Debunking quantum myths: Einstein didn’t believe in quantum mechanics?
14 October 2024
Quantum myths – For decades quantum physics has been surrounded by a lot of mystery. We are sure lately you have heard a lot of quantum lies so today we’re starting a new series of posts talking about quantum myths that need to be busted!
2. Einstein didn’t believe in quantum mechanics
You have probably heard that Albert Einstein didn’t believe in all that quantum mumble jumble, so if one of the biggest physicists of history didn’t approve of quantum mechanics why should we?
As you can tell by the title of this post, the idea that Einstein didn’t believe in quantum mechanics is a bit of a myth. It’s true that he had beef with certain parts of the theory, but saying he didn’t believe in it at all is a big stretch.
Einstein was actually one of the firsts scientists that worked on something close to quantum theory in the early 20th century. Back in 1905, he wrote his famous paper on the photoelectric effect, which helped prove that light has a dual behaviour: it can act like both a wave and a particle. This paper was so relevant that it won him the Nobel Prize. So, right off the bat, we can see that Einstein wasn’t exactly anti-quantum.
Where does this myth come from then? Einstein’s issues were with the probabilistic nature of quantum mechanics. He wasn’t a fan of the idea that particles didn’t have definite properties until someone looked at them. Here comes his famous quote “God does not play dice with the universe”. Okay, he said that, but he didn’t mean “quantum mechanics is fake”, he was a talking about the randomness surrounding it. He didn’t like the idea that the universe was not predictable and well-ordered.
Einstein’s scepticism was front and centre in the 1935 Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) Paradox paper, which he wrote with Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen. This paper introduced the idea of “spooky action at a distance” (also known as entanglement) and questioned whether quantum mechanics told the whole story. Again, Einstein wasn’t saying quantum mechanics was wrong; he just thought there had to be a deeper (more deterministic) layer beneath it.
Despite his concerns, Einstein’s work in quantum mechanics was ground-breaking. His debates with other physicists like Niels Bohr were legendary and helped shape the theory into what we know today. So, while Einstein had his doubts, it’s clear he just wanted a deeper understanding before committing to a whole new theory that would change the way we see the universe.
Saying Einstein didn’t believe in quantum mechanics is like saying he didn’t believe in literature just because he didn’t like one book. He definitely was at his desk writing one the most important chapters in the books of quantum history.