The seven laws of Quantum Mechanics : banishing the bogeys

TL;DR

This paper proposes a simplified, memorable set of seven core principles of quantum mechanics, aiming to improve understanding and teaching by clarifying misconceptions and updating terminology.

Contribution

It introduces a concise, pedagogically friendly formulation of quantum mechanics through seven core laws, addressing misconceptions and advocating clearer terminology.

Findings

Seven core laws distill quantum mechanics into an accessible framework

Experimental evidence, including Nobel-winning work, affirms quantum mechanics' validity

Revised terminology can reduce misconceptions and improve learning

Abstract

The laws of quantum mechanics are couched in subtle mathematical language. The laws are not usually stated in a compact pedagogical form. Here I present a possible way to correct this. Essential facts can be distilled into seven statements that are easy to remember and easily referred back. Also, the current teaching of quantum mechanics is laden with words of negative connotations, originating as they did during the early decades of the subject when the subject was intellectually still puzzling. A wide variety of experiments in the intervening decades, not least those that were awarded the Nobel Prize of 2022 amply affirm the validity and substantial ``reality'' of Quantum Mechanics as a theory. I take a few of the inadequacies of classical framework to illustrate that some of the complaints against Quantum Mechanics are patently misplaced. Finally I discuss the bogeys such as ``wave article duality'', ``uncertainty'', ``indistinguishability'' ``statistics'' and ``entanglement'' and advocate adopting better terminology to save new learners from the old biases.