Recent content by bushmonk

I am not assuming that the decay takes place only once. Only that I have observational access to one decoherent branch, and in that branch the decay has taken place. The decay in other branches may or may not have taken place. I am far from assuming that the decay only occurs once. But it...

A surprising statement to me. I gather that the amplitude of the un-decayed atom gradually decreases and the amplitude of the various decoherent branches gradually increase with time. This raises a couple of questions: 1. How does MWI set t = 0 for this case. 2. Suppose that at a...

For clarity, consider a very orderly crystal with a single radioactive atom at a specific location. It decays by alpha emission. When the alpha particle is emitted, it disrupts the location of nearby atoms and then comes to rest and forms a stray helium atom. It would seem that there is a...

This response captures something of my frustration. My experience is that the path towards a decent amateur understanding of QM is educationally inefficient. Much effort for little understanding. The path is obscured by debris, rabbit trails and sometimes rabbit holes. It would not be a good...

How do I quote a previous contributor, and comment on the quote. Everyone is doing it. I can reply, but I get the entire contribution as quote. I want to focus on a few select quotes. Where are the instructions on how to do it? Can you reply to more than one contribution in the same reply?

I made the original post. Oops. I just revived the cat. A special thanks for those that expounded QM in response whether for or against my post. Here is my understanding. Correct me where I am wrong. I think it is misleading to say that a cat is in a quantum state, for the following reasons...

What’s with Schrodinger’s Cat? I seem to be missing something. I keep on hearing about Schrodinger’s cat. Why? Why would anyone think that a cat, alive or dead, is in a quantum state? Every quantum experiment involves a quantum state, subject to the law of superposition, being physically...

The reason for my followup question is that I want to know what quantum mechanics says about why some interactions preserve coherence (and therefore the capacity for interference) and others produce localization. In introductory quantum mechanics, I was taught that the localization occurs when...

1. Is this "correctness" generally acknowledged or is it something peculiar to the Bohmian interpretation. 2. I checked out the Bohmian link. The idea that position is the fundamental measurement seemed reasonable--I haven't come across any other. However I couldn't follow the math and so...

A weak (one photon at a time) beam of laser light strikes a double slit. In case 1 the barrier forming the double slit is a mirror. In case 2 the barrier is flat black. An array of detectors surround the experiment and can detect the photon whether it goes through the slit or is reflected. In...