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Multiversal Journeys
Founding Editor: Farzad Nekoogar
Yasunori Nomura · Bill Poirier · John Terning
Quantum Physics,
Mini Black Holes,
and the Multiverse
Debunking Common Misconceptions in
Theoretical Physics
Founding Editor: Farzad Nekoogar, President

Editorial Advisory Board: Thomas Buchert, Université Claude Bernard, Lyon, France
Lawrence M. Krauss, Arizona State University
Mark Trodden, University of Pennsylvania
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/7919
Yasunori Nomura • Bill Poirier • John Terning
Farzad Nekoogar
Founding Editor
Quantum Physics, Mini Black

Holes, and the Multiverse
Debunking Common Misconceptions in Theoretical
Physics
123
Yasunori Nomura Bill Poirier
Department of Physics Department of Physics, Department of Chemistry
University of California and Biochemistry
Berkeley, CA, USA Texas Tech University
[email protected] Lubbock, TX, USA
[email protected]
John Terning
Department of Physics
UC Davis
Davis, CA, USA
[email protected]
Founding Editor
Farzad Nekoogar
17328 Ventura Blvd.
Encino, CA 91316, USA
[email protected]
Multiversal JourneysTM is a trademark of Farzad Nekoogar and Multiversal Journeys, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
organization
ISBN 978-3-319-41708-0 ISBN 978-3-319-41709-7 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-41709-7
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017954954
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2018

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned,
specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in
any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by
similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even
in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore
free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true
and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied,
with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains
neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Printed on acid-free paper
This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature

The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
To Anne Longo – Bill
To my parents – Farzad
To Laura, Jackson, and Maya – John
v
Preface
A Sun manifested itself as a particle,

And little by little uncovered its face.
All other particles vanished in it;
The world became intoxicated by it and became sober.
Rumi
1207–1273
There is a wide gap between the public understanding of sci-

entific findings and the actual theories developed by scientists
in the area of physical sciences. The gap is very noticeable for
concepts in theoretical physics and cosmology primarily due to
the level of complexity and highly mathematical nature of these
theories. Meanwhile, there is a significant amount of miscon-
ceptions about theories involved in theoretical physics mainly
due to the existence of pseudoscience among some members of
the general public.
This book explores, explains, and debunks some common
misconceptions about quantum physics, particle physics, space-
time, and multiverse cosmology. It seeks to separate science
from pseudoscience. The material is based on a Multiversal Jour-
neys conference at the Lawrence Hall of Science–Berkeley in
2015 with authors of this book as the speakers.
Section one, addressing quantum physics, clarifies what the
basic experimental facts imply about the nature of non-locality,
the wave function, and what can be measured. It discusses two
key quantum experiments: the double-slit experiment and the
Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) experiment. In both cases, rea-
soning is by analogy with everyday situations that the reader is
vii
viii PREFACE
already familiar with, while the mathematics is kept to a bare

minimum. Interactive web-based animations for the double-slit
experiment can be found at www.mvjs.org.
Section two covers misconceptions about the size of elemen-
tary particles (no observable size, yet), the structure of atoms
(not like mini solar systems), particle colliders (how they are dif-
ferent from but related to microscopes), mini-black holes (why
they couldn’t have destroyed the Earth when the LHC turned),
the Higgs boson destroying the universe (what Stephen Hawk-
ing was really talking about), and parallel universes among other
topics.
The final section covers multiverse cosmology and related
misconceptions, showing that it follows the standard methodol-
ogy in science: forming a hypothesis about the natural world
based on observation (with the help of mathematics) and then
looking for evidence that further supports it. The multiverse
concept is at a different stage of development when compared to
quantum physics and space-time theories. It is a subject of cur-
rent research activity, rather than a construct of pseudoscience.
This section clarifies that the multiverse concept is based on
mathematics and that it is a prediction of string theory and eter-
nal inflation. A related documentary about the multiverse is
available online at www.mvjs.org.
The material is presented in a layperson-friendly language,
followed by additional technical sections which explain basic
equations and principles. This feature is very attractive to non-
expert readers who nevertheless seek a deeper understanding of
the theories and wish to explore beyond just the basic descrip-
tion.
I am grateful to Professor Sean Carroll for reviewing the
book. I would like to thank Professor Ken Wharton for his de-
tailed review of the section on quantum physics misconceptions.
I am indebted to the members of our book advisory coun-
cil: Professor Thomas Buchert, Professor Lawrence M. Krauss,
and Professor Mark Trodden, for their suggestions and advice.
I would also like to thank the staff of Springer, especially Tom
Spicer and Cindy Zitter, for making this project happen.
PREFACE ix
Finally, I would like to thank the authors of each section,

Professor Yasunori Nomura, Professor Bill Poirier, and Profes-
sor John Terning for co-authoring the book, and also for their pa-
tience throughout the book publication process. Special thanks
to Professor Bill Poirier for the macros and formatting style that
was used for the book.
Multiversal Journeys Farzad Nekoogar

September 2017
Contents
I Misconceptions in Quantum Physics 1

Bill Poirier
1 The Singular Quantum 3

1.1 Why Is Quantum Physics Weird? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2 What Do the Experts Say? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3 What Hope Is There for the Rest of Us? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.4 What Material Will Be Covered? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.5 How to Use This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2 The Bipolar Quantum: Wave-Particle Duality 13

2.1 Wave, Particle, or “Wavicle”? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2.2 Quantum Probability Waves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.3 Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3 Quantum Soccer: The Double-Slit Experiment 25

3.1 A Reasonable Doubt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3.2 Single-Slit Experiment: Classical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3.3 Single-Slit Experiment: Quantum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
3.4 Double-Slit Experiment: Classical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
3.5 Double-Slit Experiment: Quantum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
xi
xii CONTENTS
4 The Plural Quanta: Expanding the Wavefunction 35

4.1 Many-Particle Wavefunctions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
4.2 Wavefunction Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
4.3 Collapse and Schrödinger’s Cat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
5 The “Spooky” Quantum: Nonlocality 47

5.1 Entanglement and Hidden Variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
5.2 Bell’s Theorem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
5.3 EPRB as a Game of Coin Toss: Classical Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
5.4 EPRB as a Game of Coin Toss: Quantum Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
5.5 Playing the “What If?” Game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
6 Where the Weird Things Are 61

6.1 Where Are They? Where Are We? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
6.2 Interpretations of Quantum Physics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
6.3 Popular Depictions of Quantum Physics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Appendix I: Looking Under the Hood:

The Mathematical “Method” Behind the “Madness” 69
Appendix II: Further Reading 73
Appendix III: Glossary 75
II Misconceptions About Particles and Spacetime 79

John Terning
7 Particles 81
7.1 What Are Particles? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
7.2 Atoms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
7.3 Seeing Atoms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
CONTENTS xiii
8 Mini Black Holes 95

8.1 Black Holes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
8.2 Black Holes and Extra Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
9 Particle Colliders and the Universe 105

9.1 The Higgs Boson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
9.2 Parallel Universes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
10 Physics in the News 119

10.1 Cell Phone Radiation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
10.2 Cold Fusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
11 Epilogue 127
11.1 Spinach: A Cautionary Tale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
11.2 Moving Forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
12 Extra Material: The Equations Behind the Words 131

12.1 Units and Coordinates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
12.2 Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
12.3 Quantum Mechanics and Scattering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
12.4 Gravity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
12.5 Black Holes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
12.6 Black Holes in Extra Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
12.7 The Large Hadron Collider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
12.8 Complex Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
12.9 Group Theory: Rotations and Spinors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
12.10 The Higgs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
12.11 Fusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Further Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
More Technical Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Image Credits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
xiv CONTENTS
III Misconceptions about the Multiverse 175

Yasunori Nomura
13 The Basic Picture 177

13.1 Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
13.2 Motivation: Observational . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
13.3 Motivation: Theoretical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
13.4 New Spacetime Picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
14 Demystifying the Multiverse 193

14.1 Scientific and Conservative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
14.2 Anthropic “Principle” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
15 Relation to Observation 199

Epilogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
References and Further Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Index 207
Part I:
Misconceptions in
Quantum Physics
Bill Poirier
Chapter 1
The Singular Quantum
1.1 Why Is Quantum Physics Weird?
If you put the word “quantum” in a talk title at a (non-

physics) scientific conference, you will immediately lose the
interest of 90% of your audience. However, if you put the
same word in a public lecture title, the interest level in-
creases tenfold.
What is it about quantum physics that captures the
public fascination—yet scares off many professional scien-
tists and engineers—more than just about any other sub-
ject? Is quantum physics somehow fundamentally “dif-
ferent” from all other areas of scientific inquiry? Nearly
100 years after its discovery, the “true meaning” of the
quantum theory remains as elusive as ever—even as it con-
tinues to make the most accurate experimental predictions
in all of science. Quantum predictions of the
“fine structure constant” (re-
This odd dichotomy between ontological ambiguity, on lated to the electron’s charge)
the one hand, and predictive certainty, on the other, does agree with experiment to bet-
indeed put quantum physics in a rather unique—and per- ter than one part per billion.
haps even embarrassing—position among the sciences and
also among scientists, who continue to argue with each
other about what is really going on. Yet in truth, it seems Sometimes they argue more
that we may never know what is really going on in the quan- publicly. . .
tum world. This is not simply a matter of not yet having
invented the technology needed to perform the right exper-
iments but, rather, appears to be a fundamental limitation.
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2018 3

Y. Nomura et al., Quantum Physics, Mini Black Holes, and the Multiverse,
Multiversal Journeys, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-41709-7 1
4 CHAPTER 1. THE SINGULAR QUANTUM
For good or ill, this state of affairs implies that there

will likely always be debate, dissatisfaction, and disagree-
ment, at least among individuals with a philosophical or
foundational bent. On the other hand, in addition to such
legitimate controversy, a great many needless misconcep-
tions about quantum physics also abound. This narrative
therefore seeks to clarify, if not “debunk,” the most common
and/or egregious of these misconceptions, without making
any dogmatic and/or unprovable claims—e.g., about how
the quantum theory is to be interpreted.
1.2 What Do the Experts Say?
Writing on misconceptions about quantum physics is a chal-

lenge. In general, misconceptions depend very much on the
“beholder,” with one person’s “obvious fact” being another
person’s “preposterous fiction.” Of course, this is true for
any subject, but for quantum physics it is even worse; be-
cause the subject is so strange and unfamiliar, it is hard
not to have misconceptions about it.
Even the experts are not immune—not even a brilliant

one like Albert Einstein. Einstein’s own misconceptions
about quantum physics are famous, but. . . being Einstein,
even his misconceptions pointed the way to important un-
derstanding. Alas, most misconceptions that one finds in
popular depictions of the subject do not lead to great in-
Even Uncle Albert wasn’t al-
sight. In any event, we scientists have certainly also con-
ways right. . .
tributed our fair share to the general confusion. Indeed,
We can be forgiven for be- some of our own early misconceptions about quantum phys-
ing slightly confused; despite ics have continued to propagate even up to the present day.
the tendency of the press to
call us “baffled scientists,” in With those caveats out of the way, what do the experts
truth that’s not really news, tell us about quantum physics? Here are a few notable
that’s just our natural state! quotes, to be discussed in due course:
(see Einstein quote below. . . )
“If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn’t be called ‘research’.”
—attributed to Albert Einstein

1.2. WHAT DO THE EXPERTS SAY? 5
“The ‘paradox’ is only a conflict between reality and your feeling of what
reality ought to be.”
1
—Richard Feynman
“I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics.”

2
—Richard Feynman
“Richard Feynman is probably the most gifted practitioner of quantum me-

chanics in the first generation to have grown up with it.”
3
—David Mermin
Let’s start with Einstein. What exactly did he get

wrong about quantum physics? Well, he believed that
quantum objects possess definite attributes—like position,
velocity, shape, etc.—that we are used to associating with
macroscopic objects, such as baseballs. It was already un- Such objects are described by
derstood in the early days of the quantum theory that for classical physics—i.e., the fa-
quantum objects, we cannot actually observe all of these miliar, “clockwork” laws of
attributes simultaneously. However, there was a great de- Newton.
bate as to whether the unseen attributes—what we now call
“hidden variables”—actually exist or not.
To prove his point, Einstein came up with a famous
thought experiment now called the “EPR experiment.” The EPR stands for “Einstein-
jist of his argument was the following: if quantum theory Podolsky-Rosen,” being the
were correct, and hidden variables do not exist, then the three authors on the scientific
EPR experiment would imply a crazy reality—one involv- paper.
ing entanglement of faraway particles and “spooky action at
a distance.” This is what is known as the “EPR paradox.”
Einstein concluded that quantum theory must therefore be
wrong—and in particular, that it must be incomplete. How-
ever, he also offered a way out: hidden variables would not
only “complete” the theory, they would also provide a sen-
sible description of reality.
1 From The Feynman Lectures on Physics, vol III (Addison-
Wesley, 1965).
2 From The Character of Physical Law (British Broadcasting Cor-
poration, 1965).
3 From Boojums All the Way Through (Cambridge University
Press, 1990).
The problem with Einstein’s reasoning can be summed

up in Richard Feynman’s first quote above; reality does not
always do what we would like it to do. We might be inclined
to dismiss the EPR debate as so much metaphysical quib-
bling, were it not for the work of J. S. Bell. A decade after
Einstein’s death, Bell raised the stakes by showing that Ein-
stein’s “local” hidden variables are incompatible with the
experimental predictions of quantum theory—which now
proved to be not just crazy but TOTALLY INSANE.
In fact, EPRB (B for “Bell”) experiments have now been
first by J. F. Clauser and performed in the laboratory many times over, starting at
later (and more famously) by the University of California, Berkeley, in the early 1970s.4
A. Aspect. . . Lo and behold, the utterly insane quantum predictions that
Einstein would have found completely inconceivable are in
fact always observed in the lab, every time. So this makes
it official; Einstein’s local hidden variables do not exist. He
got it wrong, but in the end, his ideas nevertheless pointed
We will discuss the EPRB ex- the way toward important new experiments and insights.
periments, action at a dis-
tance, and the otherwise total The second quote from Richard Feynman above is an-
insanity, in Chap. 5. other fun one—this time, specifically pertaining to quan-
tum mechanics. Just in case you somehow do not know
You don’t know Richard who Richard Feynman is, and question his credentials, the
Feynman? Really? Google last quote above is by David Mermin, describing Feynman’s
him right now! Mermin is credentials. In a nutshell, Feynman is the guy who arguably
himself a famous physicist, understands quantum mechanics better than anyone else.
who wrote the classic book
on solid state physics.
1.3 What Hope Is There for the Rest of Us?
So, to summarize the situation thus far, regarding quantum

mechanics:
1. Einstein got it wrong.

2. Physicists continue to argue about what it means,
after nearly 100 years.
3. The best expert in the world seems to tell us it simply
cannot be understood.
4 J. F. Clauser, in Quantum [Un]speakables: From Bell to Quan-
tum Information, R. A. Bertlmann and A. Zeilinger, eds. (Springer,

2002).
1.3. WHAT HOPE IS THERE FOR THE REST OF US? 7
What hope is there, then, for the rest of us mere mor-

tals? How can I possibly hope to clarify this thorniest of
subjects for a non-expert (but presumably bright, knowl-
edgeable, and intellectually curious) reader such as yourself—
let alone for my own self?
It is a real challenge. Last year, I had lunch with Brian
Greene, who is famously good at relating complicated sci-
entific ideas such as string theory to a completely general
audience. I have a slightly easier task ahead of me, in that
this book is pitched at a somewhat higher “intermediate”
level. Nevertheless, I took the opportunity to ask Brian
how he was able to do what he does. I paraphrase, but his
response was something like the following:
World’s #1 quantum
physicist says its hopeless. . .
“Explaining string theory is easy; everybody at least understands the concept

of a string. Quantum physics, on the other hand, is the hardest.”
—Brian Greene
Given the challenge at hand, I am not going to try

