The Copenhagen Interpretation
“Die Welt kann nicht so verrükt sein.”
– Albert Einstein
The Copenhagen Interpretation refers to Niels Bohr’s controversial philosophical theory about the vital interpretative role the measuring apparatus plays when observing the atomic world. The theory ran counter to the established tenets of quantum physics of Bohr’s time, and specifically, clashed with Einstein’s classic observation that everything is determined by cause and effect.
Ever since the Copenhagen Interpretation was mooted in 1927, the implications of the theory have caused controversy. Like many of his colleagues then and now, Albert Einstein could not live with the idea of the world being inherently random and chaotic.
Even today Bohr’s thoughts remain controversial because they call into question the very existence of the smallest building blocks in the universe.
Drawing on unique archival footage and interviews with a number of the world’s leading physicists, this film depicts the philosophical schism that arose in the wake of Bohr’s theories.