What is Collapse: Definition and 468 Discussions

Collapse! is a series of tile-matching puzzle video games by GameHouse, a software company in Seattle, Washington. In 2007, Super Collapse! 3 became the first game to win the Game of the Year at the inaugural Zeebys. The series has been discontinued since 2015 due to RealNetworks shutting down its internal games studio.In 2006, a spin-off series called Super Collapse Puzzle Gallery! was developed into 5 games.

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  1. W

    Does gravitational collapse limit Neutron Star size?

    Is there a theoretical limit to the size of neutron stars? It seems likely neutron stars are not simply electrons orbiting a proton so what is their life cycle? Can they just evaporate slowly by neutron decay?
  2. 1977ub

    B Understanding Measurements / Collapse

    I'm trying to understand the impact of past measurements, and when measurements occur. As I understand it, in the simplest case, you've got a particle emitter in the center of a circle, and a measuring plate around the circle. Here in the ideal case the particle is emitted and has equal...
  3. T

    I When does superposition collapse or entanglement take place

    When two quantum objects interact, when does this interaction destroy their superposition and when does this interaction causes them to be entangled and allow the superposition to remain.
  4. zonde

    I Is quantum collapse an interpretation?

    A have seen here on forum statements that quantum collapse is interpretation dependent, for example: So I would like to ask for explanation that does not relay on quantum collapse for this phenomena: We have unpolarized beam of light. It goes trough two orthogonally oriented polarizers...
  5. J

    I Quantum Collapse: Understanding The Mystery

    I am confused about the QM phenomenon of collapse. For example, if an electron is prepared by a magnetic field as spin right and then measured in a device determining whether it is spin up or down, it is said that the electron, which had been in a linear superposition of up and down will now...
  6. Ackbach

    MHB Simple Model of 9/11/2001 World Trade Center Collapse

    $\newcommand{\un}[1]{\,\text{#1}}$ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSVHWiZu8NM One of my relatives sent me a link to a video (above) claiming that the WTC towers must have had internal demolition in order to fall as fast as they did. I think there are good reasons to oppose the theory, but I...
  7. T

    I Why is "consciousness causes collapse" unprovable or unfalsiable?

    I heard that the consciousness causes collapse hypothesis is hard to verify or disprove. Anybody knows why?
  8. mpolo

    B Why does a the Wave Function collapse?

    Why does a wave function collapse when we observe a particle? I would like to know why something that is in Super Position suddenly chooses a particular position when observed? If something is in all positions or states. How does the particle choose a particular state? What is the decision...
  9. T

    I Regarding consciousness causing wavefunction collapse

    What are the experiments that disprove the idea that consciousness causes wavefunction collapse?
  10. L

    I Radiative collapse of an electron in a classical atom

    Hello! How do I find how much energy does electron radiate during one revolution if the energy radiation rate is given by Larmor Formula: dE /dt = [(− 2/3)* e2* a2]/ c3. Should I use the chain rule? At the moment I only want a hint how to solve this. With best regards
  11. N

    Internal pressure due to vessel collapse

    Hey All, I have a plastic vessel fully filled filled with an incompressible fluid (Water), at some time this vessel is impacted and crushed on one side (say 5% of the initial volume is lost). Only, I know the volume isn't lost, the fluid (being incompressible) will exert pressure on all...
  12. hilbert2

    A Field strength measurement and continuity

    Something about the theory of quantum measurement/collapse in the case of quantum fields... Suppose I have a field, either a scalar, vector or spinor, that I want to describe as a quantum object. For simplicity let's say that it's a scalar field ##\phi (\mathbf{x})##, where the ##\mathbf{x}## is...
  13. S

    I Direct collapse to black hole without supernova?

    Hi. I saw this: https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2017/05/29/surprise-the-universe-has-a-third-way-to-form-black-holes/#52d7225f216d suggesting they saw a star undergo a "direct collapse" to a black hole with no supernova. Now this seems like it could be sensible -- if there's...
  14. ohwilleke

    I Is Gravity Dynamically Emergent From Wave Function Collapse?

    A clever new paper explores the notion that the reduced Planck's constant in the quantum analogy to Newton's constant for macroscopic quantities though a hybrid quantity that generalized the Compton wavelength and the Schwarzschild radius. This allows for a linkage between the Einstein equations...
  15. M

    How does Lenz's law delay coil field collapse in magnetos?

    Perhaps the title of this post is not quite correct because I could not find a way to abbreviate what I am asking. Picture a magneto circuit, where, an alternator is used to generate an AC flux into a primary coil of a ignition coil by means of a magnetic core (the primary is wrapped around the...
  16. durant35

    I Can entropy drop in the Copenhagen interpretation?