to make you an expert, and I am certainly not going to
attempt to explain away all of the mystery of quantum
physics. I will, however, at least endeavor to inform you on That would be a fool’s errand,
what is definitively known about the subject vs. that which in my view.
is just speculation or flat out wrong. As a related but inde-
pendent goal, I also want you to understand clearly the dif-
ference between the quantum experiments themselves and
the theories we construct to try to explain and interpret
them. Armed with such understand-
ing, you will hopefully be bet-
In short, I want you to become a better quantum con- ter prepared when you next
sumer ! For better or for worse, there are a lot of quantum encounter the subject else-
“products” on the market these days—both tangible prod- where.
ucts, as well as in the marketplace of ideas. For instance,
you can procure the services of a new age “quantum healer.”
Or, if you are more of a do-it-yourself type, you can go to
Amazon and purchase a “quantum wand”—harnessing the Ironically, there is only one
mysterious and healthful powers of zero-point energy for purchase and a 0% satisfac-
only $42. tion rate—about as “quan-
tum” as you can get!
Perhaps most telling of all, if you do a search on amazon
for quantum-themed books, you will find a whopping 37,500
titles for sale. Most of these, I can assure you, are not On the Web:
www.amazon.com.
meant for practicing physicists, but for the general public,

who seem to have a huge appetite these days for all things
We will speculate on the rea- quantum. Like it or not, there is a huge quantum market
sons for this in Sect. 6.3. out there that you are being exposed to.
You are a quantum consumer, and in the same way
that you do not need to be an expert in auto mechanics to
learn how to buy a good car, you can learn to be a smart
quantum consumer—someone who understands what they
are buying, what to look for in the quantum product, what
questions to ask the sales rep, etc. My aim here is to provide
you with the tools you need to achieve this—like a kind of
Quantum Consumer Reports.
1.4 What Material Will Be Covered?
First and foremost, I aim to ground the discussion by

focusing on the basic experimental facts, above all else.
I will then address what the basic facts concerning quantum
physics imply about the nature of:
1. The quantum wavefunction.
2. What can be measured.
3. Quantum nonlocality.
Only then will I discuss the more esoteric aspects—i.e., the

headline-grabbing ramifications of the various metaphysical
interpretations of quantum physics.
In the next few chapters, I will provide an overview of
the basic quantum landscape, addressing key issues and
misconceptions as I go. I will start with the simplest ideas
not that there are any truly first and then gradually build up in complexity. Specifi-
simple ideas in quantum cally, I will start with wave-particle duality and work up
physics. . . to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, the double-slit ex-
periment, and Schrödinger’s cat. For the most part, the
though I will make every ef- presentation in these sections will not be very technical.
fort to be as accurate as pos- However, the level will “ramp up” considerably for the dis-
sible. . . cussions on wavefunction measurement (Sect. 4.2) and the
EPRB experiments (Chap. 5). The latter exemplifies that
most mysterious of all quantum phenomena, nonlocality.
1.4. WHAT MATERIAL WILL BE COVERED? 9
In keeping with my goal to make you a smart quantum

consumer, I will adopt a mostly “no-nonsense” approach,
focusing on the less controversial aspects of the subject. That is to say, those aspects
Likewise, I will keep the philosophical and historical dis- that have been proven in the
cussion to a minimum—though it would not be proper, nor laboratory beyond any shadow
even possible, to excise these interesting and important as- of a doubt.
pects entirely. That said, in the final chapter (Chap. 6), I
will engage in a slightly more speculative and philosophical
discussion of interpretations (as well as popular depictions),
in an attempt to “peek behind the curtain” a bit, to get a
sense of what might really be going on back there.
Historical aspects will be mostly avoided for the sim-
ple reason that I am no historian of science. Perhaps a
better reason, however, is that the development of quan-
tum physics was quite confused and divisive at its start. the aforementioned “baffled
Moreover, some of the early missteps are still leading some state”. . .
of us astray to this day. So, rather than hash out what
was debated and believed at the time—interesting though
it may be—I will focus much more on what is definitively
known today, with the benefit of a century’s worth of ex-
perimental hindsight.
The two key quantum experiments that I will describe
in detail are:
1. The double-slit experiment.

2. The EPRB experiment.
The corresponding chapters—i.e., 3 and 5, respectively—

really form the heart of this work. In both cases, I will
reason by analogy with familiar situations and everyday ob-
jects. For 1, I will use soccer balls kicked down a field. For
2, the analogy is rather different, involving a pair of coin de-
tectors. In somewhat less detail, I will also address more re-
cent experimental and theoretical developments, including:
quantum tomography and weak measurement; quantum in-
terference with increasingly large objects; many-worlds in-
terpretation.
1.5 How to Use This Book
As discussed, this book is intended for an intermediate-

level audience, in terms of scientific and mathematical back-
ground. The problem is that the word “intermediate” covers
i.e., it spans a wide range of a multitude of sins. Then there is the question most dreaded
abilities. . . by science author and reader alike: “how much math do I
need to know for this?” The answer is, there will be some
math on this test. However, in order to encompass as broad
a swath as possible, much of the conceptual discussion will
involve no mathematics at all.
Math Alert! When some math is required, I will usually try to warn you
with these “brain” boxes. Even then, I have tried to keep the math to a bare
minimum and the level no harder than (and, in one case, very similar to) that of
a Sudoku puzzle.
Math Alert! double trouble!! In rare cases, when I have to

resort to more advanced mathematics, I will signify this using these
double-brain areas. The entire Appendix I, for example, is one great
double brain, wherein the actual working mathematical equations
that underlie all of quantum physics are revealed!
Misconception !! As per the title of this book, I also rely on the device of
pointing out popular misconceptions explicitly and highlighting these within their
own special boxes, such as this one. In addition to “Misconception” boxes. . .
More Accurate !! . . . there are also “More Accurate” description boxes,
such as this one, wherein I attempt to replace a misconception with a “better”
(albeit certainly not perfect) description.
Lesson: Finally, when there are lessons to be learned, I will summarize them
in “Lesson” boxes such as this one. Particularly in the arena of quantum physics,
the hope is that this approach will serve as an effective means of communication
and instruction.
1.5. HOW TO USE THIS BOOK 11
No one “just” reads books any more—or “just” goes to

class—or “just” watches TV. We recognize that ours is an
age where everyone is glued to their devices at all times.
Accordingly, I will occasionally exhort you to do a Google
search or direct you to a particular website. The latter I as on p. 6. . .
will do using marginal notes with an image of a globe and
the words “On the Web.”
As an example, now is a good time to advertise the
companion website for this book, whose url is provided in
the margin just next to this text. Here, you can find inter- On the Web:
active web-based animations, e.g., for the double-slit and www.mvjs.org.
EPRB experiments, enabling you to simulate your own vir-
tual quantum experiments. Even though you haven’t read
those chapters yet, go ahead and have at it. Statistically,
we know it’s going to happen anyway, and besides, the book
will still be here when you get back.
Chapter 2
The Bipolar Quantum:

Wave-Particle Duality
2.1 Wave, Particle, or “Wavicle”?

It’s high time that we got on to debunking some miscon-
ceptions. Let’s start with the wave-particle duality. If you
know anything at all about quantum physics, you probably
know that tiny objects have both wave-like and particle-
like attributes. Sometimes this fact is stated a little too
strongly as follows:
Misconception !! Tiny objects are both waves and particles at the same
time.
This is a myth because particles and waves are completely

different and mutually exclusive things—at least in the con-
ventional, classical sense in which these concepts are usu-
ally understood. In particular, particles are always “local-
ized” (located at a single point) in space, whereas waves
are always “delocalized” and continuous (spread out over
many points in space). So how can any single object be
both of these things at the same time?
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2018 13

Y. Nomura et al., Quantum Physics, Mini Black Holes, and the Multiverse,
Multiversal Journeys, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-41709-7 2
14 CHAPTER 2. THE BIPOLAR QUANTUM: WAVE-PARTICLE DUALITY
It is more accurate to say the following:
More Accurate !! Tiny objects sometimes behave like waves and other
times like particles.
While still weird, this statement at least makes logical sense.

