Metaphors in Quantum Mechanics
Quantum mechanics describes fundamental natural phenomena that are not accessible for direct human perception. Not surprisingly, it appears from empirical data that QM phenomena (quantum world) are just not compatible with classical images, notions, relations created by perceptions of ‘classical world’ directly accessible to human senses. The undeniable fully natural empirical fact is that the quantum world cannot be expressed in terms of the classical world language. The only solution found by great physicists (Schrodinger, Heisenberg, Pauli and others) is that QM phenomena may be completely described by the formal language of mathematics. Luckily, classical language appears helpful at formulating the results of QM math connections by appropriate “metaphors” from classical phenomena. The most known metaphors are from inanimate classical images as “particles”, “waves”, “local orbits”, “nonlocal entanglement” etc., they are related to nearly passive quantum phenomena. Different quantum phenomena are the substantially active ones such as QM wave function collapse. It seems that those may be appropriately described by metaphors taken from classical world of animate phenomena. In particular, it seems that the QM basic phenomenon of wave function collapse may be illustrated by the metaphor of “unconditional reflex” from physiology.Of cause, it is not necessary to point to deeper meaning of that metaphor. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;}
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