Recent content by nanobug

Yes. Any macroscopic system is an "observer".

Decoherence! The isotope needs to interact with the mechanism that breaks the vial. This mechanism is macroscopic. Entanglement with the particles of this mechanism will eliminate superposition, resulting in classical probabilities for the outcome.

This is really not a conundrum once one adopts the point of view that "particles" are simply quanta of fields (as one does in quantum field theory.)

I was actually able to find the paper on arXiv which addresses these common misconceptions: http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0310808" Thanks, I now stand corrected! :blushing:

I think this webpage does a decent job at providing a somewhat intuitive view of decoherence: http://www.ipod.org.uk/reality/reality_decoherence.asp

'Observation', within the context of QM is simply a synonym of decoherence. As decoherence relies on the entangling of quantum systems with a macroscopic environment, a cat is as good as a lump of coal. No brains are necessary, just lots and lots of entanglements with the corresponding...

Just curious, how does one observe something moving away at v>c?

Could you please explain the result of the double-slit experiment using classical probabilities and particles with precise but unknown positions and momenta?

Actually, I would first recommend this paper to reilly. :smile:

Well, for this type of thinking you wouldn't need quantum theory, classical probabilities would be fine. What happens, however, is that things such as interference and superposition, which don't have a classical interpretation, manifest themselves both theoretical and practically. They are a...

The dead cat, being a macroscopic system, is quite able to "observe" the outcome. Awareness is unnecessary. What matters is that decoherence happens.

Because an electron sometimes behaves as a classical wave, what would its "theoretical" position be?

Any frame can be considered a 'rest frame', that is, a the frame in which one is at rest. The question is other inertial forces are felt or not. Obviously, someone at rest in a rotating frame is going to feel these forces.

Are you related to Rumsfeld, by any chance? :smile: As we know, There are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know There are known unknowns. That is to say We know there are some things We do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns, The ones we don't know...

If I am not mistaken, you will stop receiving emails if you don't act on them, i.e., click on the link provided. Electrons create electromagnetic fields. Electrons also respond (feel a force) when exposed to electromagnetic fields. So where do photons come from? A photon is a particle. This...