Was Albert Einstein Wrong on Quantum Physics?

Abstract

Albert Einstein is considered by many physicists as the father of quantum physics in some sense. Yet there is an unshakable view that he was wrong on quantum physics. Although it may be a subject of considerable debate, the core of his allegedly wrong demurral was the insistence on finding an objective reality underlying the manifestly bizarre behavior of quantum objects. The uncanny wave-particle duality of a quantum particle is a prime example. In view of the latest developments, particularly in quantum field theory, the objections of Einstein are substantially corroborated. Careful investigation suggests that a travelling quantum particle is a holistic wave packet consisting of an assemblage of irregular disturbances in quantum fields. It acts as a particle because only the totality of all the disturbances in the wave packet yields the energy-momentum with the mass of a particle, along with its other conserved quantities such as charge and spin. Thus the wave function representing a particle is not just a fictitious mathematical construct but embodies a reality of nature as asserted by Einstein.

Quanta 2015; 4: 35–42.