korrespondensprincipen

Korrespondensprincipen, often translated as the correspondence principle, is a concept in the philosophy of science, particularly prominent in the work of Niels Bohr concerning quantum mechanics. It states that the behavior of physical systems in the limit of large quantum numbers should resemble the behavior predicted by classical mechanics. In essence, classical physics should emerge as an approximation of quantum mechanics when quantum effects become negligible.

Bohr introduced this principle to address the perplexing transition between the quantum world of atoms and the macroscopic world we experience. Quantum mechanics, with its probabilistic nature and quantized energy levels, is fundamentally different from classical mechanics, which describes a deterministic universe governed by continuous variables. The correspondence principle bridges this gap, suggesting that the seemingly strange rules of quantum mechanics must, under certain conditions, yield the familiar and well-tested results of classical physics.

For example, when an electron in an atom transitions between energy levels with very high quantum numbers, the emitted radiation's frequency should closely match the frequency predicted by classical electrodynamics for an orbiting electron at a corresponding orbit. The principle provides a guide for developing and interpreting quantum theories, ensuring they are consistent with established macroscopic observations. It is a crucial tool for understanding the relationship between quantum and classical descriptions of reality.