Biology Reference
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needed for DNA replication and transcription), and (3) Transcendentality (self-
replication is possible because of the existence of organisms which transcend the
epistemological level of information and energy).
The two seemingly unrelated descriptions of DNA given above, one in terms of
information
, and the other in terms of
energy
, appear to be related to
kinematics
and
dynamics
, respectively (see Sect.
2.3.5
for the complementary relation between
kinematics and dynamics, as first recognized by Bohr [Murdoch 1987]). If these
analyses are valid, we can conclude that the DNA molecule embodies three
different complementarities - (1) the Watson-Crick base pair complementarity,
(2) the information-energy complementarity, and (3) the kinematic-dynamic
complementarity.
2.3.7 The Wave-Particle Complementarity in Physics,
Biology, and Philosophy
The wave-particle duality refers to the fact that quantum objects (or quons) exhibit
both wave and particle properties. The particle property of light was demonstrated
by the phenomenon of photoelectric effect which was quantitatively accounted for
by Einstein in 1905 by assuming that light was a stream of particles. This idea may
be denoted as Einstein's “wave
particle” postulate (see the upper portion of
Table
2.13
) (Herbert 1987). Inspired by the success of Einstein's “wave
!
particle”
postulate, de Broglie hypothesized in his 1923 Ph.D. thesis the reverse, namely, that
quantum particles exhibit wave properties (see “particle
!
wave” in Table
2.13
),
which was experimentally proven to be true a few years later by two American
physicists, Davisson and Germer (Herbert 1987).
Although the wave-particle duality of quons is an experimental fact beyond any
doubt, the question is still unsettled as to whether quons possess wave and particle
properties intrinsically regardless of measurement (as asserted by de Broglie,
Einstein, and Bohm) or they exhibit wave or particle properties only upon
measurements, depending on the measuring apparatus employed (as maintained
by Bohr, Heisenberg, and other “Copenhagenists”) (Herbert 1987; Mermin 1990;
Bacciagaluppi and Valenti 2009). It is truly astounding to me that, even after over a
century's experimental work and mathematical theorizing, quantum physicists have
yet to reach a consensus on the real nature of quons with respect to wave and
particle properties (see the last column of the first row in Table
2.13
).
The terms “wave-particle duality” and “wave-particle complementarity” differ
in an important way - the former refers to an empirical fact, and the latter represents
the interpretation of this fact according to Bohr and his school which contrasts with
the interpretation offered by de Broglie and Bohm (Herbert 1987). That is, the
wave-particle complementarity signifies that:
Quons are neither waves nor particles but exhibit either of these two properties only upon
their interactions with the measuring apparatus.
!
(2.52)
