Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of illustrations
- Preface
- Part I Perspectives on the 1927 Solvay conference
- Part II Quantum foundations and the 1927 Solvay conference
- 5 Quantum theory and the measurement problem
- 6 Interference, superposition and wave packet collapse
- 7 Locality and incompleteness
- 8 Time, determinism and the spacetime framework
- 9 Guiding fields in 3-space
- 10 Scattering and measurement in de Broglie's pilot-wave theory
- 11 Pilot-wave theory in retrospect
- 12 Beyond the Bohr–Einstein debate
- Part III The proceedings of the 1927 Solvay conference
- Appendix
- Bibliography
- Index
11 - Pilot-wave theory in retrospect
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 March 2013
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of illustrations
- Preface
- Part I Perspectives on the 1927 Solvay conference
- Part II Quantum foundations and the 1927 Solvay conference
- 5 Quantum theory and the measurement problem
- 6 Interference, superposition and wave packet collapse
- 7 Locality and incompleteness
- 8 Time, determinism and the spacetime framework
- 9 Guiding fields in 3-space
- 10 Scattering and measurement in de Broglie's pilot-wave theory
- 11 Pilot-wave theory in retrospect
- 12 Beyond the Bohr–Einstein debate
- Part III The proceedings of the 1927 Solvay conference
- Appendix
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
As we discussed in Section 2.4, in his Solvay lecture of 1927 de Broglie presented the pilot-wave dynamics of a non-relativistic many-body system, and outlined some simple applications of his ‘new dynamics of quanta’ (to interference, diffraction and atomic transitions). Further, as we saw in Section 10.2, contrary to a widespread misunderstanding, in the general discussion de Broglie's reply to Pauli's objection contained the essential points needed to treat inelastic scattering (even if Fermi's misleading optical analogy confused matters): in particular, de Broglie correctly indicated how definite quantum outcomes in scattering processes arise from a separation of wave packets in configuration space. We also saw in Section 10.4 that de Broglie was unable to reply to a query from Kramers concerning the recoil of a single photon on a mirror: to do so, he would have had to introduce a joint wave function for the photon and the mirror.
De Broglie's theory was revived by Bohm 25 years later (Bohm 1952a,b) (though with the dynamics written in terms of a law for acceleration instead of a law for velocity). Bohm's truly new and very important contribution was a pilot-wave account of the general quantum theory of measurement, with macroscopic equipment (pointers, etc.) treated as part of the quantum system. In effect, in 1952, Bohm provided a detailed derivation of quantum phenomenology from de Broglie's dynamics of 1927 (albeit with the dynamical equations written differently).
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- Quantum Theory at the CrossroadsReconsidering the 1927 Solvay Conference, pp. 224 - 241Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009