1 - Waves versus particles

Summary

… I think I can safely say that nobody understands quantum mechanics.

Richard Feynman

Science and experiment

Science is a special kind of explanation of the things we see around us. It starts with a problem and curiosity. Something strikes the scientist as odd. It doesn't fit in with the usual explanation. Maybe harder thinking or more careful observation will resolve the problem. If it remains a puzzle, it stimulates the scientist's imagination. Perhaps a completely new way of looking at things is needed? Scientists are perpetually trying to find better explanations – better in the sense that any new explanation must not only explain the new puzzle, but also be consistent with all of the previous explanations that still work well. The hallmark of any scientific explanation or ‘theory’ is that it must be able to make successful predictions. In other words, any decent theory must be able to say what will happen in any given set of circumstances. Thus, any new theory will only become generally accepted by the scientific community if it is able not only to explain the observations that scientists have already made, but also to foretell the results of new, as yet unperformed, experiments. This rigorous testing of new scientific ideas is the key feature that distinguishes science from other fields of intellectual endeavour -such as history or even economics – or from a pseudoscience such as astrology.