Classical sources of non-classical physics: the case of linear superposition

Abstract

Classical linear wave superposition produces the appearance of interference. This observation can be interpreted in two equivalent ways: one can assume that interference is an illusion because input components remain unperturbed, or that interference is real and input components undergo energy redistribution. Both interpretations entail the same observable consequences at the macroscopic level, but the first approach is considerably more popular. This preference was established before the emergence of quantum mechanics. Unfortunately, it requires a non-classical underlying mechanism and fails to explain well-known microscopic observations. Classical physics appears to collapse at the quantum level. On the other hand, quantum superposition can be described as a classical process if the second alternative is adopted. The gap between classical mechanics and quantum mechanics is an interpretive problem.