Measurement and Preparation in the Double Slit Experiment

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The discussion centers on the distinction between measurement and preparation in quantum mechanics, particularly in the context of the double slit experiment. Preparation involves creating a source that produces quantum systems in a specific statistical state without measuring them, while measurement entails extracting information from a system, which may alter its state. The conversation highlights that filters can transform sources, with some leaving measurable traces in the environment, thereby intertwining preparation and measurement. The role of decoherence is also examined, clarifying that it does not cause wave function collapse but explains the transition to a mixture of states perceived during measurement. Ultimately, the dialogue emphasizes the complexity of quantum systems and the interpretational challenges they present.
  • #31
vanhees71 said:
Ok, that's still a superposition of states, not of "position".
And of spin states, not of position states!
 
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  • #32
It has nothing to do with spin!
|u> is for the upper slit.
 
  • #33
naima said:
It has nothing to do with spin!
|u> is for the upper slit.
Then your notation |u> and |d> stands for two spherical waves, not for two position eigenstates! And nothing at all is measured at the slits (if not energy), just prepared. There are no clicks anywhere. (Except perhaps in a detector later, which does a measurement (of the energy at the detector surface).
 

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