Quantum Mechanics May Not Need Imaginary Numbers After All

The mathematical language of quantum mechanics has relied on complex numbers for nearly a century, even though its founder, Erwin Schrödinger, was never fully comfortable with that choice. Complex numbers are mathematical quantities that include an imaginary component and are widely used to simplify calculations in physics. A new theoretical study revisits one of Schrödinger’s earliest ideas and argues that quantum mechanics can be described using only real numbers, meaning ordinary numbers...