Collapsing the wavefuntion to an Energy Eigenfunction?

Click For Summary
The discussion centers on the challenge of measuring the energy of a single particle immediately after it has collapsed to an energy eigenfunction. Participants note that traditional experiments often focus on position measurements, which can collapse the wavefunction to a delta function. It is suggested that particle colliders routinely measure energy, but the issue remains how to do so without first measuring position. The mass spectrometer is mentioned as one potential method for measuring energy independently of position. The conversation highlights the complexities of quantum measurement and the need for innovative experimental approaches.
mkarydas
Messages
8
Reaction score
0
Is there an experiment that can measure the energy of a single particle so immediately after it has collapsed to one of the energy eigenfunctions?
The problem is that all experiments i can think of are about measuring the position of a the particle so we collapse it to its delta function. But how can someone experimentally measure the energy of a particle ?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
What's your question?

How someone measures experimentally the energy of a particle? - well its done all the time in particle colliders.

How one measures it immediately after - simply do the same experiment immediately after - of course if the measurement didn't destroy it.

Thanks
Bill
 
Last edited:
thats exactly my question..how does one measure the energy of a particle without measuring its position first?
 
mkarydas said:
thats exactly my question..how does one measure the energy of a particle without measuring its position first?

Mass spectrometer is one way - probably others as well.

Thanks
Bill
 

Thread 'Two equivalent statements of time reversal symmetric Hamiltonian'

Time reversal invariant Hamiltonians must satisfy ##[H,\Theta]=0## where ##\Theta## is time reversal operator. However, in some texts (for example see Many-body Quantum Theory in Condensed Matter Physics an introduction, HENRIK BRUUS and KARSTEN FLENSBERG, Corrected version: 14 January 2016, section 7.1.4) the time reversal invariant condition is introduced as ##H=H^*##. How these two conditions are identical?
View full post »

Similar threads

Undergrad Completeness of Eigenfunctions of Hermitian Operators
  • · Replies 22 ·
Replies
22
Views
2K
Graduate Can particles appear and disappear "with" a cause?
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
High School A stupidly basic question about expectation value
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
2K
Undergrad Quantum particle's state in momentum eigenfunctions basis
  • · Replies 16 ·
Replies
16
Views
2K
Undergrad Particle in free space - what happens to the wave function after measurement?
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
High School Can someone please explain to me the motion of an electron?
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
2K
Undergrad Collapse of wavefunction into a forbidden eigenstate for a free particle
  • · Replies 75 ·
3
Replies
75
Views
5K
High School Extremely elementary questions about QM
  • · Replies 24 ·
Replies
24
Views
3K
Undergrad Particle in the box eigenfunctions
  • · Replies 60 ·
3
Replies
60
Views
8K
Undergrad Representation of Spin 1/2 quantum state
  • · Replies 61 ·
3
Replies
61
Views
5K