Quantum objects exhibit wavelike and particle-like aspects,
under different circumstances, but they cannot actually be
both things at once. That would be a logical fallacy. In
truth, tiny objects are neither waves nor particles, nor
even really a hybrid of the two, but something quite dif-
ferent that neither the wave nor the particle concept can
Eddington earned a knight- adequately describe. In 1928, Sir Arthur Eddington coined
hood after confirming general the term “wavicle” to remind us of this inherent schizophre-
relativity through his famous nia of quantum objects—which are not quite particle yet
1919 eclipse observation. He not quite wave. Still, like many preconceived notions, these
also declared that the quan- concepts are so fundamental and familiar to us that we are
tum world consists of “mind
loathe to give them up, even today.
stuff.”
What is the smart quantum consumer to take away from

all of this? I am smelling our first lesson coming on, and it
is an extremely important one:
Lesson: Accept the weird if you have to, but don’t accept the logically
impossible.
Physics may be alien, uncanny, bizarre, and counterintu-

itive, but it cannot be inconsistent—at least not insofar as
experimental observation is concerned.
By the way, speaking of consistency, I will not always be

very precise with language. For example, I will routinely
refer to the tiny objects in question as “quantum parti-
cles,” even when they are acting like waves rather than
This is standard practice, so particles. Also, I will be rather vague about what “tiny”
don’t get confused. means, exactly. As a rule of thumb, this means objects
−9 on the nanoscale or smaller, such as molecules, atoms, or
i.e., 1 nanometer, 10 m.
subatomic particles. In truth, however, the effective scale
at which things start to become “quantum” varies signifi-
2.1. WAVE, PARTICLE, OR “WAVICLE”? 15
cantly with context. For the most part, we will not worry
too much about where and how this transition occurs, ex-
actly. except when discussing the
Schrödinger cat dilemma in
The More Accurate description above may sound rather Sect. 4.3. . .
innocuous, and it can sometimes lead people to go too far
in that direction, via the following:
Misconception !! There is nothing mysterious or weird about quantum

wave-particle duality; these are just two mutually compatible sides of the same
coin.
A classic example is that famous popularizer of science,

Isaac Asimov, who wrote1 :
“A man may have many aspects: husband, father, friend, business-

man. . . You would not expect him to exhibit his husbandly behavior toward
a customer or his business-like behavior towards his wife.”
—Isaac Asimov
With all due respect to Uncle Isaac, this is not really
correct either. Something very peculiar really is going on
in quantum physics. There is no question about this; it is a at least insofar as our clas-
basic experimental fact, as we shall see. In any event, there sically intuitive concepts are
is more to wave-particle duality than the simple notion that concerned. . .
one and the same object exhibits different characteristics
under different circumstances, although that is certainly a
part of it.
More Accurate !! Wave-particle duality is very weird.
Lesson: Accept the weird in quantum physics. Don’t accept the notion that
the weirdness can be entirely “explained away.” It cannot be—at least not within
the context of our current understanding.
1 from
The New Intelligent Man’s Guide to Science (Basic Books,
New York, 1965).
So what have we learned here? On the one hand, peo-

ple sometimes try to attribute more weirdness to quantum
physics than is really there, by imagining that it can sup-
port logical contradictions. On the other hand, others try
to explain away all of the inherent weirdness and mystery.
In my view, both tendencies are problematic and should be
avoided.
2.2 Quantum Probability Waves
What makes quantum wave-particle duality so strange

is the manner in which this duality manifests—and also,
the manner in which the quantum wave is interpreted. As
a bit of technical jargon, the wave is described by something
called the wavefunction—a theoretical construct whose pur-
pose is to tell us what the particle is doing. The wavefunc-
although see Sect. 4.2. . . tion can never be measured directly, which may already
seem a bit strange. The really strange thing about it,
though, is that it behaves completely differently, depending
How does it know? on whether or not the particle it describes is being observed.
When the particle is not being observed (i.e.,
measured), it behaves like a wave. The wavefunction then
describes a delocalized “wave of probability,” spanning all
possible particle positions throughout space. The parti-
cle acts as if it is somehow able to explore all possibili-
ties simultaneously—in this case, all possible positions in
space. We thus say that the particle is in a “superposi-
tion” of position states. It has become wavelike, although
We do not know for sure, pre- it is not necessarily true that the particle actually becomes
cisely because the particle is a wave. Over time, the wavefunction evolves according to
not being monitored! well-prescribed rules that tell us very precisely what hap-
pens to the set of all possible particle states. These rules,
The technical name for these moreover, are completely deterministic.
rules is the “time-dependent
Schrödinger equation” (see When the particle is observed, the wavefunction
Appendix I). also tells us what happens—but in a very different way.
First, it is an experimental fact that a quantum particle
is always observed as a particle—never as a wave nor as
multiple “copies.” So, when a measurement of a particle
is made, and a definite position revealed, the wavefunction
The wave of infinite possibil- is said to “collapse” to the observed position. This is a
ities “collapses” down to just
one.
2.2. QUANTUM PROBABILITY WAVES 17
random process, in that the particular observed position

cannot be predicted in advance. However, it is not com- “Random” implies that the
pletely random either, meaning that the particle is more wavefunction collapse is not
likely to show up in some regions of space than in others. deterministic.
How do we know where it is most likely to turn up? The
wavefunction itself provides us with these probabilities. with exceedingly high accu-
racy. . .
The wavefunction, therefore, plays an interesting dual
role. On the one hand, it tells us how the particle explores This is reminiscent of the two
all of its possibilities when we are not looking at it; on the very different roles of DNA—
other hand, it tells us where it will likely turn up when we i.e., transcription and trans-
do look. Of the two, it is the second “collapse” role that lation.
causes most of the trouble.
Since only particles can be measured—and not their
underlying wavefunctions—how do we know for sure that
wavefunctions really exist? The truth is, we don’t. It may
well be that wavefunctions are “real”; then again, there are
alternative theoretical constructs that also do the same job
just as nicely. In any case, the wavefunction construct is see Sect. 4.2.
certainly a useful one, providing “standard” quantum the-
ory with the means to make practical, concrete, quantita-
tive predictions.
The above teaches us another important lesson:
Lesson: Quantum physics is about exploring all possibilities. When they
are not being observed, quantum particles explore all possible states available to
them, such as positions in space.
This is true, but it needs to be interpreted correctly. Though

“all possibilities” are explored, this occurs only within the
confines of certain well-prescribed and highly constrained
rules. It definitely does not mean that “anything goes,”
which is simply not true.
Misconception !! Quantum physics is so weird that “anything can happen”

and nothing is certain.
More Accurate !! Quantum physics is the most reliably accurate predictive
scientific theory ever devised.
It is worth pausing to consider what the More Accurate

description above really means. It means that there is, in
fact, very little wiggle room for a quantum theory. This is
one of the most important and basic things that many peo-
ple do not understand. They think that scientists use quan-
tum mechanics as an excuse to indulge in all sorts of wild
speculation. Sometimes scientists do speculate—especially
in new areas where there is not much data. That’s fine; you
have to get started with some kind of hypothesis.
But quantum physics is well beyond that point! Any
crazy, wild-eyed new quantum theory that someone comes
up with now had better agree with the reams of experimen-
tal data that have been amassed over the last 100 years.
Thus do we come upon another important lesson for the
smart quantum consumer:
Lesson: Any physical theory must agree with all relevant experimental
observations, or it has to be discarded.
There is little disagreement anymore, about what is ob-

