Measurement in quantum mechanics
The measurement problem in quantum mechanics concerns the interaction of a macroscopic measurement apparatus with an observed quantum mechanical system, and the so-called "collapse" of the wavefunction upon measurement from a superposition of possibilities to a defined state. A review can be found in Zurek,[1] and in Riggs.[2]
The most famous illustration of this problem is Schrödinger's cat, in which a random quantum event like a radioactive decay is set up to kill a cat in a box. In the microscopic description, the cat is described by a superposition of "alive" and "dead" possibilities, and we have the peculiar result that we are in a state of suspense until we open the box to see what has happened. Is this uncertainty about us (the observers), or the state of the cat?
Notes
- ↑ W. Hubert Zurek (July, 2003). "Decoherence, einselection, and the quantum origins of the classical". Rev Mod Phys vol. 75: pp. 715 ff.
- ↑ Peter J. Riggs (2009). “§2.3.1 The measurement problem”, Quantum Causality: Conceptual Issues in the Causal Theory of Quantum Mechanics. Springer, pp. 31 ff. ISBN 9048124026.