Q&A: A Question Regarding Determinism and Quantum Mechanics
A Question Regarding Determinism and Quantum Mechanics
Question
Hello, I want to ask you, as a physicist, about the uncertainty principle. I don’t really understand the topic, but from what I understood, this principle says that a certain atom has some probability of being in place X and also some probability of being in place Y. That is, it isn’t really determined. How can this law actually be connected to our world? After all, we test laws by means of experiments and observation. It’s hard for me to think of an experiment in which one can show that an atom has a probability of being in one place or another, because in the end it will be found in one specific place, for whatever reason. You also said in the debate with Aviv that if they prove that an atom is supposed to be in a certain place but it is found somewhere else, then for you that is proof that it had “free choice”—so the question in short is: to what extent does this law fit with our reality? Thanks.
Answer
For that, you need to study physics. There are experiments that show this clearly, so it is definitely connected to our world. It is true that in the macroscopic world we do not see this, and there are good explanations for that as well.