释义 |
measurement The role of measurement from the point of view of quantum theory, compared with classical mechanics, is strikingly different. In classical mechanics, an experiment may be designed to measure a physical system with negligible effect on the system. In quantum theory, measurement can fundamentally change the state of a system. A particle's state is described by a wave function ψ(x,t) which satisfies Schrödinger's equation. An observable A is represented by a Hermitian operator which has orthonormal eigenstates ψn(x,t). According to the Copenhagen interpretation, the particle is in a superposition of these eigenstates so that

with Measurement of the system then randomly selects from these eigenstates and measures the observable as the eigenvalue of ψn with probability |cn|2 and collapses the wave function to cnψn. See Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle. |