Quantum Physicist Vlatko Vedral Challenges Reality: No Space, No Time, No Particles-Only Quantum Numbers

Quantum physicist Vlatko Vedral has presented a radical perspective on the nature of reality, discarding long-held ideas such as particles, space, and time in favor of “Q numbers” quantum numbers as the ultimate building blocks of the universe. Speaking in a New Scientist interview, Vedral argues that observers don’t truly exist in the quantum sense, and what we perceive as reality is better understood through quantum entanglement than classical measurement or observation.

Vedral’s vision upends the traditional interpretation of quantum mechanics, which posits that outcomes in the quantum world depend on observation. Instead, he contends that everything in the universe should be treated equally according to quantum mechanics, emphasizing the primacy of entanglement rather than conscious observation. He illustrates this with the famous Schrödinger’s cat and Wigner’s friend paradoxes, highlighting that definitive outcomes are experienced individually within correlated, entangled branches of reality.

The physicist critiques the continued reliance on particles, space, and time as fundamental elements maintaining that these are useful pedagogical tools, not the bedrock of reality. Experiments in quantum physics, such as those involving Bose condensates and the testing of Bell’s inequalities, are cited as evidence supporting his theory: fundamental reality is made of quantum properties, not classical particles or fields. He further calls for future experiments to probe the quantum nature of gravity, suggesting that quantizing the gravitational field itself may hold answers to deeper mysteries.

Vedral’s ideas, once considered radical, are gaining ground among physicists seeking to unify quantum mechanics and general relativity and to resolve the paradoxes that emerge from their intersection. His message: to truly understand the universe, physics must embrace Q numbers and entanglement, shedding outdated distinctions between observers and observed, as well as space, time, and particles.

Reference:

New Scientist interview with Vlatko Vedral, “The Physicist Who Says Reality Is Not What It Seems”