How does the classical world emerge from the quantum world?

In summary, Caslav Brukner and Johannes Kofler address the question of why billiard balls do not pass through both the slits at once or tunnel through walls while electrons and photons do. They argue that the world is classical even when measurements are taken that would normally coarse-grained it.
  • #1
bremsstrahlung
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Why do billiard balls does not pass through both the slits at once or tunnel through walls while electrons and photons do? Quantum phenomena are observed at room temperatures so how does decoherence theory account for such phenomena? I think only Caslav Brukner and Johannes Kofler have seriously addressed this question.

Classical world arising out of quantum physics under the restriction of coarse-grained measurements.

http://www2.mpq.mpg.de/~jkofler/Files/Publications/Kofler,%20Brukner%20%282007%29%20-%20A%20coarse-grained%20Schroedinger%20cat.pdf

Do classical laws arise from quantum laws?

Does this really solve the problem?
 
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  • #2
bremsstrahlung said:
Why do billiard balls does not pass through both the slits at once or tunnel through walls while electrons and photons do?

Its because just about everything, electrons even, is entangled and decohered, usually for macro stuff, into the position basis.

The detail can't be given in a post - but the following gives the full monty:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/3540357734/?tag=pfamazon01-20

Thanks
Bill
 
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  • #3
bremsstrahlung said:
Why do billiard balls does not pass through both the slits at once or tunnel through walls while electrons and photons do?
The idea of photon passing through both slits at once is only an interpretation of interference and I would even say that it is false as photons from independent lasers can show interference too.

So the first question is what sets "quantum world" and "classical world" apart. It seems that Kofler and Brukner are using Leggett and Garg version:
1. Macrorealism per se: A macroscopic object which has available to it two or more macroscopically distinct states is at any given time in a definite one of those states.
2. Noninvasive measurability: It is possible in principle to determine which of these states the system is in without any effect on the state itself or on the subsequent system dynamics.

While first is OK the second one is too antropocentric. And we could factor into the model invasive measurements. So I don't see that it limits applicability of classical models.

bremsstrahlung said:
Does this really solve the problem?
I don't think so. Before there was anyone who could do coarse-grained measurements there was no classical world?
 
  • #4
bremsstrahlung said:
Caslav Brukner and Johannes Kofler have seriously addressed this question.

Classical world arising out of quantum physics under the restriction of coarse-grained measurements.

I looked at this paper. It is a step in the right direction. But they write on p.2, right column, end of first paragraph in the arXiv version: ''It seems thus unavoidable that certain features of classicality have to be assumed beforehand.'' Thus it is not a full solution.

But it gives an explicit example verifying that the coarse-graining inherent in all macroscopic views of quantum physics makes the world classical. This is best visible in derivations of hydromechanics (a classical theory of fluids) from quantum field theory, and is consistent with my thermal interpretation of quantum mechanics.

Note that the coarse-graining in Nature is not done by measurement (the setting chosen in the paper) but simply by the fact that nothing can be resolved by its environment to arbitrarily high precision.
 
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Related to How does the classical world emerge from the quantum world?

1. What is the difference between the classical world and the quantum world?

The classical world is the observable, macroscopic world that we experience in our everyday lives, while the quantum world is the microscopic world of particles and energy that can only be described probabilistically.

2. How does the classical world emerge from the quantum world?

This is still a topic of debate and research in the scientific community, but one theory is that the act of measurement or observation by a conscious observer collapses the quantum wavefunction and leads to the emergence of classical behavior.

3. Can we observe and measure the quantum world directly?

No, the rules of quantum mechanics dictate that any observation or measurement will affect the state of the system being observed, making it impossible to directly observe the quantum world without altering it.

4. Are there any real-world applications of understanding the emergence of the classical world from the quantum world?

Yes, understanding this process is crucial for advancements in quantum technologies such as quantum computing, quantum cryptography, and quantum sensing.

5. What are some key experiments that have helped us understand the emergence of the classical world from the quantum world?

Some key experiments include the double-slit experiment, the quantum eraser experiment, and the delayed-choice quantum eraser experiment, which all demonstrate the wave-particle duality and the role of observation in the quantum world.

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