Hits:
Abbreviations:
NQT: Natural Quantum Theory – committed to spacetime realism, extended structures, and field dynamics.
IQT: Instrumental Quantum Theory – mainstream interpretation, relying on point particles, probabilistic ontology, and reification of spectral representations.
NQT undertakes a comprehensive audit of IQT’s mathematical formalism and identifies numerous overlooked issues. These problems accumulate and intertwine, ultimately undermining the scientific theory’s claim to physical realism.Each item below is a clear, testable, debatable proposition with concrete physical content.
I. Ontology and Theoretical Goals
| NQT | IQT |
|---|---|
| The goal of theory is to describe an observer-independent objective reality. | Theory provides only an algorithm for predicting measurement outcomes probabilistically. |
| Science must be intuitively graspable by the human mind. | Accepts “incomprehensibility” as a feature of nature. |
| Quantum mechanics is the spectral (frequency/momentum-space) projection of classical mechanics—including continuous field systems. | Treats quantum mechanics as a fundamental axiomatic system. |
| The wavefunction ψ is a spectral expansion coefficient of a physical field, not a physical entity. | Treats ψ as a probability amplitude or ontic entity (ψ-ontic/epistemic debate). |
| All physical quantities possess definite values; measurement is merely readout. | Physical quantities lack definite values prior to measurement. |
II. Particle Ontology and Structure
| NQT | IQT |
|---|---|
| The electron is an extended charge distribution at the Compton scale: λ_C = ℏ/(mc). | The electron is a structureless point particle. |
| The proton has a finite size (~10^−16 m); the Coulomb potential softens at short distances. | The proton is a point charge; potential diverges. |
| Charge distributions possess physical structure and can rotate, oscillate, and resonate. | Charge is a label attached to a point, with no dynamical structure. |
| A photon is a localized electromagnetic wave packet; its size is determined by wavelength and energy. | A photon is a massless point particle; wave–particle duality is mysterious. |
| Abandoning the point-particle assumption eliminates infinities and the need for renormalization. | Relies on renormalization to “absorb” divergences, treating it as a success. |
III. Spin, Magnetic Moment, and Angular Momentum
| NQT | IQT |
|---|---|
| Spin is the real rotation of an extended charge distribution (surface speed v ∼ c); angular momentum ∼ ℏ arises naturally. | Spin is an “intrinsic property” with no classical analogue. |
| A point particle with angular momentum ℏ/2 would require superluminal rotation, violating relativity. | Avoids this contradiction by declaring spin “non-classical.” |
| g ≈ 2 arises from misidentifying the electron’s extended spin structure as point-like. | g = 2 is “derived” from the Dirac equation without physical mechanism. |
| The anomalous magnetic moment (g−2) stems from field self-interaction (e.g., radiation damping). | Attributed to “virtual particle loops,” a fictitious process. |
| Magnetic moment orientation is determined by initial conditions and external-field dynamics (e.g., gyroscopic precession). | Claims moment can only take discrete values (±gℏ/2), denying continuous transitions. |
IV. Wave–Particle Duality and Measurement
| NQT | IQT |
|---|---|
| “Wave–particle duality” reflects the unity of an extended entity (ontology) and its statistical wave-like behavior (phenomenology). | Treated as a fundamental principle requiring context-dependent switching. |
| Double-slit interference results from the interaction between the electron field and slit geometry; each event has a definite trajectory. | Claims “a single electron passes through both slits,” requiring a probability wave. |
| Measurement is a single readout from system–instrument coupling. | Requires “wavefunction collapse,” a non-unitary process. |
| Wavefunction collapse does not exist; measurement is analogous to spectral filtering (e.g., prism dispersion). | Treats collapse as physical reality, requiring additional postulates. |
| Discrete outcomes (e.g., Stern–Gerlach splitting) arise from instrument resolution. | Misinterprets them as evidence of intrinsically discrete eigenstates. |
V. Reinterpretation of Mathematical Structures
| NQT | IQT |
|---|---|
| The commutator [x̂, p̂] = iℏ is a mathematical property of Fourier transforms. | Treated as a fundamental quantum postulate implying ontological non-commutativity. |
| The uncertainty principle is a Fourier limit in signal analysis: Δx·Δk ≥ 1/2. | Interpreted as “inherent randomness” or “observer disturbance.” |
| Operators are tools for spectral projection; physical quantities are local field functions. | Identifies operators directly with physical observables. |
| The path integral is a mathematical expression of spectral superposition; no real histories exist. | Claims “all paths are simultaneously real,” blurring causality. |
| Phase encodes relative timing of field oscillations; observable only in interference. | Grants phase ontological status (e.g., geometric phase, topological order). |
VI. Locality, Causality, and Interaction
| NQT | IQT |
|---|---|
| All interactions propagate continuously via local fields. | Momentum-space representation erases distance; interactions appear global. |
| Coulomb force is mediated by a local field in spacetime. | In momentum space, V(k) ∝ 1/k^2, obscuring mechanism. |
