The basic ideas of quantum mechanics

2025/09/19 by David Ellerman, Ellerman, David
Chemistry · Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #History and advancements in chemistry #Quantum Mechanics and Applications #Quantum Physics (quant-ph)

paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2509.15819

openalex publication_date 2025/09/19 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

For a century, quantum theorists have been reading the mathematical entrails of quantum mechanics (QM) to divine the nature of quantum reality. But to little avail. In this paper a different approach is taken, namely to identify and explain the basic intuitive ideas involved in QM. This does not tell one how those basic `gears' all mesh together in the beautiful mathematics of QM. But this does give one some intuitive (anschaulich)) ideas about the quantum reality described in the seemingly hard-to-interpret mathematical framework.

Citations

• The Philosophy and Physics of Duality
• The Logic of Partitions: Introduction to the Dual of the Logic of Subsets
• Decoherence, einselection, and the quantum origins of the classical
• Experiment and the foundations of quantum physics
• On One-Parameter Unitary Groups in Hilbert Space

Related

• Understanding Quantum Mechanics (Beyond Metaphysical Dogmatism and Naive Empiricism)
• Interpretation of quantum theory - An overview
• On the Nature of Reality
• A primer on quantum mechanics and its interpretations
• A classical interpretation of quantum mechanics and the measurement problem