Albert Einstein and Quantum Mechanics, Essay Example

One of many things that make Albert Einstein one of the most prominent individuals in the history of science is that he rejected some of the statements of quantum mechanics. There have always been some concepts in new quantum theory that made many leading physicist concerned and worried. Therefore, Albert Einstein was concerned about the “chance” element being present in physics and quantum mechanics in particular. He was totally dissatisfied with the obvious randomness in nature, for he believed in nature’s mathematical laws and order. He once said: “You believe in the God who plays dice, and I in complete law and order in a world which objectively exists, and which I, in a wildly speculative way, am trying to capture.”(Holton & Elkana, 1997) Thus Einstein claims: “God does not play dice.” In this case “God” is used as a metaphor for nature and dice as a symbol of randomness. Thus, he did not believe in randomness. He considered the uncertainty to be provisional, thus having an underlying reality with defined particles’ positions and speed evolve in accordance with the deterministic laws. Even though this reality can be observed by God, the quantum nature of light still wouldn’t let us see it, except through the glass darkly. Albert Einstein observed the hand of God in the accurate nature of physical laws, in their simplicity, mathematical beauty, and elegance. Moreover, Einstein claimed that natural laws could not be like the throw of dice, for it would imply probability and randomness. However, quantum mechanics implies that fundamental level nature is essentially random and non-deterministic. Thus, Albert Einstein tried to overthrow the concept of non-deterministic universe in quantum mechanics using dice as an example.

References

Holton, G., & Elkana, Y. (1997). Albert Einstein: Historical and cultural perspectives. Courier Dover Publications.