- #1
daisey
- 131
- 3
I've heard an interesting explanation of how the Quantum Zeno effect works, but I am still confused. Here is a summary of that explanation, as I understood it...
When constant observations (or a series of observations taken at very short intervals) are made of a system in a superposition of state 1 (un-decayed) and 2 (decayed), the chances are greater the wave function describing the system will collapse into state 1 since the system never has time to evolve into state 2.
Now I'm not a mathematics expert (or probability expert), but the above explanation seems correct to me only if the time clock that governs how long it on average takes the system to decay starts over from the beginning with every observation. Otherwise even with constant observation the system will eventually decay. Does the "time clock" in fact start over with every observation?
When constant observations (or a series of observations taken at very short intervals) are made of a system in a superposition of state 1 (un-decayed) and 2 (decayed), the chances are greater the wave function describing the system will collapse into state 1 since the system never has time to evolve into state 2.
Now I'm not a mathematics expert (or probability expert), but the above explanation seems correct to me only if the time clock that governs how long it on average takes the system to decay starts over from the beginning with every observation. Otherwise even with constant observation the system will eventually decay. Does the "time clock" in fact start over with every observation?