Most physicists agree that the Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen–Bell paradox exemplifies much of the strange behavior of quantum mechanics, but argument persists about what assumptions underlie the paradox. To clarify what the debate is about, we employ a simple and well-known thought experiment involving two correlated photons to help us focus on the logical assumptions needed to construct the EPR and Bell arguments. The view presented in this paper is that the minimal assumptions behind Bell’s inequality are locality and counterfactual definiteness but not scientific realism, determinism, or hidden variables as are often suggested. We further examine the resulting constraints on physical theory with an illustration from the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics—an interpretation that we argue is deterministic, local, and realist but that nonetheless violates the Bell inequality.
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January 2010
PAPERS|
January 01 2010
The EPR paradox, Bell’s inequality, and the question of locality
Guy Blaylock
Guy Blaylock
a)
Department of Physics,
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
, Massachusetts 01003
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Electronic mail: [email protected]
Am. J. Phys. 78, 111–120 (2010)
Article history
Received:
February 20 2009
Accepted:
September 13 2009
Citation
Guy Blaylock; The EPR paradox, Bell’s inequality, and the question of locality. Am. J. Phys. 1 January 2010; 78 (1): 111–120. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.3243279
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