- #1
Robert Friz
- 36
- 9
Hi. This is my first posting on the Physics Forum so please forgive any issues as a result. I am a (reasonably educated) lay person with a strong physics interest with extensive readings -- so please be patient with my questions. :-> My questions and interest in these issues are sincere.
I have not seen a definitive statement in print that quantum entities* that are a part of a macro-sized object (e.g. the atoms in a photon detector) are entangled as a part of that macro-sized object. If this is so, due to the mass entanglement of its quantum components, the macro object will (I believe) have a single waveform as one of its characteristics.
In experiments such as the two-slit experiment, we all know that interference patterns occur until the observer tries to measure the path* of the quantum entity (e.g. a photon), and when a detector is introduced the interference pattern ceases to exist. Ostensibly, this is because the act of measurement interferes with the waveform of the quantum entity, but we all also know that this supposition is at the heart of the "measurement problem" debate.
I have not seen in print the possibility that the "measurement problem" is due to the waveform of the macro (fully entangled) object becoming entangled with the waveform of the quantum entity. Should this occur, the waveform entanglement would therefore determine the state* of the quantum entity by virtue of the state of the macro object, creating a definite position of the quantum entity and eliminating the interference pattern. The entanglement would occur when the probabilities of each of the waveforms are non-zero* at points in space-time in a location I call the "waveform overlap zone" between the macro object and the quantum entity.
Has anyone seen a discussion about this scenario in print? If so, how would the suggested entanglement of the two associated waveforms suggested above impact the "measurement problem", which continues to be one of the hottest discussions in physics?
Thank you for your help and consideration,
Bob Friz
* The definition and even the usage of each of the starred words is of course up for significant discussion.
I have not seen a definitive statement in print that quantum entities* that are a part of a macro-sized object (e.g. the atoms in a photon detector) are entangled as a part of that macro-sized object. If this is so, due to the mass entanglement of its quantum components, the macro object will (I believe) have a single waveform as one of its characteristics.
In experiments such as the two-slit experiment, we all know that interference patterns occur until the observer tries to measure the path* of the quantum entity (e.g. a photon), and when a detector is introduced the interference pattern ceases to exist. Ostensibly, this is because the act of measurement interferes with the waveform of the quantum entity, but we all also know that this supposition is at the heart of the "measurement problem" debate.
I have not seen in print the possibility that the "measurement problem" is due to the waveform of the macro (fully entangled) object becoming entangled with the waveform of the quantum entity. Should this occur, the waveform entanglement would therefore determine the state* of the quantum entity by virtue of the state of the macro object, creating a definite position of the quantum entity and eliminating the interference pattern. The entanglement would occur when the probabilities of each of the waveforms are non-zero* at points in space-time in a location I call the "waveform overlap zone" between the macro object and the quantum entity.
Has anyone seen a discussion about this scenario in print? If so, how would the suggested entanglement of the two associated waveforms suggested above impact the "measurement problem", which continues to be one of the hottest discussions in physics?
Thank you for your help and consideration,
Bob Friz
* The definition and even the usage of each of the starred words is of course up for significant discussion.