On the nature of quantum fluctuations and their relation to gravitation and the principle of inertia

A new point of view towards the problem of the relationship between gravitational and quantum phenomena is proposed which is inspired by the fact that the distinction between quantum fluctuations and real statistical fluctuations in the state of a system seems not to be maintained in a variety of phenomena in which quantum and gravitational effects are both important. One solution to this dilemma, which is explored in this paper, is that quantum fluctuations are in fact real statistical fluctuations, due to some unknown, but universal, phenomena. At the same time quantum fluctuations have certain special properties which distinguish them from other types of fluctuation phenomena. The two most important of these are that the action of quantum fluctuations is non-dissipative for the special case of systems undergoing inertial motion in the absence of gravitational fields, and the dispersion constant for quantum fluctuations for a particle is inversely proportional to the inertial mass of the particle. These properties are summarised in a set of principles which, it is proposed, govern the relationship between quantum phenomena, gravitation and inertia. (author)