- #1
sergiokapone
- 306
- 17
One of the paradoxical principles in Quantum Physics is the principle of quantum superposition, since in quantum theory we are not really talking about the superposition of waves or oscillations, but about the superposition of states.
A classic example demonstrating the phenomenon of quantum superposition is the double-slit experiment. This experiment is so important for understanding quantum mechanics that the famous physicist Richard Feynman begins his course in quantum mechanics in the "Feynman Lectures on Physics" with it.
Or another similar and concise example, if one have two boxes, then the electron can be in one of it, or in the other, but in addition, it turns out that it can be in a superposition of these two states - that is, in a certain sense - in both boxes at the same time.
Indeed, in these examples, it is considered that the electron is in the ##\left|\psi\right\rangle = a\left|1\right\rangle + b \left|2\right\rangle## state, which is a superposition of states ##\left|1\right\rangle ## (the electron is passed through the first slot / is in the first box) and ##\left|2\right\rangle ## (the electron is passed through the second slot / is in the second box).
Our classic attempt at understanding fails here. Indeed, how can an electron be both here and there at the same time if you think in the usual space-time concepts?
Could it be that we just need to abandon the concept of space-time when building a physical theory? Maybe space-time is only an emerging phenomenon, and hence the paradox of the principle of superposition. That is, for us it is paradoxical only because we think in terms of space-time. This is probably why it is not possible to unite general relativity and quantum mechanics.
A classic example demonstrating the phenomenon of quantum superposition is the double-slit experiment. This experiment is so important for understanding quantum mechanics that the famous physicist Richard Feynman begins his course in quantum mechanics in the "Feynman Lectures on Physics" with it.
Or another similar and concise example, if one have two boxes, then the electron can be in one of it, or in the other, but in addition, it turns out that it can be in a superposition of these two states - that is, in a certain sense - in both boxes at the same time.
Indeed, in these examples, it is considered that the electron is in the ##\left|\psi\right\rangle = a\left|1\right\rangle + b \left|2\right\rangle## state, which is a superposition of states ##\left|1\right\rangle ## (the electron is passed through the first slot / is in the first box) and ##\left|2\right\rangle ## (the electron is passed through the second slot / is in the second box).
Our classic attempt at understanding fails here. Indeed, how can an electron be both here and there at the same time if you think in the usual space-time concepts?
Could it be that we just need to abandon the concept of space-time when building a physical theory? Maybe space-time is only an emerging phenomenon, and hence the paradox of the principle of superposition. That is, for us it is paradoxical only because we think in terms of space-time. This is probably why it is not possible to unite general relativity and quantum mechanics.