| Causal chains are complete: past → present → future. | Lacks trajectories; causality is ambiguous (e.g., delayed-choice misread as retrocausality). |
| Physical processes are traceable (e.g., tunneling driven by field fluctuations). | Described as “probabilistic jumps” with no mechanism. |
| Magnetic energy is a local physical quantity stored in the EM field. | Magnetic moment inserted directly into Hamiltonian; magnetic energy lacks spatial distribution. |
VII. Entanglement, Nonlocality, and Gauge
| NQT | IQT |
|---|---|
| Entanglement reflects ordinary wave correlations in shared vibrational modes of a multi-body system. | Interpreted as “spooky action at a distance.” |
| Measuring one particle reads one component of a shared mode; no information transfer occurs. | Misread as “instantaneous influence.” |
| Gauge transformations are mathematical redundancies; physical fields (E, B) are unchanged. | Misuses gauge freedom to “explain” magnetic orientation or Aharonov–Bohm effect. |
| The Aharonov–Bohm effect arises from local vector potential modulating the electron field’s phase. | Declared a “nonlocal topological effect,” detached from field ontology. |
| Bell inequality violations stem from shared history and boundary conditions, not superluminal influence. | Claimed as evidence for “ontological nonlocality.” |
VIII. Quantization and Origin of Energy Levels
| NQT | IQT |
|---|---|
| Quantization arises from discrete standing-wave modes under boundary conditions + natural charge quantization. | Relies on ad hoc quantization rules (e.g., L = nℏ). |
| Hydrogen energy levels are eigenfrequencies of an electromagnetic resonant cavity. | Viewed as mathematical eigenvalues of the Schrödinger equation. |
| s-state electrons can safely penetrate the nucleus due to softened potential. | Point-particle model cannot explain nuclear penetration. |
| Transitions are switches between resonant modes. | “Quantum jumps” lack dynamical description. |
| Thermal baths (e.g., CMB) compensate radiative losses, enabling dynamic steady states. | Relies on the postulate that “ground states do not radiate.” |
IX. Vacuum, Virtual Particles, and Renormalization
| NQT | IQT |
|---|---|
| The vacuum is the dynamic ground state of a field, not a special entity. | Vacuum possesses energy and can “create particles.” |
| Virtual particles do not exist; they are intermediate terms in perturbative calculations. | Often misinterpreted as physical processes (e.g., “photon exchange”). |
| Renormalization is a patch for the point-particle model’s defects. | Celebrated as a triumph of QFT. |
| Standard Model parameters should be derivable from field structure and symmetry breaking. | 19 free parameters are all experimentally input. |
X. Probability, Complementarity, and Pedagogy
| NQT | IQT |
|---|---|
| Probability arises from ignorance of initial conditions (as in classical statistics). | Declares “inherent randomness” (“God plays dice”). |
| Complementarity is unnecessary; wave and particle are two aspects of one reality. | Treated as a core principle; wave and particle are mutually exclusive. |
| High-precision weak measurements can simultaneously access “wave” and “particle” information. | Insists they are “mutually exclusive and unobservable together.” |
| Teaching aims to understand how the world works. | Teaching aims to compute measurement outcomes. |
| No Heisenberg cut; instruments are also quantum systems. | Requires an artificial classical/quantum divide. |
XI. Alternative Interpretations and Philosophical Stance
| NQT | IQT |
|---|---|
| Many-worlds, Bohmian mechanics, etc., introduce more exotic ontologies, violating Occam’s razor. | Considers them viable realist alternatives. |
| Decoherence explains the classical limit but not the origin of quantum behavior. | Mainstream view treats it as key to solving the measurement problem. |
| Adheres to scientific realism: the world exists independently of observation. | Leans toward instrumentalism or anti-realism. |
| Physical theories must have imaginable mechanistic pictures. | Accepts “mathematics for mathematics’ sake,” detached from intuition. |
XII. Unique Claims of Natural Quantum Theory (NQT-only)
“Quantum” is not a fundamental property but an emergent phenomenon of global wave systems.
Planck’s constant ℏ is a signature parameter of natural quantization (unit charge + discrete eigenmodes).
All quantum effects find counterparts within classical field theory.
Abandoning the point-particle assumption eliminates infinities, collapse, and nonlocality—pseudo-problems born of misrepresentation.
Spectral representation inherently loses locality, causality, energy distribution, and realism—this is the root of “quantum weirdness.”
The disappearance of magnetic energy, breakdown of causal chains, and loss of locality are fatal flaws of the spectral picture.
Particle trajectories remain valid and physically meaningful.
Gauge freedom cannot explain physical direction choices (e.g., magnetic moment); those are dynamical questions.
NQT introduces no new assumptions—it clarifies and integrates existing physics.
Conclusion
This checklist is not a rejection of quantum mechanics, but a re-attribution of its success and correction of its misinterpretations.Quantum mechanics “got it right” not because nature is inherently probabilistic or nonlocal, but because it unintentionally captured the spectral features of classical continuous fields under resonance conditions.The mission of Natural Quantum Theory is to:
Restore the field from its spectrum,
Restore mechanism from algorithm,
Restore nature from mystery.