Superposition Definition and 685 Threads

If a cat can be in a superposition of being dead and alive, why can't a statement be in a superposition of being true and false?

Should particles in superposition before quantum decoherence (many worlds) be envisioned in the same exact way as they are envisioned before wave function collapse (Copenhagen)? Clearly, the particle in Many Worlds is in a sort of superposition, but with all of the talk about one universal wave...

hi guys i was trying to derive the general formula of two orthogonal waves $$x^{2}-2xycos(δ)+y^{2} = A^{2} sin(δ)^{2}$$ where the two waves are given by : $$x = Acos(ωt)$$ $$y = Acos(ωt+δ)$$ where ##δ## is the different in phase , i know it seems trivial but i am stuck on where should i begin...

We usually think about atomic orbital as wave(function), but it was created from e.g. electron and proton approaching ~10^-10m (or much more for Rydberg atoms), and electron has associated electric field. This wavefunction also describes probability distribution for finding electron (confirmed...

Hi guys, I hope you all are doing great. If we take the double slit experiment for instance, before measurement particles are in a superposition of states. Once they are "measured", or non arbitrarily interfered with, their wave function collapses and only one state remains. So my question is...

Homework Statement:: n/a Relevant Equations:: n/a These are the answers diagrams, with my questions in red. 1. In arrangement 1, I was wondering why there isn't any magnetic lines inside the magnet. While it seems that vector addition would make the field go outside the magnetic-less...

There seems to be two kinds of superposition. One refers to superposition within one branch/world. Here it is difficult to maintain superposition because you have to shield it from the environment. The second kind of superposition involves branches/worlds, this is where you have Schrodinger cat...

To answer (a), i imagineed the oscillations parallels (say to z), so we simply add ξ1+ξ2 for b, i imagined two vectors ortogonais, representing the oscillations, so we should add √(ξ1² + ξ2²), is this right?

If a buckyball can be in superposition as a whole, why can't bigger objects like (the size of) a human body? Why are macro objects not in superposition (after the due operation)? Or are they? I am not sure if this question has an official answer, but math to illustrate an answer is appreciated...

The three laws are basic principles in Newtonian Mechanics. The principle of superposition of forces is part of the second law.But before we make the assumption of superposition of forces,we have to make another assumption which is the principal of superposition of motion.why are...

Is said that, the superposition of two MHS X1 = A*cos(c/T1*t) X2 = A*cos(c/T2*t) The superposition will be a function which the period will be T in such way that satisfy: T = n1*T1 = n2*T2 But, if we add X1 and X2 we obtain: X = 2A*cos(((c/T1) - (c/T2))/2)*cos(((c/T1) + (c/T2))/2) Why those...

This is what I have so far: $$ |\alpha\Psi_1 + \beta\Psi_2|^2 = |\alpha|^2|\Psi_1|^2 + |\beta|^2|\Psi_2|^2 + \alpha^*\beta\Psi_1^*\Psi_2 + \alpha\beta^*\Psi_1\Psi_2^* $$ $$=> |\alpha\Psi_1 + \beta\Psi_2|^2 = |\alpha|^2|\Psi_1|^2 + |\beta|^2|\Psi_2|^2 + 2Re(\alpha^*\beta\Psi_1^*\Psi_2) $$ I am...

Isn't the superposition principle of electric field just force being addable? Jackson's electrodynamics says it's based on the premise of linear Maxwell's equations. Which support(s) the superposition principle?

1. Is it possible to perform the following, modified double-slit experiment with single electrons/electron beam: The slits are separated in such a way, that each leads to a separate magnetic trap. The traps have oppositely directed magnetic fields, so that the electrons entering them move in...

First, I have a question about supereposition of the plane waves - whether the direction of all such plane wave is same, i.e. ##\vec{n}## is in some direction. If not, I think it would be ##\vec{E}(\vec{x}, t)=\int\mathbf{\mathfrak{E}}(\vec{k}')e^{i\vec{k}'\cdot\vec{x}-i\omega t}d^3k##. Besides...