    I've been reading some speculative articles about the possible quantum arrow of time which emerges through collapse and irreversibility. My question is: does collapse in the Copenhagen interpretation (or perhaps in a objective-collapse model) allow the spontaneous decrease of entropy where an...
  17. M

    I Trying to model wave function collapse

    Lets assume there is an observable represented by the operator, ##\hat{A}##. It follow (I think) that the observed values and allowed states obeys an equation of the following form\begin{equation}\hat{A}|\psi^i\rangle=\lambda_f|\psi_f\rangle\end{equation} where $$|\psi^i\rangle = initial \ \...
  18. C

    What happens mathematically when a wave function collapses

    In Shankars "Principle of Quantum Mechanics" in Chapter 4, page 122, he explains what the "Collapse of the State Vector" means. I get that upon measurement, the wave function can be written as a linear combination of the eigenvectors belonging to a operator which corresponds to the...
  19. anubodh

    A Resources for GRW, CSL collapse models

    I have extensively searched the internet but failed to find any exhaustive literature on the different collapse models of quantum mechanics.It would be really helpful if someone who knows can guide me on some exhaustive resources for the same.
  20. J

    B Does an electron's position collapse when measuring g factor?

    https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-540-39664-2_1 http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0031-8949/1988/T22/016/pdf In these two experiments done back in the 80's, electrons were trapped inside a penning trap for long periods of time. They were measuring the ratio of the magnetic...
  21. N

    I Interpretation of QM that psiontic, local, and has collapse?

    Is there any interpretation of QM that is Psi-ontic, local, and has wave function collapse?
  22. M

    B Double slit experiment wave collapse

    I would like to ask this question. In the double slit experiment on wave particle duality of photon, we know that the wave function collapses and the photon behave like a particle whenever we peek. Has anyone ever placed a second double slit behind the detector to see whether a particle regain...
  23. L

    B Why did famous people think consciousness causes collapse?

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Von_Neumann%E2%80%93Wigner_interpretation also schrodinger believed it, and maybe bohr too? this is such a stupid concept, it's obviously false. but clearly i must be missing out on something, people like them aren't going to believe in things that's "obviously...
  24. FreeThinking

    I Is entanglement severed by wave function collapse?

    What has confused me for a long time is the interaction between superposition and entanglement. That is, what happens when one member of a pair of entangled particles passes through a filter that selects for an observable that is incompatible to the observable in which the pair is entangled...
  25. E

    I On Wave Function Collapse and Accuracy of Energy Measurment

    I have a concern about having some wave function psi, that is originally a superposition of many eigenstates (energies). Traditionally, it is said that the square of the coefficient of each of the component eigenfunctions represents the probability of measuring this particular energy eigenstate...
  26. Jilang

    I The nature of wavefunctions collapse

    This post is a result of reading RKaster's links and I am wondering if there is some evidence that supports measurement being a two stage process. In the Stern Gerlach experiment the particles are in superposition until measured. But is the superposition ended once they enter the magnetic field...
  27. I

    B Is the wave function collapse asymmetrical in time?

    Suppose the Copenhagen interpretation is correct. And we reverse time, what happens. If a wave function has collapsed, and we found a particle somewhere. Now, I turn back time( just hypothetically), what would happen? Would the wave function uncollapse and would the particle then appear at some...
  28. T

    Crush Cocoa Puffs with Compressed Air – Science Project

    For a science project/competition, my friend and I have the chance of building a kick butt device to dazzle the judges. Because I'm nuts about relativity and black holes (or maybe just nuts o0)), I thought maybe we could go for broke and build a transparent, pressurized box to pulverize the...
  29. Allen_Wolf

    Why don't electrons fall into the nucleus of an atom?

    I have a simple doubt to keep things clear. Why doesn't electrons fall into the nucleus of an atom? Is it because of the high velocity of electrons? If so, at what velocity will the electron be slow enough to collapse into the nucleus?
  30. F

    B Why gas clouds collapse if the forces are conservative?

    Hello all, You all have always kindly helped me as I remember questions I have accumulated since high school days, and have never been answered. Eventually I gave up and forgot them, but as I grow old for some odd reason these things pop back up in my mind, like old ghosts from 35 years ago...
  31. B

    B Penrose collapse and Superposition

    According to Sabine http://backreaction.blogspot.com/2016/03/dear-dr-b-what-is-difference-between.html you can make superposition go away by just changing the basis state.. "All this is just to say that whether a particle is or isn’t in a superposition is ambiguous. You can always make its...
  32. J

    Hydrogen Atom: Wavefunction collapse after measurement of Lz

    Homework Statement Suppose we have a wavefunction with n=4. If we measure the orbital angular momentum along the z-direction(no spin in this problem) and get 2*hbar then what are the possible values of the total angular momentum and what is the most general wavefunction after the measurement...
  33. Giulio Prisco

    A Where does Von Neumann say that consciousness causes collapse

    It's often claimed that in Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics Von Neumann concluded that it's the observer's consciousness that collapses the wavefunction (Process 1). But I am reading Chapter 6 of the book (both original and translation) word by word, and I don't find this...
  34. mollwollfumble

    B In what year was wormhole collapse discovered?

