Termin:
25.05.2005
18:15 Uhr
Is quantum mechanics 'incomplete' and do Einstein's principles
help complete it?
Sir Roger Penrose, Oxford University, UK
I shall argue that there is a clash of principles between those of Einstein's general relativity and those of quantum mechanics, and that this could lead to a resolution of Schrodinger's 'cat paradox'. In standard quantum mechanics, any superposition of two stationary massive states of equal energy is also stationary. But if we adopt Einstein's viewpoint that free fall is the natural 'inertial' state, then we find that a massive superposition leads to an illegal superposition of different vacua. This is resolved if the superposition decays to one or the other in a time scale that can be calculated on the basis of the amount of mass displacement between the two states. I shall report on the status of an experiment designed to test the physical validity of this conclusion.
Moderator:
Helmut Rauch, TU Wien, ÖAW
Veranstalter:
Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften (ÖAW), Industriellenvereinigung Wien und Österreichische Physikalische Gesellschaft
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