In line with David Bohm's approach, Basil Hiley and mathematician Maurice de Gosson showed that the quantum potential can be seen as a consequence of a projection of an underlying structure, more specifically of a non-commutative algebraic structure, onto a subspace such as ordinary space ( x -space). In algebraic terms, the quantum potential can be seen as arising from the relation between implicate and explicate orders : if a non-commutative algebra is employed to describe the non-commutative structure of the quantum formalism, it turns out that it is impossible to define an underlying space, but that rather " shadow spaces " (homomorphic spaces) can be constructed and that in so doing the quantum potential appears. The quantum potential approach can be seen as a way to construct the shadow spaces. The quantum potential thus results as a distortion due to the projection of the underlying space into x -space, in similar manner as a Mercator projection inevitably results in a distortion in a geographical map. There exists complete symmetry between the x -representation, and the quantum potential as it appears in configuration space can be seen as arising from the dispersion of the momentum p -representation.