In MWI, would you say that a measurement puts the observer in superposition of being in the various worldlines? If I said "yes" to that, would I be correct?

Sean Carroll on why we don't see things in a superposition [30:44] --- www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hVmeOCJjOU&feature=youtu.be&t=1843 Here's my attempt at a simpler reason (but I need some help). In the figure, we have a photon source and two mirrors M1 and M2. M2 is 100% reflective, but M1 can...

Fermilab's Don Lincoln describes Quantum Entanglement, and how it is different from classical statistics and hidden variables scenario.

It is not clear to me what is the status of superposition in each interpretation. For instance, if I google I don't get much talk about it. Is superposition tied to probability or can be considered as separate.

A system is linear if it satisfies the properties of superposition and homogeneity. Superposition: adding the inputs of two systems results in the addition of the two outputs. Ex) x1(t) + x2(t) = y1(t) + y2(t) Homogeneity: multiplying the input by some scalar value is equal to the output...

In Abner Shimony's paper "The Reality of the Quantum World", the choice between particle detector and wave interference detector is said to be made "after the photon had interacted with the beam splitter". A: Isn't it true that, at light speed, time is not passing for the photon? And so, with...

I don't get this. Since we have analyzed the circuit separately for each source, adding them should give me the final values of I1, V2, I2, V1 etc. However, that's not quite true—from cases 1 and 2, I should have I1 = 4 + 5 = 9 mA, but it's 8mA. Hence, I thought that the black box consumes 1mA...

I've been reading about Quantum Field Theory and what it says about subatomic particles. I've read that QFT regards particles as excited states of underlying quantum fields. If this is the case, how can particles be regarded as objective? It seems to me that this also removes some of the...

In 1935, Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger was looking at a concept called a "superposition." Superposition is when two waves meet and overlap and interact, which can lead to different results based on the circumstances. The concept can be seen in the regular-sized world as well, in...

So I consider a measurement on a superposition, in MWI, leads to another superposition: ##(|A\rangle+|B\rangle)|Observer\rangle \rightarrow |A\rangle|Observer{A}\rangle+|B\rangle|Observer{B}\rangle## If we come to the latter situation, a superposition of branches, why does that not mean that...

Would this be an accurate portrayal of measuring the spin of an electron with a SG detector?: The electron is in a superposition of spin-up and spin-down; Upon entering the magnetic field of the SG detector, the electron enters a superposition of an upward trajectory and a downward trajectory...

Homework Statement: relation between qft and statistical physics Homework Equations: domains with equal values I read a french paper about Kenneth Wilson. i translate several sentences (with google): it was demonstrated in 1960 by Kenneth Wilson that renormalization formed an incongruous...

Consider the double slit experiment performed on a extremely sensitive scale, whereby the whole device including source and detector is isolated. From energy conservation we would expect that the weight is constant in principle while the experiment is running. What would we conclude? That the...

Hi! I need help with this problem. I tried to solve it by saying that it would be the same as the field of a the spherical shell alone plus the field of a point charge -q at A or B. For the field of the spherical shell I got ##E_1=\frac{q}{a\pi\epsilon_0 R^2}=\frac{\sigma}{\epsilon_0}## and for...

It is said that for a particle in a box the energy is in a superposition. If indeed that is the case what happens when a measurement is made where does the excess energy go. Of course, that is based on my understanding is that superposition is a real physical and not platonic.

Since my major is not physics. My QM knowledge is not pretty good (Mostly self study). I am sorry if this question was asked multiple times in the forum. I've learned that wavefunction can be written as a linear combination of eigenfunctions due to completeness property. If an electron is...

I don't know how to understand this: Suppose we measure the spin of an electron with apparatus M. M can yield spin-up or spin-down. According to MWI, M briefly becomes in superposition of measuring spin up and spin down. Extremely quick however, M gets split by the splitting into two universes...

