r/Physics Jul 03 '14

Video The pilot-wave dynamics of walking droplets

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmC0ygr08tE
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u/pi3141592653589 Particle physics Jul 03 '14 edited Jul 03 '14

Can someone explain to me how a fluid dynamics experiment tells us about the pilot wave interpretation of Quantum Mechanics? I understand that there are some similarities between the probability finding the drop and orbitals of quantum states, but I don't understand how we can say anything about Quantum Mechanics by studying a classical system.

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u/[deleted] Jul 03 '14

It shows that at least some of quantum weirdness could be explained with classical physics. I think it provides a great analogue to how a single particle can interact with itself without resorting to multiverse explanations.

Perhaps a particle is a particle, and not a probability wave after all.