book seems to me to be
fulfilled if it contributes somewhat to the diffusion of that ‘Copenhagen
spirit of quantum theory’ if I may so express myself, which has directed the
entire development of modern atomic physics.”
It is perhaps from this preface and from
the term ‘Copenhagen spirit’ (in German it was ‘Kopenhagener Geist’) that the
term “Copenhagen interpretation” has found its origins and derivations.
There is even today no complete agreement
on the understanding of mathematical formalism of quantum mechanics.
The Copenhagen Interpretation can be
broadly summarized by the following points:
A wave function represents the state of a
system.
The state encapsulates everything that can
be known by the system before it is observed.
The wave function evolves over time if
considered in isolation from other systems.
This state that the wave function
represents is subject to Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle also sometimes
known as principle of incompatibility.
The incompatibility of the state manifests
in the sense that certain properties cannot be jointly defined for the same
system at the same time.
So it means that even though the wave
function encapsulates everything that there is to know about a system it comes
with the constrain of knowability.
Any observation with respect to the wave
function is an act of its disturbance.
Stay tuned to the voice of an
average story storytelling chimpanzee or login at http://panarrans.blogspot.com
Good night Mon Ami and my fellow cousin ape.
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Another great educator and a teacher that I am aware of is
Professor Subhashish Chattopadhyay in Bangalore, India.
While I narrate stories, Professor Subhashish an electronic
engineer and a former professor at BARC, does and teaches real mathematics and
physics.
He started the participation of Indian students at the
International Physics Olympiad.
Do visit him here:
All his books can be downloaded for free through this link:
For edutainment and English education of your children, I
recommend this large collection of Halloween Songs for Kids:
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