CarbonCopy Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 The Quantum world is inherently unpredictable. So, how do we conduct experiments at such a low scale and get reliable results. If the results are different for different observers, then doesn't the scientific method fail ? Then doesn't science fail as well ? I'm not able to understand this. Any help is appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajb Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 The Quantum world is inherently unpredictable. So, how do we conduct experiments at such a low scale and get reliable results. If the results are different for different observers, then doesn't the scientific method fail ? Then doesn't science fail as well ? I'm not able to understand this. Any help is appreciated. The theory is not unpredictable as such, but rather the predictions are probabilistic. So yes, if you run an experiment one time you may get a different result next time you run it. So you run the experiment many many times and see if the results are consistent with the probabilistic predictions of quantum mechanics. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansont Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 To add to what ajb stated, "inherently unpredictable" sounds a lot like "anything goes", and that's not a reasonable description of QM. Not knowing if a system is in e.g. state A or state B still limits you to those states, and is not the same as possibly being an in any state. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarbonCopy Posted January 3, 2013 Author Share Posted January 3, 2013 Sorry, I think I used the wrong words in my first post. So, you can use the scientific method, but, you can only test the probabilistic predictions. Is that what all the physicists do for testing quantum theories ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swansont Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Sorry, I think I used the wrong words in my first post. So, you can use the scientific method, but, you can only test the probabilistic predictions. Is that what all the physicists do for testing quantum theories ? It's a tad more complicated than that. The test depends on the experiment you are running. You can test outcomes that depend on QM being correct that aren't direct probabilities, and not all aspects of QM are probabilities. Quantized energy and angular momentum states, for example, are ramifications of QM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Angel Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 It's a tad more complicated than that. The test depends on the experiment you are running. You can test outcomes that depend on QM being correct that aren't direct probabilities, and not all aspects of QM are probabilities. Quantized energy and angular momentum states, for example, are ramifications of QM. Another example is superconductivity, which is a phenomenon explainable only via quantum mechanics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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