We put a cat in a box with some lethal agent (like a vial of poison gas) triggered by a quantum process (like the decay of a radioactive atom), and we close the lid. So how does this help us understand quantum theory?Д¬onsider the well-known quantum puzzle of SchrГ¶dingerвЂ™s cat. Together they make up an objectвЂ™s state.ДЄccording to RovelliвЂ™s relational interpretation, these properties are all there is to the object: there is no underlying individual substance that вЂњhasвЂќ the properties. These properties of a quantum object are determined through experiment, and include things like the objectвЂ™s position, momentum, and energy. He claims the objects of quantum theory, such as a photon, electron, or other fundamental particle, are nothing more than the properties they exhibit when interacting with вЂ“ in relation toВ вЂ“ other objects. Rovelli makes use of this idea to understand quantum mechanics.

The relational view of space and time was a key inspiration for Einstein when he developed general relativity. This is the вЂњrelationalвЂќ view of space and time: they are only the spatial and temporal relationsВ between objects and events. If we removed the contents of the universe, we would remove space and time also. Leibniz, on the other hand, claimed that space and time were nothing more than the sum total of distances and durations between all the objects and events of the world. This is the вЂњabsoluteвЂќ view of space and time. That is, if we could remove the contents of the universe вЂ“ all the planets, stars, and galaxies вЂ“ we would be left with empty space and time. Newton claimed space and time acted like a вЂњcontainerвЂќ for the contents of the universe. What does it mean to be relational?Дuring the scientific revolution, the English physics pioneer Isaac Newton and his German counterpart Gottfried Leibniz disagreed on the nature of space and time. Instead, Rovelli argues we should adopt a вЂњrelationalвЂќ worldview. But as Italian physicist Carlo RovelliВ argues in his new book Helgoland, quantum theory вЂ“ the physical theory that describes the universe at the smallest scales вЂ“ almost certainly shows this worldview to be false. This view of the world is responsible for much of our scientific advancement since the 17th century. According to this view, the world is like a giant clockwork machine whose parts are governed by set laws of motion.

This assumption has its origin in the scientific revolution of the 17th century, and is part of what we call the mechanistic worldview. In Helgoland, physicist Carlo Rovelli lays out a new way to think about quantum mechanics вЂ“ and reality itself.Д®xpecting objects to have their own independent existence вЂ“ independent of us, and any other objects вЂ“ is actually a deep-seated assumption we make about the world.

Schrodinger theory