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Narrative Quantum Cosmology in Michael Frayn’s Copenhagen

Narrative Quantum Cosmology in Michael Frayn’s Copenhagen AbstractTwentieth-century drama has made the stage a site for reflecting on science. Michael Frayn’s Copenhagen, considered by many as one of the most striking contributions to “science plays,” portrays the elusive yet crucial short meeting of the two pillars of quantum physics, Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg, in the autumn of 1941. The play employs ‘real’ scientists as characters that recurrently refer to and explain their scientific ideas such as uncertainty and complementarity, recognized as the Copenhagen Interpretation. Adopting the approach of possible worlds theory, this article analyses the concept of ‘possible worlds’ as projected in Copenhagen in light of the idea that physics itself has proposed a proliferation of parallel universes (multiverse). In fact, our main thesis is that the play offers an alternate history and brings about a myriad of counterfactuals that are tested as “drafts.” http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png American, British and Canadian Studies Journal de Gruyter

Narrative Quantum Cosmology in Michael Frayn’s Copenhagen

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Publisher
de Gruyter
Copyright
© 2021 Omid Amani et al., published by Sciendo
ISSN
1841-964X
eISSN
1841-964X
DOI
10.2478/abcsj-2021-0005
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

AbstractTwentieth-century drama has made the stage a site for reflecting on science. Michael Frayn’s Copenhagen, considered by many as one of the most striking contributions to “science plays,” portrays the elusive yet crucial short meeting of the two pillars of quantum physics, Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg, in the autumn of 1941. The play employs ‘real’ scientists as characters that recurrently refer to and explain their scientific ideas such as uncertainty and complementarity, recognized as the Copenhagen Interpretation. Adopting the approach of possible worlds theory, this article analyses the concept of ‘possible worlds’ as projected in Copenhagen in light of the idea that physics itself has proposed a proliferation of parallel universes (multiverse). In fact, our main thesis is that the play offers an alternate history and brings about a myriad of counterfactuals that are tested as “drafts.”

Journal

American, British and Canadian Studies Journalde Gruyter

Published: Jun 1, 2021

Keywords: Michael Frayn’s Copenhagen; possible worlds; quantum cosmology; parallel universes; alternate history; counterfactuals

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