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Einstein’s beef with quantum physics, explained | Jim Al-Khalili for Big Think
Posted
May 16, 2022
Views
412,963
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May 16, 2022
412,963
3,074
232
0.80%
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4:53Now PlayingThis interview is an episode from The Well, our new publication about ideas that inspire a life well-lived, created with the John Templeton Foundation.
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Watch Jim AlKhalili 's next interview ► How Einstein changed time forever
Quantum mechanics allows scientists to make accurate calculations, and the theory serves as the basis of many modern technologies, from lasers to solar panels.
However, scientists cannot agree on what the underlying equations actually mean. This is important because quantum mechanics has profound philosophical implications about the nature of reality.
Jim Al-Khalili agrees with Einstein that a common approach to quantum physics known as the Copenhagen interpretation (which is, essentially, "Shut up and calculate") is not enough to gain understanding of the real world.
Read the video transcript ►
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About Jim Al-Khalili:
Jim is a multiple award-winning science communicator renowned for his public engagement around the world through writing and broadcasting and a leading academic making fundamental contributions to theoretical physics, particularly in nuclear reaction theory, quantum effects in biology, open quantum systems and the foundations of quantum mechanics.
Jim is a theoretical physicist at the University of Surrey where he holds a Distinguished Chair in physics as well as a university chair in the public engagement in science. He received his PhD in nuclear reaction theory in 1989 and has published widely in the field. His current interest is in open quantum systems and the application of quantum mechanics in biology.
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Read more from The Well:
I put a camera on a monkey. Here’s how it shook my understanding of humanity
Atheism is not as rare or as rational as you think
System 1 vs. System 2 thinking: Why it isn’t strategic to always be rational
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