served in the quantum laboratory; for the most part, this
is not where the debate is. On the other hand, where there
still is a bit of wiggle room—and likely always will be—is
in the interpretation of the theory.
All of that said, it is weird enough that quantum parti-
cles get to explore all possible positions when they are not
being watched. This causes enough headaches as it is—
both conceptual and also computational, if one is trying to
which happens to be what I simulate how these things behave on a computer. In par-
do for a living; the last thing ticular, one has to worry about things like this happening2 :
I want is to have to open
the door to even more bizarre
possibilities. . .
2 withapologies to Charles Addams and The New York Times
(December 3, 2006).
Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
but could not get them to destroy their own means of
communication. Had this been done the French army was lost. The
delay, however, caused by the necessity of forcing and repairing the
bridges, cost the French the loss of many men and horses,[1] and of
most of the spoil they were carrying off from Oporto. Unfortunately
the letters in which these operations were described are wanting. But
for the rest of the long campaign up to the battle of Salamanca, with
the exception of Talavera, when he was with Beresford in Portugal,
and of Albuera, and Bussaco, from which he was absent through
illness, his letters are fairly consecutive comments of an actor in the
events which occurred during that period of heroic struggle.
On 30th May 1811 he was promoted by Brevet to the rank of Major
in the English Army, and to that of Lieutenant-Colonel in the
Portuguese Army. At the last siege of Badajos, he was the senior
Staff Officer at the summons of Fort Christobal, and had the honour
of taking prisoners the Generals Philippon and Weyland, who
surrendered their swords to him.
In the battle of Salamanca, 1812, he was with his chief, Marshal
Beresford, when the latter was severely wounded, and, as narrated
in the letters, carried him into the town, nursed him through his
illness, and went with him to Lisbon.
In 1813 Major Warre was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-
Colonel in the English Army, and resigned his commission in the
Portuguese Army. He received from the King of Portugal medals for
his conduct at Vimeiro, at the siege and assault of Ciudad Rodrigo,
and for the two sieges of Badajos, also a medal for the four
campaigns. He was also made a Knight of the Order of the Tower
and Sword, and of the Order of St Bento d’Avis.
In 1813 he was sent to the Cape of Good Hope, where he was
appointed Q.M.G., a post which he held till 1819.
In November 1812 he had married Selina, youngest daughter of
Christopher Maling of West Herrington and Hillton, in the county of
Durham. By her he had a family of three sons and two daughters.
His youngest son, Henry, born 1819 at the Cape, was afterwards
General Sir Henry Warre, K.C.B. His wife died 3rd February 1821.
In November 1820 he returned to England, and in 1821, by reason
of ill-health, went on half-pay.
In May 1823 he was appointed A.Q.M.G. in Ireland, and in 1826
was transferred to a similar appointment in England. In 1826-1827
he served on the Staff of the Army sent to Lisbon under the
command of Sir William Clinton, G.C.B.
On 22nd July 1830 he became a full Colonel. He served again on
the Staff in Ireland till 1836, when he was appointed to the command
at Chatham. He held this appointment till his promotion to the rank of
Major-General 23rd November 1841. It was during his command that
the Review took place which is immortalised by Dickens in Pickwick.
He was made C.B., and was Knighted in 1839. In 1842 he was
placed in command of the North-Western District. Subsequently he
was transferred to the Northern District, with his Headquarters at
York. Reference is made to him in the letters of Queen Victoria (vol.
i., p. 150).
He gave up the command at York in the year 1851, and, liking the
place and neighbourhood, remained there in a residence which he
rented at Bishopthorpe. His health broke down in 1852, and in the
following year he died, and was buried in the churchyard at
Bishopthorpe. The church has since been pulled down, and the
churchyard, which is adjacent to the gardens of the Archiepiscopal
Palace, closed. His tomb is on the south side of the old graveyard,
and bears the following inscription:—
SACRED TO THE MEMORY
OF
LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SIR WILLIAM WARRE
C.B., K.T.S., K.C., St Bento D’Avis
Colonel of the 94th Regiment
Died at York, 26th July 1853, aged 69 Years.
[1] See Oman, vol. ii., pp. 355-9.

LETTERS FROM THE
PENINSULA
1808
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
In June 1808 the British Government determined to send
assistance to the Spaniards, who had risen in revolt against the
French domination in the Peninsula.
Spain, which had been an enemy, was now regarded as a friend.
In the previous year, an expedition under General Whitelock had
been despatched to invade the Spanish Colonies in America, with
disastrous results. In 1808 a force of about 9000 men was already
assembled in Ireland, with a view to renewing this attempt under a
more competent General. But in the altered circumstances the
destination of these troops was changed, and they were placed
under the command of Lieut.-General Sir Arthur Wellesley, with
orders to proceed to Portugal and to co-operate with the Spaniards
and Portuguese in attacking the French.
Beside the troops ready to embark in Ireland there were two
Brigades—Anstruther’s and Acland’s, quartered at Harwich and
Ramsgate respectively—available for immediate service abroad.
These were added to Wellesley’s command. And in addition to these
there were at this time about 5000 men, under General Spencer,
observing Cadiz, who could join the expedition on Portuguese soil.
Lastly, there was a force of about 10,000 men under Sir John Moore,
who had been sent to the Baltic to co-operate with the Swedes, a
task which proved impracticable. These were on their way home,
and were ordered to Portugal, though some time elapsed before they
could join their comrades in the Peninsula.
Major-General Ferguson, with his Aides-de-Camp, Capt. Warre
and Capt. Mellish, embarked at Portsmouth in H.M.S. Resistance—
Capt. Adam—in May; but their destination at that time was quite
uncertain, though General Ferguson, nominally at least, belonged to
the force under General Spencer’s command. After some further
delay, owing to contrary winds, the Resistance arrived at Cork,
where Sir Arthur Wellesley on 7th June assumed the command of
the troops assembled. The news of the Spanish insurrection had
already reached England, and although quite uncertain as yet as to
their future movements, everyone seems to have taken it for granted
that they were to sail at once. As it turned out, they had many weeks
to wait before the actual start took place.
The six letters written in May and June, though not belonging
properly to the letters from the Peninsula, have been included in the
series, as giving an account not altogether uninteresting of the kind
of life led while waiting for orders to sail, the needs and necessities
recorded, and the ideas generally entertained by the writer as set
forth in his correspondence. The difficulties respecting the soldier
servant, whom he was so anxious to take with him, have an almost
tragic interest in view of the ultimate fate of the man, which is
afterwards described in the letters.
Not without interest also are the sidelights occasionally thrown
upon the jealousy with which Colonels of Regiments regarded the
taking of officers from service with the Regiment for Staff
employment, and the indications of the necessity of influence in high
quarters to obtain any appointment of the kind. But more than all is
the evidence of the enthusiasm which pervaded all ranks—
enthusiasm for a glorious cause, which was no less than the
liberation of Europe from the domination of the tyrant, who had
trampled right and justice under foot, and was without gainsaying
England’s bitterest and deadliest foe.
LETTERS
Portsmouth, May 22, 1808.
Here we are, my dearest Father, after a very hasty journey and
pleasant, as constant rain and a complete overturn about ½ a mile
short of Kingston, from which Capt. Mellish and myself escaped
quite safe, except a few trifling bruises and a sprained thumb I got,
which renders my writing somewhat difficult—with these exceptions
it was as pleasant as could be to me, leaving all those dearest to me
in the world.
We have just got all our baggage, and go on board ourselves this
evening. Capt. Adam appears to be a very fine gentlemanly young
man, and much inclined to show us every civility.
We shall sail as soon as the wind is fair, and are much hurried.
Should my things arrive this evening they will be in time, otherwise I
fear not. Nothing can be kinder than the General. I think myself every
moment more fortunate in going with him. Pray get some advice
about Rankin. I shall send him on shore at Cork, if I can, and have
no answer from Seymour.[2] If I am not able to send him on shore,
the advice I want you to get is, how to get him leave to go, as if he
were not gone but to Cork. Pray write. It may find me on board the
Resistance, Cork. I will write every opportunity. May God bless and
preserve you all and give you every happiness, is the constant
prayer of your affectionate son,
Wm. Warre.
[2] Lt.-Col. 23rd Dragoons.
H.M.S. “Resistance,” St Helens, May 24th, 1808.

Many thanks, my dear Father, for your letter of yesterday, and the
books and wine, about which I have just written to Messrs Smith and
Atkins, directing them, if we are sailed, to send it to care of Markland
at Gibraltar. Here we are with the wind as foul as it can blow, and too
hard to put to sea. We shall sail the first opportunity, and are not a
little anxious to get off. Nothing can exceed the General’s and Capt.
Adam’s kindness. We are as comfortable as on shore, and as happy
as possible.
We have not the least idea of our destination. Reports I never
believe. If the General does not know, it is not likely any newspaper
can. I received my books and wine safe, for which accept my thanks.
The books, at all events, I could not read if I had them not. They are
therefore as well with me, and God knows how long we may be on
board or away.
I am glad you intend to call on the Duke. It is as well; and pray do
not forget to assure Ld. Mostyn of my gratitude and sense of his
kindness towards me. I have written, or rather I wrote the day I left
town to Seymour, but, should I not get his answer at Cork, must send
Rankin on shore; and to go without a servant is very inconvenient
indeed. Therefore I think, if you could hire me a steady, honest
servant, it would be worth while his coming to Cork to me; or the
General thinks it would be better to ask General Calvert, by
“empenho”[3] to send me an order to Cork for him to accompany me
at all events.
Adieu; we are ordered off by signal. May God preserve and bless
you all, is the constant prayer of your affectionate son,
Wm. Warre.
[3] By desire.
Cove, June 8, 1808.

