1960Progress of Theoretical PhysicsRequires access

Measurement in Quantum Mechanics

Hitoshi Wakita

Open publisher page 36 citations

Abstract

In quantum mechanics it is well known that, if any two states are superposed, they interfere with each other. It is true, we should not deny such interference in principle, but we may assert what follows. When two states different from each other in a great many degrees of freedom are superposed, the interference effect becomes obscure. If they are different in an infinitely many degrees of freedom, they do not interfere at all, and their superposition is nothing but a mere probability function. This assertion enables us to understand how the probability amplitude for a micro-system is converted into a probability function for a measuring apparatus in the cource of measurement.

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What this paper is about

In quantum mechanics it is well known that, if any two states are superposed, they interfere with each other. It is true, we should not deny such interference in principle, but we may assert what follows. When two states different from each other in a great many degrees of freedom are superposed, the interference effect becomes obscure. If they are different in an infinitely many degrees of freedom, they do not interfere at all, and their superposition is nothing but a mere probability function. This assertion enables us to understand how the probability amplitude for a micro-system is converted into a probability function for a measuring apparatus in the cource of measurement.

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Available abstract

In quantum mechanics it is well known that, if any two states are superposed, they interfere with each other. It is true, we should not deny such interference in principle, but we may assert what follows. When two states different from each other in a great many degrees of freedom are superposed, the interference effect becomes obscure. If they are different in an infinitely many degrees of freedom, they do not interfere at all, and their superposition is nothing but a mere probability function. This assertion enables us to understand how the probability amplitude for a micro-system is converted into a probability function for a measuring apparatus in the cource of measurement.

Key concepts: Physics, Superposition principle, Probability amplitude, Degrees of freedom (physics and chemistry), Assertion, Quantum mechanics, Interference (communication), Classical mechanics

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