According to New Scientist, physicist Vlatko Vedral proposes eliminating observers, particles, space, and time from our understanding of quantum reality, arguing that quantum numbers (q-numbers) are the fundamental essence of everything. The framework suggests that what we call “observation” is actually entanglement between systems, and proposes three experiments to validate this radical perspective. This approach aims to resolve long-standing quantum paradoxes while taking quantum theory’s implications to their logical conclusion.
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The Century-Long Quantum Conundrum
The observer problem in quantum mechanics dates back to the Copenhagen interpretation’s formulation in the 1920s, where measurement was treated as a special process that “collapses” the wave function. This created persistent philosophical problems, including Eugene Wigner’s famous thought experiment about conflicting realities between observers. The core issue has always been whether reality depends on conscious observation or whether quantum mechanics describes an objective reality independent of measurement. For decades, physicists have proposed various solutions from many-worlds interpretations to objective collapse theories, but none have achieved consensus or experimental verification that would settle the debate conclusively.
Radical Implications and Experimental Challenges
The proposal to eliminate space and time as fundamental entities represents one of the most extreme positions in contemporary physics. While it elegantly sidesteps the problem of quantizing gravity by treating the gravitational field like other quantum fields, it creates significant conceptual challenges. The suggestion that particles aren’t real but emerge from quantum numbers raises questions about how we explain particle-like behavior in high-energy collisions and detector measurements. The proposed experiments, including detecting entanglement with “ghost” photons and single-particle self-entanglement, face substantial technical hurdles despite being theoretically feasible with current technology.
The single-particle entanglement experiments referenced, including Björn Hessmo’s 2004 work at KTH, provide intriguing evidence but remain controversial in the physics community. Extending these results to massive particles like electrons or atoms, as suggested by collaborations with researchers like Jacob Dunningham at University of Sussex, would require unprecedented control over quantum systems and isolation from environmental decoherence. The proposal to make all physical constants into quantum numbers, following David Deutsch’s earlier suggestions, would fundamentally alter our understanding of constants that have been treated as fixed for centuries.
Broader Implications for Physics and Beyond
If validated, this framework could revolutionize how we approach quantum gravity and unification efforts. By treating the gravitational field as just another quantum field rather than as curved space-time, it offers a different path toward unifying general relativity with quantum mechanics. The research directions outlined by Chiara Marletto and others in their 2023 paper represent a growing movement to take quantum theory’s mathematical structure more seriously than its traditional interpretations.
The elimination of space-time as fundamental would have profound implications for cosmology and our understanding of the early universe. It suggests that the Big Bang might not represent the beginning of time but rather the emergence of time from a more fundamental quantum description. This perspective aligns with some approaches in loop quantum gravity and other background-independent theories but takes the concept further by questioning whether space-time emerges at all rather than being quantized.
Realistic Assessment and Future Directions
While intellectually compelling, this radical framework faces significant hurdles before gaining mainstream acceptance. The proposed experiments, including those suggested by researchers like Jim Franson at University of Maryland in his 2022 paper, will need to produce unambiguous results that cannot be explained by conventional quantum mechanics. The physics community remains rightly skeptical of interpretations that eliminate well-established concepts like particles and space-time without overwhelming experimental evidence.
The most promising aspect of this approach is its potential to resolve the measurement problem without introducing consciousness or special physical processes. By reframing quantum entanglement as the fundamental process rather than measurement, it offers a more natural explanation for quantum correlations. However, the framework will need to demonstrate clear advantages in making testable predictions that differ from standard quantum mechanics to move from philosophical speculation to viable physical theory. The coming decade of quantum experiments may determine whether this radical vision represents the future of physics or another fascinating dead end in our quest to understand reality’s deepest nature.