When we say that a partikel - say a photon - is in superposition we assume the partikel itself is in superposition, but as I see it, the partikel is what it is. It is just that we don't know for the moment. So, is the partikel itself in superposition, or is it the answer to the question about...

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Using the fact that Pa ∝ |α|^2 and Pb ∝ |β|^2, we get: Pa = k|α|^2 and Pb = k|β|^2 Since the probability of measuring the two states must add up to 1, we have Pa + Pb = 1 => k = 1/(|α|^2 + |β|^2). Substituting this in Pa and Pb, we get: Pa = |α|^2/(|α|^2 + |β|^2) and Pb = |β|^2/(|α|^2 + |β|^2)...

In a book it says that "we know of quantum phenomena in the electromagnetic field that represents a failure of superposition,seen from the viewpoint of the classical theory." I want to about what quantum phenomena is he talking about? This was from the page 11 of the book Electricity And...

I hope my articulation makes sense. Can I prepare a particle so that it has >1 states in superposition and resolve them at different times? I will make up states to try and illustrate my question better. Prepare a particle so that spin up and spin down are in a state of superposition. Also...

Let go of what you know about reality, okay? Okay. Now pay attention. Say the world is divided into two realms. There’s our realm, which is where particles act like particles and all questions we can ask about that particle have a definite answer. But don’t get too comfortable, because there’s...

Hello all, This my first time posting to this forum and am doing so to try and reconsile an issue I saw with quantum theory and determinism in my intro philosophy class. To my understanding, being a ce/eveg major, is that the law of superposition in laymen's states that certain properties cannot...

I'm a student trying to explain quantum superposition without using Schrodinger's cat. Instead, I'm trying to use the principal of wave particle duality to explain how a particle can be in multiple states (and locations) at once before it is observed due to wave properties. However, I'm unsure...

When monochromatic light is incident on a plano convex lens(as shown in the picture), these dark rings are produced which are observed with the help of a traveling microscope. The procedure requires us to measure the diameter of each ring (We need to measure the diameter of at least 10...

In Classical Mechanics, waves produced in linear systems, like EM waves, obey the Superposition Principle in which the wave amplitudes of, say two input waves, “add up” to create one output wave whose varying amplitude is the sum of the two input waves. One example would be Young’s Double Slit...

I have two bodies which combine to form a system. For each body, I know its centroidal products of inertia. I wish to combine the two centroidal products of inertia to arrive at the products of inertia about the centroid of the system. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Thank you to the very helpful forum leaders for their aide in comprehending entangled particle detection last week. With regards to superposition, would an analogy be: (which involves a thought experiment): a ceiling fan, at rest, has four distinct blades with four known positions...

Good day everybody, I'm currently working on the Grover algorithm. You can also illustrate this process geometrically and that's exactly what I have a question for. In my literary literature one obtains a uniform superposition by applying the Hadamard transformation to N-qubits. So far that's...

Homework Statement FIGURE 1 shows a 50 Ω load being fed from two voltage sources via their associated reactances. Determine the current i flowing in the load by: (a) applying Thévenin’s theorem (b) applying the superposition theorem (c) by transforming the two voltage sources and their...

Homework Statement This is just a question about a question in Serway & Jewett's "Physics for Scientists and Engineers 3rd Ed". It's Objective Question 3 from Chapter 18, building on Example 18.1 from the text. Two identical loudspeakers placed 3.00 m apart are driven by the same oscillator...

Hi Pf Instead of placing a screen on each path of an interometer i propose to place opticz traps. in both cases it will unable the photon to go further. i wonder if one on the traps will be heavier or if there will be symmetry (superposition).

How to teleport Schrödinger’s cat: this video presents the full quantum teleportation procedure, in which an arbitrary qubit (spin, etc) is teleported from Alice to Bob by way of a pair of particles entangled in a bell (EPR) state and the transmission of information via a classical channel.

I've been studying quantum mechanics, and working problems to get a feel for expectation values and what causes them to be real. I was working the problem of finite 1D wells, when I came across a situation I did not understand. A stationary state solution is made up of a forward and reverse...