Sean Carroll | The Hidden Reality of Quantum Physics

Sean Carroll, the American theoretical physicist who specializes in quantum mechanics, gravity and cosmology explains the hidden reality of the micro-world.

The fundamental theory in physics which describes the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles, is known as quantum mechanics. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, quantum field theory, quantum technology, and quantum information science.


Sean Carroll explains to us in simple turns the mysterious properties of quantum physics. He thinks that we should try to understand quantum mechanics even though prominent physicists like Richard Feynman thought no one can understand quantum mechanics. 


Quantum mechanics arose gradually from theories to explain observations which could not be reconciled with classical physics, such as Max Planck's solution in 1900 to the black-body radiation problem.


Sean Carroll mentions how predictions of quantum mechanics have been verified experimentally to an extremely high degree of accuracy.


He also explains the wave function collapse of quantum mechanics. Another spooky aspect in quantum mechanics is when quantum systems interact with each other and the result can be the creation of quantum entanglement: their properties become so intertwined that a description of the whole solely in terms of the individual parts is no longer possible.


Contrary to popular belief, entanglement does not allow sending signals faster than light.


Quantum mechanics is perhaps the most successful theory ever formulated. For almost a century, experimenters have subjected it to rigorous tests, none of which called its foundations into question. It is truly one of the major triumphs in modern physics.