Cause and effect quantum mechanics

1. Is there cause and effect in quantum physics?
2. Does quantum mechanics follow cause and effect?
3. Does cause and effect break down at the quantum level?
4. Does causality exist in quantum mechanics?

Is there cause and effect in quantum physics?

Over the last decade, quantum physicists have been exploring the implications of a strange realization: In principle, both versions of the story can happen at once. That is, events can occur in an indefinite causal order, where both “A causes B” and “B causes A” are simultaneously true.

Does quantum mechanics follow cause and effect?

In classical physics – and everyday life – there is a strict causal relationship between consecutive events. If a second event (B) happens after a first event (A), for example, then B cannot affect the outcome of A.

Does cause and effect break down at the quantum level?

On a quantum level, however, cause-and-effect breaks down. “The weirdness of quantum mechanics means that events can happen without a set order,” says physicist Jacqui Romero, from the University of Queensland in Australia.

Does causality exist in quantum mechanics?

Recent research reveals that causal relationships can be placed in quantum superposition states in which A influences B and B influences A. In other words, one cannot say if the toppling of the last quantum domino is either the result of the first domino's fall or its cause.