5 - Quantum Postulate as the Seed of the Complementarity Principle

Summary

The hidden variable project realized by Bell contradicts the uncertaintyand complementarity principles. The inequalities derived with Bell’s hidden variablesare violated for quantum observables. Thus, Bell’s hidden variables shouldbe rejected and the validity of quantum theory is confirmed. (This foundationalachievement deserved the Nobel Prize in 2022.) This scientific loop,ignorance of the uncertainty and complementarity principles – hidden variablesmodel – Bell’s inequalities – their violation – reestablishing the validityof the uncertainty and complementarity principles, was stimulating for quantumfoundations. However, Bohr and Heisenberg might say that such resultscan be expected from the very beginning. For them, the uncertainty andcomplementarity principles form the basis of quantum physics. And theycan’t be rejected, since they are the consequences of the so-called quantum postulate– the existence of an indivisible quantum of action given by Planck’sconstant h. The quantum postulate is the ontological basis of quantum theory.I formulated its epistemic counterpart in the form of the principle ofquantum action invariance.