Discovery of quantum

The foundation of QM was laid by the German physicist Max Planck, who postulated
in 1900 that energy could be radiated or absorbed by matter only in small, discrete
packets called quanta. According to Planck, the energy of a quantum of light
is equal to the frequency of the light multiplied by a constant, which is now
called Plank’s constant (h = 6.626 × 10-34 joule-second in the meter-kilogram-second).

Particle-wave nature of matter

Light was believed to be a wave, but after the discovery of quantum, it was
obvious that light had particle or corpuscular nature too - a quantum of light
is called photon and it has particle properties. But not only light was exhibiting
wave nature, it was discovered that electrons were behaving as waves, as well
as other subatomic particles. This led to understanding that all matter had
dual nature: wave-corpuscular.

Uncertainty Principle

While developing the theoretical model of atom scientists had to abandon Newtonian
ideas that the electron was orbiting like a planet around the nucleus and adopt
quantum-wave model. The electron was fluctuating around the nucleus changing
energy levels when absorbing or emitting photons. When the exact particle properties
of an electron were measured, it was discovered that it was not possible to
measure all the known properties of an electron at the same time. In 1927 Werner
Heisenberg postulated his famous uncertainty principle, also called principle
of indeterminacy, as a direct consequence of dual nature of matter as well as
different ways of observation.

Collapsing the wave

Niels Bohr, the famous Danish scientist, went even further and said that it
was meaningless to speak about the particle proprieties of an electron before
it was observed. He claimed that actual act of observation helped create the
particle properties of an electron which did not exist before the observation
as the electron was in a state of quantum fluctuation. According to Bohr, an
observer was collapsing the wave to take a shape and properties of a particle;
hence the observer’s consciousness was a part of the experiment.

EPR paradox

Albert Einstein who contributed to the development of the quantum physics, was
not happy with ‘distasteful’ Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle,
which he objected with his famous saying “God does not play dice”.
He also disagreed with Bohr’s interpretations of particle properties being
crated by observer, so together with two other scientists Podolsky and Rosen
he devised a theoretical experiment, called EPR paradox, where two entangled
or twin photons travelled great distances before they were observed. According
to Bohr, when properties of one photon were observed and therefore created,
instantaneously properties of another twin photon would be created even though
the photons could be separated by thousands of light-years. This would mean
that the photons communicated with each other faster than light, which would
violate Einstein’s own Special Theory of Relativity which stated that
nothing could travel faster than light.

Non-locality

Bohr’s reply to Einstein’s objections was that the twin photons
were not really separated. They were the one thing manifesting on two places,
interacting with each other even though they were not connected with any known
force field. This entanglement which Einstein called "spooky action at
a distance" gave rise to a very challenging concept to classical physics
called non-locality.

Bell’s Inequality theorem and Alain Aspect experiment

For many years the dispute between Einstein and Bohr could not be resolved by
an actual physical experiment until John Bell, a theoretical physicist at CERN,
in 1965 came with a mathematical theorem which was the basis of an experiment
which could help scientists decide who was right Einstein or Bohr. And consequently
in 1982, Alain Aspect, a French scientist, performed such an experiment and
proved that a faster than light communication indeed was occurring between twin
photons and that Bohr was right. This type of communication is sometimes called
faster than light signalling.

Interpretations of Quantum Physics

Quantum Physics did not solve all problems and at the moment theoretical physicists
are not able to invent a new theory which would unite Einstein’s Theory
of Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. Quantum Physics is very complex and we
are not sure what does experimental verification of non-locality actually mean
regarding the nature or reality. There are several major interpretation of Quantum
Physics:

“Physicist Nick Herbert, a supporter of this interpretation, says this has sometimes caused
him to imagine that behind his back the world is always "a radically ambiguous
and ceaselessly flowing quantum soup." But whenever he turns around and
tries to see the soup, his glance instantly freezes it and turn it back into
ordinary reality. He believes this make us all a little like Midas, the legendary
king who never knew the feel of silk or the caress of a human hand because everything
he touched turned to gold. "Likewise humans can never experience the true
texture of quantum reality," says Herbert, "because everything we
touch turns to matter." “ – from Holographic Universe by Michael Talbot

Quantum potential interpretation
This interpretation is developed most notably by David Bohm and Basil Hiley.
They propose another force or filed, which has attributes of non-locality, containing
information on holistic level as implicate order. Bohm explains that the manifested
world is a projection or unfoldment of higher multi-dimensional order. For example
a cylinder is a 3D body which projects itself in two dimensions as a combination
of a circle and a rectangle. In the same way our three dimensional world can
be a projection of the multi-dimensional realm. On that basis non-locality is
explained by the possible existence of subtle realities which are not explored
yet, hence they can be called ‘hidden variables’. Consciousness,
according to Bohm, is a part of that unfoldment and it cannot be seen as separate:

“So it will be ultimately misleading and indeed wrong to suppose, for example, that
each human being is an independent actuality who interacts with other human
beings and with nature. Rather, all these are projections of a single totality.
As a human being takes part in the process of this totality, he is fundamentally
changed in the very activity in which his aim is to change that reality which
is the content of his consciousness.” - David Bohm, Wholeness and Implicate
Order

David Bohm believes that the Universe has holographic properties and that we reflect in
ourselves the whole reality: “In the implicate order we have to say that
mind enfolds matter in general and therefore the body in particular. Similarly,
the body enfolds not only the mind but also in some sense the entire material
universe.” – David Bohm, Wholeness and Implicate Order

Conclusion
Some philosophical implications of quantum physics, especially regarding non-locality,
give more plausible explanations how can be conscious life in supposedly inanimate universe:

Quantum physics is the only theoretical bridge at the moment between religion and science.
More and more physicists are proposing the idea that the Universe might be conscious.
The Conscious Universe could explain many phenomena which are regarded as mysticism.
There is now even a movie playing in cinemas about philosophical implications
of quantum physics What the BLEEP do we know.

And the final word from Niels Bohr on quantum physics: “If you think you understand
it, that only shows you don’t know the first thing about it.”