Quantum Physics Takes Free Will into Account

Author(s):  
Ignacio Cirac ◽  
Adolfo Plasencia

In this dialogue, the physicist Ignacio Cirac, director of the Theoretical Division of the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics, outlines why quantum physics has brought about a much greater change than that caused by Einstein’s theory of relativity, how quantum physics takes free will into account and how it combines with philosophy. He describes why quantum theory defines “everything else,” yet is unable to define itself. Explaining how, together with Peter Zoller, he developed and presented the first theoretical description of a quantum computing architecture based on trapped ions, and, how this quantum architecture will be viable and capable of performing calculations we cannot perform at present. Their quantum computer calculates in qubits, which would require at least 100,000 qubits to function, rising to 1,000,000 if error correction is implemented. It will be able to perform calculations previously unachievable and create encrypted messages impossible to decipher. Building a functional quantum computer still requires a huge technological change, which has yet to come about. Lastly, Cirac explains the differences between European and American visions of science and why mathematicians are even more conservative than physicists.

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 18-24
Author(s):  
M.N. Borisevich ◽  
◽  
V.I. Kozlovsky ◽  

The foundations of quantum physics have been laid by Max Planck, who suggested that energy couldn’t be absorbed and radiated continuously, but only in separate portions - these portions were called quanta. His ideas were confirmed in numerous physical experiments on the photo effect, the structure of the atom and atomic nucleus, brilliantly performed by Bohr and Rutherford. All this in the aggregate made it possible to eliminate the border between matter and waves, predicted by Louis de Broil. In this way the foundations of quantum mechanics were laid = Heisenberg and Schrödinger did this work. Many manifestations of quantum physics can already be observed in everyday life. These are optical quantum generators, computer CDs, and integrated circuits and lots and lots of this. In recent years, the researchers have drawn their attention to other quantum physics applications related to queries. By their design, this work will be carried out in the future by quantum computers. The article presents a short report on the quantum computer and the prospects for its use in quantum medicine.


2021 ◽  
pp. 146-162
Author(s):  
A. J. Kox ◽  
H. F. Schatz

Chapter 8 describes, in terms that are accessible to a general audience, the development of quantum theory and general relativity in the first decades of the twentieth century and in particular Lorentz’s contributions to these theories. Among other topics, it discusses radiation theory, the work of Max Planck, the work of Einstein, and the work of Niels Bohr. These scientific developments eventually led to the end of classical physics. Special attention is paid to Lorentz’s acceptance of Einstein’s general relativity.


Nature ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 587 (7835) ◽  
pp. S112-S112
Author(s):  
Chris Woolston

Author(s):  
Aku Visala ◽  
Olli-Pekka Vainio

SummaryIn this article, we will use contemporary analytic tools to make sense of the main arguments in the classic debate on free will between Erasmus of Rotterdam and the Reformer Martin Luther. Instead of offering another exegesis of these texts, we put forward an analysis that links this historical debate with contemporary discussions on free will and grace in philosophical theology. We argue that the debate was ultimately about how three theological core claims are related to one another: the Anti-Pelagian Constraint (humans are incapable of willing any good, in order to come to faith), the Responsibility Principle (humans are morally responsible in the eyes of God) and human free will. Erasmus attacks Luther by arguing that the Responsibility Principle cannot be maintained without free will, while Luther responds by arguing that Erasmus must reject free will, because it is in conflict with the Anti-Pelagian Constraint. Luther is then left with the dilemma of justifying the Responsibility Principle without free will – a task, which in our estimation, fails. In the concluding section of the article, we point out some continuities and discontinuities between the contemporary debate and that of Luther and Erasmus.


Author(s):  
T. N. Palmer

A new law of physics is proposed, defined on the cosmological scale but with significant implications for the microscale. Motivated by nonlinear dynamical systems theory and black-hole thermodynamics, the Invariant Set Postulate proposes that cosmological states of physical reality belong to a non-computable fractal state-space geometry I , invariant under the action of some subordinate deterministic causal dynamics D I . An exploratory analysis is made of a possible causal realistic framework for quantum physics based on key properties of I . For example, sparseness is used to relate generic counterfactual states to points p ∉ I of unreality, thus providing a geometric basis for the essential contextuality of quantum physics and the role of the abstract Hilbert Space in quantum theory. Also, self-similarity, described in a symbolic setting, provides a possible realistic perspective on the essential role of complex numbers and quaternions in quantum theory. A new interpretation is given to the standard ‘mysteries’ of quantum theory: superposition, measurement, non-locality, emergence of classicality and so on. It is proposed that heterogeneities in the fractal geometry of I are manifestations of the phenomenon of gravity. Since quantum theory is inherently blind to the existence of such state-space geometries, the analysis here suggests that attempts to formulate unified theories of physics within a conventional quantum-theoretic framework are misguided, and that a successful quantum theory of gravity should unify the causal non-Euclidean geometry of space–time with the atemporal fractal geometry of state space. The task is not to make sense of the quantum axioms by heaping more structure, more definitions, more science fiction imagery on top of them, but to throw them away wholesale and start afresh. We should be relentless in asking ourselves: From what deep physical principles might we derive this exquisite structure? These principles should be crisp, they should be compelling. They should stir the soul. Chris Fuchs ( Gilder 2008 , p. 335)


PMLA ◽  
1975 ◽  
Vol 90 (3) ◽  
pp. 447-460
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Schneider

AbstractThe divided self in James’s fiction may be regarded as an inevitable structural consequence of James’s desire to dramatize the problem of the free spirit in an enslaving world. But the divided self required by art is not essentially different from the divided self known to psychology, and an understanding of the anxieties of that self, particularly of the “obsessive imagery” James uses to depict those anxieties, enriches our understanding of James’s work. The fear of a world that threatens one’s being issues in an elaborate development of an escape motif; of imagery of seizure by the eye and by the world of appearances; and of imagery of petrification, reflecting a dread of being turned into a mere tool or machine. James’s vision of “the great trap of life” permits him to come to terms with his own limitations and culminates in a searching philosophic examination of the problem of free will and determinism.


2014 ◽  
Vol 1078 ◽  
pp. 413-416
Author(s):  
Hai Yan Liu

The ultimate goal of quantum calculation is to build high performance practical quantum computers. With quantum mechanics model of computer information coding and computational principle, it is proved in theory to be able to simulate the classical computer is currently completely, and with more classical computer, quantum computation is one of the most popular fields in physics research in recent ten years, has formed a set of quantum physics, mathematics. This paper to electronic spin doped fullerene quantum aided calculation scheme, we through the comprehensive use of logic based network and based on the overall control of the two kinds of quantum computing model, solve the addressing problem of nuclear spin, avoids the technical difficulties of pre-existing. We expect the final realization of the quantum computer will depend on the integrated use of in a variety of quantum computing model and physical realization system, and our primary work shows this feature..


2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Henry

The claim that chemistry has been explained in terms of quantum theory is received wisdom. Yet quantum physics is unable to explain the strong association of water molecules in liquid or ice. Marc Henry suggests the hydrogen bond is an emergent property of matter resulting from a non-linear coupling between quantified energy levels of water molecules and a quantified internal electromagnetic field.


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