Quantum Theory vs Relativity: A Classical Five-Dimensional Approach to Unifying Physics
Quantum mechanics and Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity stand as two towering achievements of modern science. Each has proven remarkably successful within its own territory: quantum theory governs the behaviour of particles and atoms, while general relativity explains gravity and the very fabric of space and time. Yet, after decades of intense research, physicists still lack a convincing framework that unites these two pillars into a single, coherent description of the universe.
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Why Quantum Mechanics and Gravity Remain Unreconciled
Most mainstream attempts assume that gravity itself must be treated as a quantum phenomenon. The late physicist Richard Feynman famously warned that accepting quantum mechanics without quantizing gravity would leave physics in serious difficulty. However, quantum theory carries unresolved conceptual flaws of its own. It struggles to explain how precise outcomes emerge from measurements and depends on ideas that defy everyday intuition, including wave-particle duality and seemingly instant connections between far-flung systems.
Bell's Theorem and the Limits of Four-Dimensional Spacetime
These challenges become even more pronounced in light of Bell's theorem. The theorem demonstrates that no theory based on familiar principles—such as locality, objective reality and freely chosen measurements—can reproduce all quantum predictions within a conventional four-dimensional spacetime. Experiments testing quantum entanglement, first highlighted by Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen, have repeatedly confirmed these predictions. Consequently, purely classical explanations rooted in ordinary spacetime fall short of explaining what nature reveals.
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A Fundamental Question About Reality
Such profound theoretical problems raise an unavoidable question: are quantum experiments revealing a truly bizarre reality, or do they indicate that our understanding of them is fundamentally misguided?
A Classical Theory Beyond Four Dimensions
In a recent study published in Scientific Reports, I put forward an alternative way of viewing quantum physics and gravity. Rather than attempting to force gravity into a quantum framework, I suggest that both quantum phenomena and gravity could emerge from a deeper classical structure operating beyond the familiar four dimensions.
Introducing a Fifth Dimension of Evolution
The reasoning behind this approach is simple. If Bell's theorem shows that classical explanations fail within ordinary four-dimensional space and time, then it may be spacetime itself that needs rethinking. To address this, I introduce a fifth dimension that serves as an evolution parameter. This extension allows four-dimensional spacetime to develop dynamically, offering new avenues for explaining quantum effects and gravity through classical principles.
Worldlines, Quantum Experiments and Gravity
At the heart of the theory lies the idea that particles are not fully formed entities from the outset. Instead, they emerge from evolving paths known as "worldlines," which take shape gradually as the extra dimension progresses. Over time, these worldlines stabilize, giving rise to a classical world— the one we encounter in everyday experience. While these evolving dynamics account for the strange features of quantum mechanics as seen by observers, the deeper five-dimensional framework remains entirely classical.
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Reproducing Famous Quantum Experiments
To clarify these ideas, I develop theoretical models that reproduce two well-known quantum experiments within this new framework.
Key Experimental Insights
- EPR-type correlations emerge because influences are permitted to travel along worldlines as functions of the added evolution parameter. While particles themselves never move faster than light, these effects can appear almost instantaneous to observers.
- In a model of the double-slit experiment, a single particle is represented by many interacting worldlines. Together, they generate wave-like patterns, while the one worldline that reaches the detector produces the familiar particle-like result.
How Gravity Fits Into the Framework
Gravity can also be incorporated into the theory. Gravitational effects arise through the gradual relaxation of the gravitational potential in weak-gravity conditions, or more generally through changes in spacetime curvature, as governed by the extra evolution parameter.
Because both matter and gravity unfold progressively over time, the framework also provides a natural explanation for the apparent one-way flow of time, linking cosmology, gravity and quantum behaviour within a single classical structure.
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