--- title: "Mind-Bending “Quantum Darwinism” Theory Passes Experimental Tests" description: "When it comes to our physical world, it appears size really does matter. While “big” objects, anything from a grain of sand to a galaxy, abide by one set of rules — classical physics — tiny objects, such as atoms and particles, abide by an entirely different set, a discovery that gave birth to quantum […]" date: "2019-07-24" modified: "2019-07-24" authors: - name: "Kristin Houser" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/kristin" url: "https://futurism.com/quantum-darwinism-theory-experimental-tests" categories: - "Physics" - "Science & Energy" tags: - "classical physics" - "quantum darwinism" - "quantum mechanics" - "superposition" --- # Mind-Bending “Quantum Darwinism” Theory Passes Experimental Tests ![Quantum Darwinism, a mind-bending theory that pulls from biology to reconcile quantum mechanics and classical physics, holds up in three sets of tests.]() *\Image: Oleg Gamulinskiy via Pixabay/Tag Hartman-Simkins\* When it comes to our physical world, scientific research indicates that size really does matter. While "big" objects, anything from a grain of sand to a galaxy, abide by one set of rules — classical physics — tiny objects, such as atoms and particles, abide by an entirely different set, a discovery that gave birth to quantum physics around 1900. Scientists have been on the hunt for a way to reconcile these two disparate physics for decades. And now, a theory first proposed by Polish theoretical physicist Wojciech Zurek in 2003 is starting to gain traction as a potential source of enlightenment: [quantum Darwinism](). One of the stranger aspects of the quantum world is [superposition](), the ability of a quantum system to exist in more than one state at one time. The system seemingly only snaps into one state or the other — moving from the quantum world to the classical — the moment we observe it. That process is called decoherence, and quantum Darwinism is an attempt to explain it. Rather than our *observation* being the thing that forces the quantum system into one state or another, quantum Darwinism suggests that it's the system's interactions with the *environment* causing decoherence. That, proponents say, would explain why we don't see macro objects in a quantum state — they're always subjected to environmental factors. As for how the environment has this effect, according to Zurek's theory, quantum systems have "[pointer states]()." These are specific measurable characteristics, such as a particle's location or speed. When a particle interacts with its environment, all the superpositions of those characteristics — alternate locations or speeds — decohere, leaving just the pointer state, which many people can observe because it "imprints" replicas of itself on the environment. That's where the idea of Darwinism comes into play: only the "fittest" state — the one best suited for its particular environment — survives the process of decoherence. "The main idea of quantum Darwinism is that we almost never do any direct measurement on anything," Zurek [told The Foundational Questions Institute in 2008](). "\[The environment\] is like a big advertising billboard, which floats multiple copies of the information about our universe all over the place." According to a new *Quanta Magazine* [story](), three distinct groups of researchers have conducted experiments to test out quantum Darwinism by looking for signs that a quantum system imprints replicas of itself on its environment — and so far, the theory appears to check out. “All these studies see what is expected, at least approximately," Zurek told *Quanta* — meaning we may already be on the road to reconciling the physics of the large with the physics of the very small. **READ MORE:** [Quantum Darwinism, an Idea to Explain Objective Reality, Passes First Tests]() \[*Quanta Magazine*\] **More on quantum mechanics:** *[New Quantum Device Can "Generate All Possible Futures"]()* ### Author social links [LinkedIn]()