    In what year was it first discovered that wormholes are non-traversable because the introduction of infalling matter caused the throat to collapse? Who discovered this?
  35. Tareq Naushad

    B How to make the wave collapse in double-slit experiment

    I successfully created the fringe pattern at home with a simple laser light and a black plastic sheet with two thin cut as double-slits. I then used two mobile phone cameras at two sides in hope that the wave function of light will be collapsed. But nothing happened i.e. the fringe remained...
  36. F

    I Why do nebulae tend to collapse into discs?

    As far as I understand it, a nebula initially tends to have a small amount of rotation (on average) and then as it collapses under its own gravity this rotation increases significantly due to conservation of angular momentum (assuming that there is no external torque,right?!). What I'm unsure...
  37. entropy1

    What is the difference between MWI and CI?

    Suppose we measure a normalized state ##|\Psi \rangle = \alpha _0 | \lambda _0 \rangle + \alpha _1 | \lambda _1 \rangle + \alpha _2 | \lambda _2 \rangle + ...## with ##| \lambda _i \rangle## the eigenvalues of the measured observable. Is it true that, in the CI, the wavefunction collapses into...
  38. Bill Myk

    I Strong Force and Wave function collapse

    Why does STRONG FORCE fail regarding complex structures of sub atomic particles when wave functions collapse @ entangled superpositions. Why does it not continue to function keeping the particles bound yet unentangled with the observed Eigenstate being it was originally binding such particles @...
  39. entropy1

    B Nature of collapse / does collapse exist?

    I learned that the moment a wavefunction collapse takes place is a matter of interpretation. So, I suppose the phenomenon 'wavefuntion collapse' is something that has to be witnessed by observation at some point to be able to establish it at all! So my question is: if collapse doesn't actually...
  40. B

    A Collapse and projection-valued measures

    Let suppose I have an observable ##A## with associated projection-valued measure ##\mu_A## $$A = \int_{a \in \mathbb{R}} a \cdot \textrm{d}\mu_A(a)$$ for a system in the (possibly mixed) state ##\rho##. Let ##S \subset \mathbb{R}## be a measurable subset and let ##Z = \mu_A(S)## be the...
  41. M

    B Gravitational Collapse: Internal Energy & Potential Energy

    During gravitational collapse, gravitational potential energy of the gas is converted to its internal kinetic energy so the internal energy of the clous of gas is said to be increased But isn't gravitational potential energy included in the internal energy? Shouldn't the internal energy remains...
  42. entropy1

    B Measurement and the creation/loss of information

    If we measure, say, the polarisation of a photon, the polarisation state of the photon collapses along the eigenvector of the observable corresponding to the measurement. This may seem as a loss of information of the original polarisation (for it is now collapsed into another value). However...
  43. F

    I Does the probability collapse theory of QM imply backward in time

    In the thought experiment known as Schrodinger's cat a cat is placed in a sealed box, and its life or death is tied to an uncertain quantum event such as radioactive decay. If the radioactive particle decays, the cat dies. If not, nothing happens. According to probability collapse QM, as...
  44. A. Neumaier

    A Effective Dynamics of Open Quantum Systems: Stochastic vs Unitary Models

    Not quite. But it necessarily has to be described by a different quantum model than unitary dynamics if it is an open system and the rest of the universe is not explicitly modeled. For convenience, physicists often want to describe a small quantum system in terms of only its Hilbert space, when...
  45. B

    Degeneracy pressure and stellar collapse

    I have a question. In a massive star (more than say 5 times the mass of the sun), the electron/neutron degeneracy pressure is unable to prevent the gravitational collapse. Does this imply that the Pauli's exclusion principle breaks down and two or more electrons/neutrons collapse to the same...
  46. jedishrfu

    The Tacoma Bridge Collapse was Not due to Resonant Frequency

    An interesting article on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge collapse of 1940 shown to students of physics throughout the years as an example of the power of resonant frequencies. However, the explanation was much too simple to be true. Here's the real story...
  47. entropy1

    Does a polarisationfilter do a measurement?

    Consider a measurement of a photon after it has passed a polarisationfilter. Does the photon jump in a (polarisation-)eigenstate by passing the filter? Does the filter do a measurement? Is the filter part of the entire measurement?
  48. G.K. Masterson

    Writing: Input Wanted Nuclear Plants -- In the event of a 50% population collapse

    Hi all, I'm a science-fiction/fantasy writer who is in the midst of outlining a distant-future (10,000+ years) story. The main parts of it I can handle (humans on Earth have gone through a cycle of Intellectual --> Dark ages with the current era being a kind of pinnacle never again achieved)...
  49. durant35

    Decoherence and apparent collapse

    Can anybody explain what is the difference between apparent collapse and collapse? I've read that decoherence leads to apparent collapse but what does that mean, is there an eigenstate after decoherence but its not known why did it occur. I don't understand it all.
  50. A. Neumaier

    I Is the collapse indispensable?

    I studied lots of points of view, and lots of how physicists actually use quantum mechanics in the applications. I came to the conclusion that there is an objective and a subjective side to quantum mechanics. The collapse belongs to the subjective side, since it is associated with ''knowledge''...
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