We are pretty uncomfortable with quantum non-locality in entanglement. But what about other uncomfortable solutions of quantum mechanics, are we comfortable with them?
For example, we know that there is a spatial distribution, often referred as "cloud" of electron presence in the K-shell of hydrogen, that this state is stable and that average angular momentum of electron is zero. Classically, the simplest solution would be that electron spins around the proton in an ellipsoid trajectory, but then it would both emit energy (?) and have a non-zero angular momentum. Is there a trajectory meandered in such a way as to precisely mimic all aspects of the quantum solution? If not, why this does not disturb our sleep as much as correlations in Bell test do?
Dear Mario Stipčević,
There are some studies that try to describe matter stability without quantum theory, considering retardation and self-interaction effects (Lorentz-Dirac equation). For example,
Jayme De Luca, The Lorentz-Dirac Equation for Linear
and Nonlinear Potentials, Braz. J. Phys. 27, 285 (1997);
Jayme De Luca, Electrodynamics of Helium with Retardation and Self-Interaction Effects, Phys. Rev. Lett. 80, 680 (1998);
Jayme De Luca, Electrodynamics of a two-electron atom with retardation and self-interaction, Phys. Rev. E 58, 5727 (1998).
I hope it can help you.
Best regards
@L.I. WKB is just a method of approximately solving a differential equation, for example one resulting from Schroedinger equation of a hydrogen atom. The solution (wave function) will still have to be treated quantum mechanically, or?
@M.S.
You are right, WKB is about approximating QM. I think what you are asking for is "Bohr's old quantum mechanics" based on quantisation of trajectories.
Older textbooks (e.g. Landau and Lifshitz) make a point of recovering Bohr's quantisation conditions in WKB. In newer textbooks BOQM is forgotten.
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