The Many Hidden Worlds of Quantum Mechanics

Fasten your seat belts and take off into the realm of multiple, maybe even infinite, worlds. Professor Carroll explains how quantum mechanics predicts...

Investigate the classical picture of reality, which is how physicists thought the world worked before quantum mechanics. Codified by Isaac Newton, cla...

The widely accepted system of classical physics began to unravel in 1900 when Max Planck proposed an idea that later became known as the quantum. Elab...

Transition from the old quantum theory to full-fledged quantum mechanics with the mathematically elegant concept of the wave function, derived by Erwi...

Quantum mechanics was disquieting to anyone trained in classical physics. To dispel this unease, Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg devised the "Copenha...

Consider exactly what Heisenberg meant by his uncertainty principle, which is often misstated, even by physicists. Go deeper into wave-particle dualit...

Explore the fundamental quantum property of particles known as "spin," which can come in binary states, like the 0 and 1 bits in digital computing. Fo...

Focus on Einstein's objection to a specific feature of quantum mechanics called entanglement, which he termed, "spooky action at a distance." When two...

Use concepts developed in the course so far to learn how physicist Hugh Everett arrived at a bold new approach to quantum mechanics. Called the Many-W...

Focus on decoherence, which does the same work in Many-Worlds as the collapse of the wave function in the Copenhagen Interpretation. Both explain what...

Many-Worlds theorist David Deutsch helped pioneer quantum computing, which he argues is an outgrowth on the Many-Worlds Interpretation. Investigate th...

The Many-Worlds view seems to defy common sense. Why can't we see the other worlds? And don't they violate the laws of physics and other rules of natu...

Address another objection to the Many-Worlds Interpretation: its testability. This refers to philosopher Karl Popper's famous falsifiability criterion...

Yet another hurdle for Many-Worlds is the origin and nature of probability. The Copenhagen version of quantum mechanics is fundamentally probabilistic...

Given the mind-boggling implications of Many-Worlds, many physicists have sought plausible alternatives. In this lecture, consider the possibility of...

Does the wave function tell the whole story? Explore the hidden variable theory, devised by Louis de Broglie and refined by David Bohm. According to t...

Since quantum mechanics and consciousness are both mysterious, could they be connected in some way? Examine several arguments that relate quantum phen...

How does the structure of observed reality emerge from the wave function in Many-Worlds? In other words, where do the worlds come from? This question...

Quantum theory accounts for a remarkable array of particles and forces-but not gravity. Learn why constructing a successful theory of quantum gravity...

Starting with the basic ingredients of quantum theory-wave functions, Schrödinger's equation, and entanglement-and following the Many-Worlds approach,...

As space might be an emergent property of quantum entanglement, could the same be true of time? Divide a wave function into subsystems and watch how t...

Get philosophical by probing a pair of profound questions that arise from the far-out implications of Many-Worlds. Are multiple branching worlds cause...

A theory in which every moral act entails an immoral one taking place in a branching universe is rife with ethical quandaries. Now, consider whether y...

Many-Worlds and competing theories on the foundations of quantum mechanics may seem essential for our understanding of reality, but they were long ign...