startswithabang: This Is Why Quantum Field Theory Is More Fundamental Than Quantum Mechanics “

startswithabang: This Is Why Quantum Field Theory Is More Fundamental Than Quantum Mechanics “But the motivation for quantizing the field is more fundamental than that the argument between those favoring perturbative or non-perturbative approaches. You need a quantum field theory to successfully describe the interactions between not merely particles and particle or particles and fields, but between fields and fields as well. With quantum field theory and further advances in their applications, everything from photon-photon scattering to the strong nuclear force was now explicable.”What’s wrong with quantum mechanics? It might surprise you to hear that the answer is, “it isn’t quantum enough.” The enormous differences between the quantum and the non-quantum Universe are so striking, as we replace:* continuous matter with discrete particles,* ideal points with dual-nature wave/particle quanta,* and observable properties like position and momentum with quantum mechanical operators containing an inherent uncertainty.But it’s still not enough. For one, the original (Schroedinger) equation of quantum mechanics doesn’t play nice with relativity, but even the relativistically invariant versions don’t describe reality fully. Why not? Because only the particles are quantized in quantum mechanics. To reveal the full behavior, you need to quantize their fields and interactions, too.Here’s how quantum field theory succeeds where quantum mechanics fails, and why Einstein’s dreams of unification were abandoned upon his death. -- source link

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