My Dearest Father,
Till yesterday, on Sir A. Wellesley’s arrival at Cork to take the
command, our sailing was so uncertain, that I did not write to you, for
other news, except that we are all well, from hence I had none to tell.
We now expect to sail the day after to-morrow, Sunday, if the wind is
fair. The glorious accounts from Spain have hurried us off, and I
believe there is now no doubt that that is our destination, but what
part we know not. The Rendezvous is Tangier bay, in case of parting
company, which looks like Cadiz (this entre nous).
We are exceedingly anxious to get away, after six weeks’ delay.
The Army are in the highest spirits; indeed the cause we are
engaged in is the noblest a soldier could wish, and to support the
liberties and independence of a country so lately our enemy. To
forget all animosity and cordially join against the common enemy of
Europe, the would-be Tyrant of the world, is worthy of the British
name; and a soldier’s heart must be cold indeed that would not
warm with enthusiasm in such a cause. I am not one of the most
sanguine; you know my opinion of armed mobs, though in this, from
the accounts we have received, there is an appearance of system
and order that promises well. May God assist the Right. It may be
the crisis of the Tyrant’s power. If he fails now, it may open the eyes
of Europe.
I will write by every opportunity and let you know how we are going
on, and the news, and a line when we sail. The General’s best
thanks for your present of maps. They are most acceptable to him.
He is gone with Adam and Mellish to Cork to dine with the Mayor, or
dine in publick in honour of Sir Arthur. I was asked, but having a
good deal to do, and not fancying a crowd, have sent an excuse. We
have been very gay here ever since we arrived, but long to be off.
How unfortunate we were not to be with Spencer at landing at
Cadiz. There will be yet something I hope to be done. Boney will not
easily give up his point, and a more beautiful army never embarked,
for its size, from any place. We have been joined by 45th, 4 troops
20 Lt. Dns., and 2 companies Artillery, besides a very large Staff,
and are to be by the 36th Regt. The troops are very healthy, in all
about 9650 men.
I have not heard further about remaining in the 23rd. Seymour has
allowed me to take Rankin, if I can get a man to exchange. Stuart is
trying to get me one from the 9th Foot, but they are all so high in
spirits at going on service, I fear of his getting one. I think we shall
certainly sail on Sunday, if possible. Write to me, in case we should
go to Porto, direct Gibraltar, and tell me if I can do anything there;
depend on my punctuality and exertions. Such a thing might happen
as going in there. Our party is much augmented on board
Resistance. Generals Crawfurd and Fane 1 A.-de-C. or 2, 1 Bᵈᵉ
Major, and a civil Secretary. It will not be so pleasant as hitherto.
Patience, it is a million times better than a transport.
From your ever affectionate son,
Wm. Warre.
Pray desire Hawkes Piccadilly to send me a Hat and Feather, the
same shape exactly as the last, by 1st opportunity; my old one is
gone to pieces. Adieu.
Cove, June 17, 1808.

My Dear Father,
I have to thank you for your kind letter on the 11th inst., and for
that you wrote to Genl. Payne, in which you have said everything
that can be said. I am much afraid he is offended with my carrying
my point in spite of him.
It is however of consequence my remaining in the Regiment, as
more Captains are quitting it I hear, and I have therefore this day
written to Greenwood’s with the enclosed paper of exchange signed,
of which letter you have an extract annexed. It may do good, and
cannot do any harm.
Seymour, I think, will do what he can for me; his letters are as
friendly as possible, though he will not allow me to take Rankin,
which is very annoying, particularly now that I have bought a horse,
nor do I know what to do for a servant here. There is no such thing,
and as all the troops are now embarked, and we may be ordered to
sail every hour, I have no time to write for one. I should therefore be
much obliged to you, if you would enquire about some honest, trusty
man, who must understand horses, and send him out to join me at
Gibraltar. Agree about wages, clothes, etc., and send him out to join
me at Gibraltar, or off Cadiz, as soon as a conveyance offers. To be
on service without a trusty servant will be exceedingly unpleasant.
We know nothing further of our destination or plans. We have
been here amusing ourselves in perfect idleness, though very gayly.
We yesterday dined on board Ld. Thomond’s yacht, and went in the
evening to a play, acted by the Officers of the Resistance, for the
poor of Cove. It was exceedingly crowded, and went off very well. I
have bought a nice little hack, a mare, the only thing of the kind I
could get for the price, 30 guineas Irish, for which I drew yesterday
on you. They ask 50, 60, 70, for nice hacks, and the Genl. and
Mellish have been obliged to pay it. I got mine from an Artillery
Officer, through a friend of mine, and am very lucky. I also further
drew upon you for £20 British to Mr Mayhew, of which Mellish has
half and is to pay me in the money of the country we go to. I hope we
shall now leave this very soon. All the Regts. are embarked, and we
only wait for orders. I will write as soon as they arrive. I rejoice to
hear that dear Tom[4] was safe at Stockholm, and daily expected.
God send him safe, dear fellow. It would have been great happiness
to have seen him before I sailed, but I shall now be satisfied with
hearing of his safe arrival. Give him my kindest love and welcome
home.
Pray assure Lord Rosslyn when you see him of my high sense of
his Lordship’s goodness, and that if I must quit the 23rd, I shall feel
highly gratified by being in his Regiment. Pray get my uncle to get
the Duchess to speak to Gordon about the exchange. As things are
now, it is really a very hard case that I must give up my chance of
advancement because I am anxious to learn experience of my
profession, and it has disgusted me not a little. In the midst of this
idleness, such is the confusion and hurry that we can scarcely settle
to anything. Report says we are going to Spain. I am working hard at
Spanish, as is Mellish, who is a very clever fellow.
Stuart, my old friend, embarked to-day. His Regiment marched in,
in the finest order, and got great credit. He desires to be most kindly
remembered, as does the General. I believe General Hill, who
commanded at Fermoy when I was there, goes with us in the
Resistance. He is a very pleasant, mild man, and much liked. He
commands here till the arrival of the Commander-in-Chief, Sir A.
Wellesley, I believe certainly; but whether he will come here, or we
join him at sea, is not known.
Wm. Warre.
Extract of my Letter to Greenwood & Cox.
“June 17, 1808.
“The objection to my accompanying Major General Ferguson (the
number of Captns. then on the Staff from the Regt.) being now
removed by Captn. F’s exchange, I hope H.R. Highness and Major-
General Payne will be pleased to allow me to remain in the 23rd, to
which, independent of the number of steps I shall lose by the
exchange, I am much attached, and shall only quit from my great
desire of acquiring experience in my profession on actual service, of
which I saw but little prospect in the Regt. at present. Any
emolument I can receive from my Staff situation, I can assure
H.R.H., is not an object, my only wish being to render myself, as far
as lays in my power, useful in the service, however great the loss [I
may] suffer by entering another Regt. as younger Captain from one
in which I am so high up.
“I have the honour to request you will lay this before H.R.H., at the
same time assuring him of my willingness to fulfil the conditions
under which he was pleased to allow me to accompany Major-Genl.
Ferguson, by exchanging into any Regt. of Dragoons H.R.H. may
think proper. I have the honour, etc., etc.”
I have desired them to write to me what answer the Duke gives.
[4] Thomas Warre, second son of James Warre, a merchant in

St Petersburg, escaped from Russia to Sweden after war had
been declared against England.

