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dEdt
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If you were to measure an electron's spin, for example, will the wavefunction associated with its position also collapse?
dEdt said:If you were to measure an electron's spin, for example, will the wavefunction associated with its position also collapse?
K^2 said:You have to be more specific. If your measurement is equivalent to spin operator, it does not collapse the spatial components of the wave function. But any realistic measurement will probably collapse the spatial wave function to something. Really, it depends on how you measure the spin in the first place. Stern–Gerlach, for example, obviously collapses the spatial wave function as well as the spin wave function.
DrChinese said:I would not have thought an S-G outcome would contain much position information.
dEdt said:I think an S-G device also gives an indication of what path the object took inside the device itself. Wouldn't that collapse the wavefunction?
At any rate, have there been any experiments done to check that say spin collapse doesn't cause position collapse? Or is this based on theoretical arguments?
You can make it yourself. Prepare Young's double slit experiment putting polariser at slits (the same polarisation in both of them). Spin gets collapsed, but you still see fringe pattern.dEdt said:At any rate, have there been any experiments done to check that say spin collapse doesn't cause position collapse?
You are effectively measuring position and use it to determine the spin. You can't really do that without collapsing the position wave function.DrChinese said:I would not have thought an S-G outcome would contain much position information.
Wavefunction collapse is a phenomenon in quantum mechanics where the probability wave associated with a particle's position or properties becomes localized or "collapses" into a single definite value upon measurement or observation.
Wavefunction collapse occurs when a physical interaction with the particle, such as measurement or observation, causes the superposition of possible states to collapse into a single definite state. This happens due to the nature of quantum mechanics, where particles can exist in multiple states simultaneously until they are observed.
Electron spin is an intrinsic property of subatomic particles, including electrons, that causes them to behave as if they were spinning on their own axis. This spin can be either "up" or "down" and is a fundamental component of an electron's overall quantum state.
Electron spin can be measured using a variety of methods, including Stern-Gerlach experiments, where a magnetic field is used to deflect the path of electron beams based on their spin orientation. Another common method is electron spin resonance, which uses radio waves to measure the energy difference between the two spin states.
When an electron's spin is measured, it causes the superposition of possible spin states to collapse into a single definite state. This is because the act of measurement or observation interacts with the electron and forces it to take on a specific spin orientation, eliminating the possibility of other spin states. This is an example of wavefunction collapse in action.