1. ### A Conditional time evolution entropy and the experimenter?

Question --- So I've done a calculation which seems to suggest if I combine the system of a measuring apparatus to say an experimenter who "reacts" to the outcome of the the measurement versus one who does not. Then the change in entropy in both these situations is bounded by:  \Delta S_R...
2. ### B Implicit error margins based on significant figures

WARNING: Topic is very pedantic. I have used a set of different physics books over the years, and they have all had a focus on the topic of significant figures, error margins and measurement. I have never quite understood these concepts fully and the relationships between them. One aspect I...
3. ### I Are all processes CPT symmetric like measurement, stimulated emission?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CPT_symmetry says "CPT theorem says that CPT symmetry holds for all physical phenomena" - e.g. we could imagine decomposition of given phenomena into Feynman diagrams and apply CPT symmetry to all of them. However, for some o processes such reversibility seems...
4. ### I Ontology of measurement and correlation

If a non-commuting measurement is made on a quantum property (like spin), this can be seen as the wavefunction being prepared. So you can't tell if the outcome represents the property, or that the property is prepared. However, if the property is prepared, we can predict the correlation with a...
5. ### I Compatibility of MWI with probability of outcomes

Can MWI account for the probabilities of outcomes? If MWI says all outcomes are realized, is the probability that an outcome occurs then not 100%? How is this explained with the entanglement of the measured object and the measurement apparatus?
6. ### Doesn't Wigner's Friend Experiment solve the measurement problem?

If you look at the recent Wigner's Friend experiment, it seems to support Carlo Rovelli's Relational Interpretation which says there's no real measurement. Wiger's Friend carries out a polarization measurement. Before he does, the quantum system is in a superposition of horizontal/vertical...
7. ### I Wigner's Friend shows the difference between Observer and Measurement

You often hear this debate about the role of the observer in Quantum Mechanics. How you view this role is usually dictates the interpretation you prefer. If it's Copenhagen, then the observer is more robust and plays a crucial role in wave function collapse. If it's Many Worlds, then the...
8. ### I Observer superposition in MWI?

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?
9. ### I What does it mean to influence a quantum measurement's outcome?

This just occurred to me and I don't expect to be the first one to address it: It is said that in a specific measurement basis, the outcome of a measurement in this basis is determined by chance. But in how far is this the case, since if the eigenvectors are for example ##\overrightarrow{A}##...
10. ### I Does information get lost by measurement?

If we consider quantum wavefunction-collapse, when we end up in a world-thread with a specific value of the measurement outcome, has information got lost?
11. ### A Orientation of the Ferroelectric Hysteresis Loop -- Why is it different now?

(Edited with suggestions from Berkeman) After reading the original 1930 paper by Sawyer and Tower (link to original paper here), I noticed that their hysteresis loops are mirrored around the y-axis from many of the ferroelectric hysteresis loops reported today ( see FE examples here, here...
12. ### I Portrayal of spin measurement

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...
13. ### I Orthogonal eigenvectors and measurement

An outcome of a measurement in a (infinite) Hilbert space is orthogonal to all possible outcomes except itself! This sounds related to the measurement problem to me, for we inherently only obtain a single outcome. So, to take a shortcut I posted this question so I quickly get to hear where I'm...
14. ### I Conservation of energy and measurement problem

If we have a two dimensional measurementbasis, then we have two possible outcomes of the measurement. Now I figured: considering the law of conservation of energy, if one particle goes in, one and only one can come out. So outcome "both results simultaneously" cannot happen, for that would...
15. ### I Ontology of spin measurement

Summary: If a measurement outcome depends on the measurement setup, is de measured not real or the measurement? If the factual outcome of an electron-spin measurement depends on the orientation of the SG magnet, for instance up or down in one orientation and left or right in the other, does...
16. ### I Conservation of possibility?

Suppose we have a quantum object in superposition to some measurement basis, given by: ##\frac{\sqrt{2}}{\sqrt{3}}|a \rangle + \frac{1}{\sqrt{3}}|b \rangle##. (1) Suppose the measurement is made, and the system evolves, according to MWI, into ##\frac{\sqrt{2}}{\sqrt{3}}|a \rangle|W_a \rangle +...
17. ### A Schrödinger's cat: what's the state?