My Dearest Father,
I have this morning received your kind letter of the 16th, and am
very much obliged to you for the Maps, which will be most
acceptable, as I have hunted all over Cork without finding anything of
the kind, and I think there is little doubt of Spain’s being our
destination in the first place. I shall offer them to the General, but I
fear he will not be prevailed on to accept them. He is always ready to
oblige or give anything away himself, but would not take a pen from
anyone, if he thought he deprived him of it. I shall note carefully what
you say respecting ... though on his score of fortune, I think you have
been misinformed. He is not amiable in his manners, but very clever,
and though very good friends, we are not likely ever to be very
intimate or confidential. A sort of outward cordiality must seem to
exist, placed as we are together in situation.
I am most sincerely rejoiced that Douglas is coming to join us. For
him I have really a very warm regard, and should Johnstone
succeed, shall have with me two of my greatest friends. Our General
has nothing to do with the present Expedition. He belongs to
Spencer, and is ordered to proceed by the first safe conveyance (a
man-of-war) but, should one not offer, to remain in the Resistance;
this entre nous. He has applied, but none offers, and I think there is
very little doubt of our all having the same destination. He is naturally
very anxious to join his Brigade at his post off Cadiz, but we should
all quit the Resistance with very great regret. Nothing can be more
pleasant than our situation with so excellent a fellow as Adam.
I was in great hopes of hearing of dear Tom’s safe arrival, and
hope still to have that happiness before we sail. Enclosed I send him
a few lines welcome home. They but faintly express a brother’s
feelings at his escape, and return, after so long an absence, to the
bosom of his family.
All the troops are embarked, and certainly finer, as far as they go,
never were seen. We now only wait for orders and Sir A. Wellesley,
who is expected to-day, and will I hope bring some further orders for
Genl. Ferguson. As to Rankin, I have written to Seymour to allow
him to exchange into the 9th Foot. Stuart has been so good as to
promise to get one of his men to do so, and I trust the General, who,
by the bye, it was that wrote, will have an answer.
I have no answer to my letter about buying his discharge, which I
fear will not be allowed. It will be abominably unpleasant to embark
with a horse and no servant. As to Payne [nothing] but the steps and
prospects I have in his Regiment would induce me to remain in it,
though Seymour’s letters are highly kind and flattering. Payne
considering dispassionately, has but little right to be angry at my
using all my endeavours to get a very advantageous situation,
although in spite of him; nor can I rate my services so low, as to
suppose they are a matter of indifference to my Regiment,
particularly considering the sacrifices I offered to make on my return
to England. His not answering your letter is want of good breeding.
Seymour’s letter to him, however, perhaps makes him hesitate.
We have been endeavouring to establish a ball here this evening
for the relief of the poor distressed wives of the Soldiers, but it is a
very bad day and I fear we shall have but thin attendance. I have
been much troubled with the toothache, and yesterday had the
unruly member drawn with much difficulty, and to-day my face is very
sore and swelled; but, as I was one of the chief instigators of this
ball, I must go, though not at all in the humour for it. Adieu, my
dearest father. Ever your most affectionate son,
Wm. Warre.
The Genl. thanks you for your kind messages, and desires to be
most kindly remembered.

My Dearest Mother,
Even had I not this morning received your most kind and
affectionate letter by Douglas with the locket, it was my intention to
have written a few lines, nor have I time for much more, as we dine
at a Mr Frankland’s some way in the country, and I have a good deal
of writing on hand. Accept my best thanks for the letter and locket
which shall never quit me, though you know I did not want it as a
souvenir. I wish it was the Talisman, so famous in the “Arabian
Nights,” that conveyed its possessor in an instant wherever he
wished. I should often visit the happy circle at Hendon.
We really know no more of our destination than you do, except
that we all belong to the same, and are to join General Spencer at
Gibraltar, which is a great satisfaction. Hitherto we have been
longing for an opportunity to get out to him, not knowing but this
expedition might have quite a different destination.
We have a large list of the Staff, among which are many friends of
mine. Sir A. Wellesley, Lieut.-Genl. commands in chief, and under
him are Major Genls. Spencer, Hill, Ferguson, Br. Genls. Fane,
Crawford, Nightingale. Col. Torrens is Mily. Secretary, and a long list
of Staff-officers, which I need not trouble you with reading. Genls.
Fane and Crawford go in the Resistance with us, which will take
away greatly in point of room. The latter and his Brigade Major I
know very well, the former not at all, though I hear he is a very good
man. I could have dispensed with him very well, as they just turn us
poor ADCₛ out of our snug berths, and strangers will prevent that
pleasant gaiety and freedom we have enjoyed hitherto.
It is very uncertain when we shall sail. We are waiting for the
Donegal 74, Capt. Malcolm, and Crocodile frigate, and for some
transports, with Artillery and Cavalry, and some empty ones to thin
those now here, which are very much crowded, though hitherto quite
healthy. The additional room allowed looks like a longer voyage than
we expected, though Cavalry and our taking horses seems to
contradict this idea. I am rather for going to Spain. It is a noble
service assisting a nation fighting for its independence, and it is
impossible to say what a brave people fighting for liberty, and
actuated at the same time by resentment for great injuries, and a
bigoted attachment to ancient customs may do, if properly
supported. At all events, our assisting to the utmost of our power the
mother country will greatly facilitate our establishing the
independence of America, whither I hope will be our ultimate
destination.
Sir A. W. is a very good officer, and much esteemed, and I trust we
have neither a Whitelock or Gower amongst us. I have not been very
well to-day—I expect from the effects of bad water—and so liable to
catch cold, that the General has made me put on flannel, and I find
myself better since I have ordered a dozen of waistcoats of it at
Cork.
We had a gay ball here on Friday, in a storehouse fitted up with
flags, for the relief of the distressed soldiers’ wives. We had a good
many people, and collected about £50 free of expenses, little enough
among so many objects. I have had a good deal of trouble, but who
would grudge it in such a cause? To-morrow there is a ball for the
poor wounded Dutchmen taken in the Guelderland. I have never
seen greater objects. Poor fellows! they fought very bravely, but
knew nothing of their business. Our Frigate only lost one killed and
one wounded, and they 60 in both.[5] I went to see them, and the
Genl. has sent the Officer refreshments and wine. He is an excellent
man. His purse is always open to distress, even too much. He is, I
fear, often imposed upon. I am much pleased for many reasons, you
may suppose, with Mr Adamson’s kindness. Pray thank him most
kindly from me. As for Moll, I shall be much affronted if he talks of
paying for her. He must accept her as a very small proof of my
friendship and very high regard for him, to say nothing of his
kindness to me and my gratitude for it. I hope Hardy will suit dear
Emily, and she will have him as a present from her affectionate
brother. I shall be able to afford not to sell him, if we have a long
voyage, and think she will like him with greater pleasure as a present
from me. I was rejoiced to see my friend Douglas, he is gone in to
Cork to-day and returns to-morrow....
I am anxiously waiting to hear of dear Tom’s arrival. Write to me
the moment he does. We are not likely to sail for some time,
Yrs., etc.,
Wm. W.
[5] See James’s Naval History, vol. iv., p. 324 ff. May 19, 1808.
“Guelderland,” Dutch 36-gun frigate taken by the “Virginie.”
1808
CHAPTER II
INTRODUCTION
After long delay the expedition under Lieut.-General Sir Arthur
Wellesley sailed from Cork on 12th July. Meanwhile the Government
had altered its mind as to the command of the army, and, after Sir
Arthur Wellesley had sailed, entrusted the command of the whole
force to Sir Hew Dalrymple. Under him were, in order of seniority, Sir
Harry Burrard, Sir John Moore, Sir Arthur Wellesley, who thus, after
his arrival in Portugal, found himself as the junior Lt.-General only
fourth in command.
On 26th July the fleet reached Porto Roads, and on 1st August
and the following days, the troops were landed at Figueira, in
Mondego Bay, not without difficulty, owing to the surf, which from the
open Atlantic beats with violence on the unprotected coast.
It was not till 9th August that the army was able to move forward.
Difficulties as to transport were almost insuperable, and some guns
had to be left behind. Wellesley had determined to take the coast
road, wishing to pick up on his way towards Lisbon the Brigades of
Anstruther and Acland which had sailed on July 19th, but had not yet
arrived. His impression was that Junot, the French Marshal, had
10,000 troops under his command, but he had under-estimated
these, which amounted in reality to about 26,000; though it was true
that Junot had detached about 7000 under Loison to quell the
insurrection in the Alemtejo.
On hearing of the landing in Mondego Bay, Junot hastily recalled
Loison, with orders to join De la Borde, who, with 5000 men, was
sent forward to observe and check the British army, till a
concentration of the French forces could take place. Loison,
however, whose force had a long and weary march, was delayed at
Santarem, and, on the day of Roliça, was full fifteen miles away from
the scene of the fight. De la Borde, who left Lisbon on August 6th,
advanced as far as Alcobaça, but fell back on a position he had
selected near Roliça. On August 16th the forces came into contact,
and on the 17th was fought the first combat of the Peninsular War,
which takes its name from Roliça. The action is described in the
letter from Lourinhao. Wellesley after the action moved on still by the
coast-line, neglecting Loison and allowing him unmolested to join
Junot at Cercal. He was anxious to pick up Acland and Anstruther,
who were reported off Peniche. They landed at Porto Novo, at the
mouth of the little river Maceira, 12 miles south of Roliça.
Meanwhile Junot, after many delays, had moved by Villa Franca
on Torres Vedras. It was not until the 20th that he learnt for certain
that the British force was keeping the coast road. On the evening of
the 20th he was ten miles south of Vimiero, where the British army
lay covering the disembarkation of the two Brigades. During the night
the French army marched, and at dawn on the 21st found itself close
under the British position. Followed on that day the Battle of Vimiero,
which is graphically described in the letters.
The victory was won; but to the disgust of the army, and
afterwards of the whole British nation, it was shorn of its glory, and
possible advantages, by the command of Sir Harry Burrard, who
landed in the course of the morning of the 21st, superseding Sir
Arthur Wellesley, and forbidding all pursuit. Burrard himself was
shortly superseded by Sir Hew Dalrymple, and the result which
ensued, in the Convention of Cintra, is too well known to need
comment here.
After the battle of Vimiero, William Warre was laid up with an
attack of enteric fever, which brought him to death’s door. He
recovered slowly, and by the month of October was sufficiently well
to see active service again as A.D.C. to General Beresford, who
commanded a brigade in the army of which Sir John Moore was the
C.-in-C. General Ferguson had not, as he had expected, returned
from England.
LETTERS
Porto Roads, July 25, 1808.
My Dear Father,
We arrived this morning off this place, which was the appointed
Rendezvous. I have not been able to communicate with the shore
yet, and it is very uncertain whether I shall be able to see my friends
there, or land at all. I have just heard a Frigate is going to England,
and the boat is waiting to take my letter, so I have only time to say
we are all well. I think we are to land at Lisbon and attack Junot. This
is my idea, but nothing is known. To express my feelings at seeing
the spot of my birth, the place in which I spent some of the happiest
days of my life, would be impossible, or how tantalised at not being
able to communicate. Should we land, you shall hear further and by
first opportunity. At present they are calling for my letter.
Your ever affectionate son,
Wm. Warre.
I have opened this to say that I have a message from the
Commodore, saying he is sorry it will not be possible for me to land,
as they only wait for Sir A. Wellesley’s return from shore to make
sail. They are making dispositions for the anchoring of the fleet and
landing. Spencer is to join us. I am much disappointed at not landing
or communicating with shore.
A Deos,
Com as mayores saudades.[6]
[6] “With greatest regrets,” or, as we should say, “With much

