Quantum Identity

By Peter Pesic

Physicists have long struggled with the weirdness of quantum mechanics—a consequence of like particles being completely indistinguishable from one another

Physics

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May-June 2002

Volume 90, Number 3
Page 262

DOI: 10.1511/2002.9.262

Quantum mechanics is the heart of modern physics. It is the guiding thread in the maze of atoms and nuclei, the key to understanding the stability of matter. Despite this, quantum theory remains enigmatic, for its basic assumptions seem bewildering: Everything is both wave and particle; uncertainty and probability rule.

Michael Freeman / Corbis

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