What if objective reality does not really exist?

Can what we see be what it is?

Alternative and pseudo-scientific facts are often spread with lightning speed. Now, it seems, they were able to infect and science — at least, the quantum sphere. Despite the fact that science has always identified himself with the knowledge based on observation, measurement and analysis of, the strange rules of quantum mechanics shows that science, and its alternate version are entitled to the presence of its own arguments that make them right in any case.

Writes , observers — full-fledged player of the quantum world. According to one of the main tenets of this strange and least understood area of physics, a pair of particles can be in two places at the same time. Such a strange condition, little ukazyvayutsya with the macrocosm, called a superposition, which is destroyed at exactly the moment when you glance on the quantum system. The fact that nature could behave in such an unexpected way, has been proven in the laboratory, and, in particular, in the famous double slit experiment.

Experience Eugene Wigner

When in 1961 the physicist Eugene Wigner decided to implement strange at first glance thought experiment, he asks the question of what happens when application of the theory of quantum mechanics in relation to the observer, who at the same time he is the object for observation. Imagine that a friend of Eugene Wigner throws a quantum coin, which is in a superposition. Every time a friend of the scientist tosses the coin, researchers can observe a certain outcome — all known eagle or tails.

Assume that Wigner does not know about the presence of this factor, and according to the laws of quantum mechanics, it needs to describe and other, and the coin in order to be in the so-called superposition of all possible outcomes of the experiment. Thus defining quantum entanglement, Wigner can check the time superposition, using a special type of quantum measurement allows to unravel the superposition of the entire system and confirm or deny .

Eugene Wigner — the Creator of the paradox of “Wigner friend.”

When at some point, Wigner and his friend will want to compare the results in the end of the record, each researcher will decide to insist that he saw certain results for each throw of the coin. Eugene Wigner, at the same time, would deny the words of a friend whenever he watched a friend and a coin in a superposition.

In fact, the experiment Wigner represents a particular logic puzzle in which reality perceived by the other, will not be completely identical to objective reality. Meanwhile, the original researcher is not considered a manifestation of external effects in any particular paradox, arguing that it would be absurd to describe a conscious observer as a quantum object. It is known that later, the scientist decided to move away from this point of view, and according to the modern textbooks , the description of the experiment was quite fair and not inconsistent with the basic postulates of quantum physics.

However, the script development experience a thought for a long time remained only an interesting thought experiment. But can the unsubstantiated imagination of the scientist to reflect the actual reality? As you know, the progress was very small until such time when the Caslav Brukner from the University of Vienna was able to prove that under certain conditions, the idea of Eugene Wigner has the right to be used for formal proofs of the subjectivity of the measurements .

Bruckner decided to check the Wigner experience, having mentioned the scenario of the experiment within a framework that was first established by physicist John bell in 1964. It is known that Bruckner used two pairs of Vigneron Eugene and his friends are in two separate boxes and conduct measurements inside and outside their boxes. When a similar experiment was carried out at Edinburgh University Heriot-watt on one of the small quantum computers in the experiment was involved three pairs of entangled photons. The first pair of photons represented coins from the experiment Wigner, and the other two used to toss and polarization measurements of photons within a given box. Even using the most advanced quantum technologies, scientists took several weeks to collect enough data from six photons and to obtain certain statistics. So, the experiment showed that the measurements may not depend on the signals that move above the speed of light, allowing the observers to freely choose what measurement they want to do.

Another important paradox is, is it possible to count single photons observers. In the theory proposed by Bruckner, observers should not be consciousness, but only needs to be able to establish the facts in the form of a specific measurement result. It is also possible that standard quantum mechanics is not applicable in macrophysics, however, the possibility of verification this is a separate headache researchers.

Thus, the experiment Wigner shows that for some models of quantum mechanics, we need to rethink the notion of objectivity. Some physicists consider the experiment Wigner as an indirect proof of the existence of parallel universes where there are all kinds of variations of a particular action. Other researchers consider the test results as conclusive proof of quantum biasism, in which the actions and experience of the observer are the Central problems of the theory, weaves in not only physics, but also many philosophical questions about the fundamental nature of the universe.