love.”
Monday evening, July 25th, 1808. Off Ovar.

Dearest Father,
The enclosed is a second time returned to me, and as the
Peacock’s boat, by whom it is to go, is delayed a few minutes, I have
opened it to tell you we are making all sail for Figueira, where we are
to land to-morrow morning in order, I understand, to cut off a French
Corps marching to Lisbon to Junot’s assistance, and then to march
to Lisbon and try his mettle. I cannot imagine what Corps is meant,
as the annexed is the official account of their disposition in Spain
(minus 18,000 said to be killed in Spain, and some must have been
in Portugal), viz. (?9000) at St Sebastian, 6000 Pampelona, 15,000
Barcelona, closely besieged by the Patriots in great force, 10,000
Burgos, 2000 Vittoria, 50,000 Madrid and adjacent country, 16,000
Lisbon, said to be now reduced to 12,000. I have no accounts of the
state of the country. We made sail to the southward immediately, and
not a single boat came on board. Adieu.
I will write after our landing, if opportunity offers. The most anxious
moment I ever felt was seeing Porto and not being able either to
write or go near. Every house I could see looked beautiful to me who
felt how happy I had been there.
Camp Lavos, Nr. Figueira, Aug. 8, 1808.

My Dearest Mother,
I have seized the opportunity of a few leisure moments to write a
few lines just to tell you I am quite well, though a good deal fagged
and burnt by being constantly exposed to the sun, and the exertions,
which my knowledge of the language, and our situation, render
indispensable; though I feel the sincerest pleasure in being in any
way useful to my country or the service, and fully recompensed by it
for every fatigue.
We disembarked the first of this month. It took three days to land
the whole army, and had we been opposed from the land I am
positive we could never have effected it, so great is the surf both on
the coast and the bar. However, thank God, the whole army landed
without any loss but a horse or two, and now occupy a position at
this place, or rather with our left to the village and right to the sea,
where we have been waiting for the arrival of General Spencer and
his Corps, who arrived, and have been landing yesterday and to-day,
I trust without any loss, though the surf is very heavy.
We advance to attack Monsr. Junot the day after to-morrow; the
advance guard, under Genl. Fane, to-morrow. It is several days’
march. The severest part of the business is in these infamous roads
and scorching sun, which with the large train of Artillery and
Baggage will oblige us to move very slow. Junot has in all about
14,000 men, but he cannot long resist, being about to be completely
surrounded by us, about 13 to 15,000 in all, from the North, and by a
corps of about 6000 Portuguese; and from the North bank of the
Tagus, from Badajos, by a corps of 10,000 men from General
Castanhos’ army in Spain, I hear, the bravest fine fellows possible,
as is their General, and indeed the whole of the Spaniards in arms.
Nothing can exceed their courage and enmity to the French. Hitherto
their conduct has been most noble, and their praise in everybody’s
mouth. Andalusia is clear of French. Dupont and his army
capitulated to be sent to France with his arms, a curious concession
from the Spaniards, who are so much in want of them. Three armies
of French have been taken or destroyed, and Castanhos is in full
march towards Madrid, and every hope entertained of his success.
8000 of the French who had surrendered were massacred by the
Spanish peasantry, so great is their animosity. All this is positive
information. Castanhos has 45,000 men, 4000 of which excellent
cavalry, and about 23,000 Regulars. He is a very mild man, but a
fine fellow as ever was. Whittingham was in the action with
Castanhos; his conduct most gallant, and his praise universal in the
army. He is appointed a Colonel in the Spanish service, as a proof of
the esteem he is held in. The Portuguese have about 28,000 men in
all the kingdom, in arms of all descriptions, all badly armed, and I
fear not so enthusiastic in the cause (though they boast much) as
their neighbours the Spaniards. As to what the English papers say,
do not believe a word of it. I never read such a parcel of nonsense.
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Quantum Physics Mini Black Holes and the

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Coherent Quantum Physics A Reinterpretation of the

Free Will and Consciousness in the Multiverse Physics

Theoretical Concepts in Physics An Alternative View of

Lectures on General Relativity Cosmology and Quantum Black

Coherent Quantum Physics 1st Edition Arnold Neumaier

Quantum Physics H C Verma

Mathematical physics in theoretical chemistry First

A Complete Course on Theoretical Physics From Classical

Yasunori Nomura · Bill Poirier · John Terning

Founding Editor: Farzad Nekoogar, President

Quantum Physics, Mini Black

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017954954

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2018

Printed on acid-free paper

This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature

A Sun manifested itself as a particle,

There is a wide gap between the public understanding of sci-

already familiar with, while the mathematics is kept to a bare

Finally, I would like to thank the authors of each section,

Multiversal Journeys Farzad Nekoogar

I Misconceptions in Quantum Physics 1

1 The Singular Quantum 3

2 The Bipolar Quantum: Wave-Particle Duality 13

3 Quantum Soccer: The Double-Slit Experiment 25

4 The Plural Quanta: Expanding the Wavefunction 35

5 The “Spooky” Quantum: Nonlocality 47

6 Where the Weird Things Are 61

Appendix I: Looking Under the Hood:

Appendix II: Further Reading 73

Appendix III: Glossary 75

II Misconceptions About Particles and Spacetime 79

8 Mini Black Holes 95

9 Particle Colliders and the Universe 105

10 Physics in the News 119

12 Extra Material: The Equations Behind the Words 131

III Misconceptions about the Multiverse 175

13 The Basic Picture 177

14 Demystifying the Multiverse 193

15 Relation to Observation 199

The Singular Quantum

1.1 Why Is Quantum Physics Weird?

If you put the word “quantum” in a talk title at a (non-

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2018 3

For good or ill, this state of aﬀairs implies that there

1.2 What Do the Experts Say?

Writing on misconceptions about quantum physics is a chal-

Even the experts are not immune—not even a brilliant

“If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn’t be called ‘research’.”

—attributed to Albert Einstein

“I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics.”

“Richard Feynman is probably the most gifted practitioner of quantum me-

Let’s start with Einstein. What exactly did he get

1 From The Feynman Lectures on Physics, vol III (Addison-

The problem with Einstein’s reasoning can be summed

1.3 What Hope Is There for the Rest of Us?

So, to summarize the situation thus far, regarding quantum

1. Einstein got it wrong.