Bohmian trajectories and the ether: where does the analogy fail?

DOI10.1016/J.SHPSB.2005.09.005zbMATH Open1223.81036arXivquant-ph/0502049OpenAlexW2050026222MaRDI QIDQ643044FDOQ643044

Authors: Louis Marchildon 

Publication date: 27 October 2011

Published in: Studies in History and Philosophy of Science. Part B. Studies in History and Philosophy of Modern Physics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: Once considered essential to the explanation of electromagnetic phenomena, the ether was eventually discarded after the advent of special relativity. The lack of empirical signature of realist interpretative schemes of quantum mechanics, like Bohmian trajectories, has led some to conclude that, just like the ether, they can be dispensed with, replaced by the corresponding emergence of the concept of information. Although devices like Bohmian trajectories and the ether do present important analogies, I argue that there is also a crucial difference, related to distinct explanatory functions of quantum mechanics.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0502049

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zbMATH Keywords

informationetherinterpretationquantum mechanicsBohmian trajectories

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

General and philosophical questions in quantum theory (81P05)

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Cited In (1)

• Why is the transference theory of causation insufficient? The challenge of the Aharonov-Bohm effect

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