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In classical mechanics , someone who talks about "two identical spherical masses" means certain properties of the two objects are identical, but not that they are identical with respect to their position coordinates. So there is a tacit understanding that the use of phrases like "identical" or "same properties" does not actually refer to all possible properties.
My interpretation is: Suppose electron A and electron B are initially distinguishable. After they get close enough, we can't perform any process to separate them again and tell which is electron A and which is electron B. I understand that interpretation.
This raises the question of how you know that there are two electrons in the first place. It seems to me that counting two things implies some way of telling them apart.ZapperZ said:Two electrons are identical to each other. They have exactly the same properties and characteristics.
In classical mechanics , someone who talks about "two identical spherical masses" means certain properties of the two objects are identical, but not that they are identical with respect to their position coordinates. So there is a tacit understanding that the use of phrases like "identical" or "same properties" does not actually refer to all possible properties.
But these two electrons become INDISTINGUISHABLE if they are so close to one another that their wavefuctions significantly overlap, so much so that you can no longer distinguish which is which.
My interpretation is: Suppose electron A and electron B are initially distinguishable. After they get close enough, we can't perform any process to separate them again and tell which is electron A and which is electron B. I understand that interpretation.
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