The Quantum Potential

Somewhere beyond, where Reality meets Thought

Quantum mechanics is based on two big ideas: the principle of uncertainty¹ and the principle of superposition.² The first one tells us that we can’t predict one exact outcome for a measurement. Instead, we get a bunch of possible outcomes and their probabilities. The second idea, superposition, says that the sum, or combination, of two states creates a third possible state. Basically, it’s saying the quantum state isn’t locked into anything specific until we actually measure it; it’s all up in the air before that. Quantum mechanics and narrative share the same incredible imaginative potential. Reality sprouting from thought.

Sunset in Patras (Greece), by Jason Mavrommatis

The instant speed

We can say that some interactions between particles, like entanglement,³ are faster than light⁴ because they seem to happen instantly. Here’s how it works: when two particles are entangled, measuring one particle’s spin instantly determines the spin of the other, no matter how far apart they are. Even if one particle is on Earth and the other’s on the Moon, the second one “knows” its spin the moment you measure the first. It’s wild because there’s no system between them to “talk” or exchange info about their behavior.
This totally messes with the idea of locality in relativity, which says nothing can affect something else faster than the speed of light. It’s like we’re dealing with infinite-speed information, which feels like breaking a cosmic rule. Now, faster-than-light speeds aren’t completely unthinkable in math. For example, the phase velocity of a wave can go faster than light. But here’s the catch: it’s not speed in the usual sense. It doesn’t carry signals or information, it’s more of a mathematical concept than a physical reality. So yeah, it’s fast, but it’s not “real” speed in the mechanical or dynamic sense.

Experiment to show the wave-particle duality of light. The particle is able to overcome the obstacle because it is also a wave. Light carries with it the secrets of reality in ways we cannot completely understand [here]

Senses and reality

Can we experience the instantaneity directly? To answer that, we must first think about what we mean by “experience”. At the quantum level, physical reality doesn’t work the way it does in classical physics. But reality is fundamentally quantum, not classical. We see a chair, a floor, the sky, a cloud, a child playing in the garden (yes, I’m watching my son); that is, we see macro-reality, but these are all atoms, we just don’t see them. Quantum mechanics operates below the level of what our senses can detect, but it’s very real. Think about watching a sunset-you’re surrounded by particles and their interactions, but you’re not seeing those particles. What you’re observing is the sunset, the macro reality, the surface layer of what’s going on. The world we commonly experience—the one that classical physics describes with measurable quantities—is just a tiny slice of what reality really is. And we have feelings, make observations, and then build laws and experiments to explain those observations. But we don’t claim that these physical laws are “the truth”. They’re just our best attempts to make sense of the sensations we experience. Otherwise science would be dogmatic.

The “quantum potential” field

So what’s going on with these two particles that seem to be “communicating” faster than the speed of light? Well, when two quantum systems interact, they’re described by a single wave function, no matter how far apart they drift afterwards. One of the coolest theories about this was proposed by David Bohm in 1951. He proposed that in addition to the usual force fields we know from classical and quantum physics, there’s something else out there: a “quantum potential”.⁵ This potential-field has no energy, and we can’t detect it directly in experiments, but it still affects particles. Here’s the kicker: Particles use this quantum potential to “talk” to each other. Even if they’re miles (or light-years) apart, they’re still connected by this invisible link. If you measure something on one particle, it immediately changes the quantum potential for the other, and that’s why their measurements are so perfectly “entangled”.

Somewhere beyond

The idea is that the “quantum potential” fills what we think of as the “vacuum” with countless tiny sub-quantum corpuscles-basically particles so small and elusive that they’re beyond anything our senses or current instruments can detect. These tiny corpuscles could be the key players in transmitting information instantly-or at least at speeds faster than light. Here’s how it might work: if we measure the spin of the first particle, it’s like a shock wave rippling through this total vacuum, carrying the information straight to the second particle. It’s a wild idea, but here’s the catch—we can’t actually observe this process, at least not with the tools we have right now. So while it’s an intriguing possibility, we’re still in the dark about whether it’s actually happening.

Multiverse source?

But if all this were real it could turn everything we know about “time” and “space” upside down. These concepts could bend to logics that right now feel like science fiction. It’s hard not to think about parallel worlds-my personal passion. Schrödinger’s equation and the superposition principle tell us something stunning: for an electron, both spin-up and spin-down possibilities exist simultaneously. The idea is that when you measure the spin, the instrument doesn’t settle on just one possibility, because the entire system splits into two sets, effectively creating two universes, because both possibilities still exist, the one you got by measuring and the one you didn’t get—but still possible. This “splitting” wouldn’t be a rare event, it would happen spontaneously in every measurement in the universe, and during every natural process with similar quantum properties. It’s as if the universe is constantly branching out, creating endless parallel realities with every interaction.

Where Reality meets Thought

The many universes already exist in our minds. I can’t help but imagine that someone out there has found a way to tell us, perhaps using the quantum principles of “instantaneous mind talk”. What if that were true? What if “quantum potential” is a communication field in the realm of consciousness?
What if… What if…
You know what? I’d love to read a story written by some of you that is inspired by “quantum potential”, that mysterious physical field that connects reality and thought. Will you?

Thanks for reading!
If you find any mistakes or typos, please let me know and I’ll fix them!

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1. According to quantum mechanics, the more precisely the position (momentum) of a particle is given, the less precisely can one say what its momentum (position) is. This is (a simplistic and preliminary formulation of) the quantum mechanical uncertainty principle for position and momentum. [more]

2. When two or more waves overlap at a point, the displacement at that point is equal to the sum of the displacements of the individual waves. [more]

3. In the well-known “Page and Wootters (PaW) mechanism”, named after the physicists who introduced it some 40 years ago, the correlation between the perception of the passage of time and the occupied space is formalized in an extraordinary phenomenon typical of and exclusive to quantum mechanics: entanglement. Entanglement is a correlation between different physical systems that establishes a relationship between their respective properties and is so substantial that it persists even when these systems, separated in space and time, no longer interact.

4. The speed of light in vacuum (c ≈ 3 × 108 m/s) is an important physical constant that appears in Maxwell’s theory of electromagnetism. For this reason, scientists have endeavored to measure it with very high precision, making it one of the most accurately known of all physical constants. [more]

5. The idea of the “quantum potential” as described by David Bohm is part of his interpretation of quantum mechanics, which is not widely accepted in mainstream physics.