This paper makes a collective biographical profile of a sample of physicists who were protagonists in the research on the foundations of quantum physics circa 1970. We study the cases of Zeh, Bell, Clauser, Shimony, Wigner, Rosenfeld, d’Espagnat, Selleri, and DeWitt, analyzing their training and early career, achievements, qualms with quantum mechanics, motivations for such research, professional obstacles, attitude towards the Copenhagen interpretation, and success and failures. Except for Rosenfeld, they were all dissidents, fighting against the dominant attitude among physicists (...) at the time according to which foundational issues had already been solved by the founding fathers of the discipline. Theirs is a story of success as the foundations of quantum mechanics finally entered the physics mainstream despite the fact that their expectations of breaking down quantum mechanics were not fulfilled. (shrink)

A pesquisa em informação quântica sugere uma íntima conexão entre o conceito de informação e a teoria quântica, mas essa conexão envolve nuances cuja análise é o objeto deste trabalho. A sabedoria comum nesse campo divide-se em duas grandes áreas, não excludentes entre si. Há os que são movidos pela possibilidade de uso da teoria quântica em um novo campo, o da computação, independentemente do esclarecimento de seus fundamentos, aqui incluído o conceito de "informação". Alguns consideram que estamos diante de (...) um grande problema conceitual sem resposta satisfatória no momento, enquanto que outros, dentre os que reconhecem a magnitude do problema, têm proposto formulações com a pretensão de solução do problema. Este artigo tem pretensões modestas. Não pretendemos aportar novas soluções ao problema, nem apoiar uma das soluções existentes. Temos a expectativa de através da análise histórico-conceitual do problema mapear as diversas possibilidades, apontando o que nos parecem ser aspectos fortes e fracos nessas possibilidades. Research in quantum information suggests a close connection between information and quantum theory. The aim of this article is to analyze nuances involved in this connection. Scientists in this field are divided into two overlapping camps. Some are motivated only by the use of quantum features to improve information processing, in spite of concerns about the foundations of the quantum theory, while others recognize deep conceptual problems of this theory, and attempt to solve them. This article has modest ambitions. It aims only to chart, by way of historical and conceptual analysis, the diverse possibilities available, indicating the strengths and weaknesses of each of them. (shrink)