A physicist prepares a box and tells us that in the box there is a cat that is in a superposition of being alive and being dead. How can we be sure whether they're telling the truth? Is the state a superposition or a mixture? If we open the box and measure only whether the cat is alive, using...
18. ### B Doesn't the choice of measurement prove free will

I was reading the free will theorem and it basically says that subatomic particles and observers have to have free will because there's nothing prior to measurement that predetermines the outcome. Here's more: The free will theorem states: Given the axioms, if the two experimenters in question...
19. ### I Send the measurement device through a double slit

Hi. Double slit experiments are being performed successfully with increasingly large molecules. Some physicists (e.g. Anton Zeilinger) believe it might work with viruses as well. Assuming it works with a system that qualifies as a measurement device (be it a virus or something else complex...
20. ### I Can I steer myself into one of the Many Worlds like this?

Given an ideal "box" as used by Schrodinger; - have a quantum event occur inside it, e.g. sudden cat death with 50% probability. - have a machine in it that sends out a qubit, fully entangled with the box' internal state, at regular intervals. - the qubit is a polarised photon - outside, use a...
21. ### Energy Measurement in QM

Let's say I have a system whose time evolution looks something like this: This equation tells me that if I measure energy on it, I will get either energy reading ## E_0 ## or energy reading ## E_1 ## , when I do that, the system will "collapse" into one of the energy eigenstates, ## \psi_0 ##...
22. ### How do I use full-bridge strain gauge circuit to measure F?

Hey all, I am using a Wheatstone bridge with 4 strain gauges as resistors. I have a formula for the output voltage (Vout). My questions is how do I make it so instead of voltage I measure force? Do I simply apply a set max. force (let's say 140N), see what voltage I get (Vout,max) and then use...
23. ### B Measurement vs. Interaction

I am still confused about the difference between measurement and interaction. I mean when electrons are travelling from source to the screen through the slits, there are air molecules in their way. And even if the electron double slit experiment is carried out in total vacuum in a completely...
24. ### I Is a measurement a correlation?

If we make a measurement, does that mean that the outcome of the measurement gets correlated with the measured value?
25. ### I Quantisation of measurement

Suppose we have a photon in superposition of reaching detector A or detector B. Then, in Everett-worlds, both outcomes (detection at A/detection at B) are true, but in different worlds (##|U_x\rangle|x\rangle##). But if we observe the law of conservation of energy and the quantisation of the...
26. ### I Wave function collapse and measurement rule

Hi everyone, I'm kind of new in the QM world and I'm having difficulties understanding the superposition and the measurement principles together with the have function collapse. This is how I understand these principles: Superposition: While not measuring, the particle is in a superpsotion of...
27. ### I Definition and Rules of Quantum State Observation

I was wondering how the rules work for observation in a quantum system. Particularly, about what happens if two separate entities try measuring at the same time. And also, what kinds of interactions are happening all the time that are considered measurements, for example in quantum...
28. ### I History of the Universe and measured outcomes

This thread is a split-off of this post: https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/do-macro-objects-get-entangled.946927/page-2#post-5997089 So my issue is this: if, for convenience, we use a Copenhagen interpretation, and we measure an observable WF ##\alpha |A \rangle + \beta |B \rangle##, then...
29. ### Voltage Monitor for an LC circuit

Hi, I have an air wound 0.736 mH coil in series with a 3.5pF capacitor being driven with a function generator. Ideally the series resonant frequency should be around 3.13 MHz. The internal impedance of the function generator is 50 ohms or so. At resonance the voltage across the cap should be...
30. ### I How the probability amplitude is estimated in practice

Hi, I would like to know how the amplitude of probability is estimated/determinated in practice, for a given experiment. In this example 1.3.2 Analysis of Experiment 2 it is assumed that the probability for each of the two possible states are equiprobable. Than from the experimental results...