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College Physics

Further discussions on the superposition principle

Guan Hong

Published Jan 1, 2000• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

The physical meaning of the superposition principle in quantum mechanics is discussed.Various statements of this principle in a few textbooks are commented.

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Qeios•Jul 11, 2023•4 citations
The principle of superposition of states requires that the states of a dynamical system form a linear vector space. This hypothesis of linearity has usually been regarded as a fundamental postulate in quantum mechanics, of a kind that cannot be explained by classical concepts. Indeed, Dirac [2, p. 14] comments that "the superposition that occurs in quantum mechanics is of an essentially different nature from any occurring in the classical theory, as is shown by the fact that the quantum superposition principle demands indeterminacy in the results of observations in order to be capable of a sensible physical interpretation."
Lying in the core of the conceptual scheme of current quantum theory, the notion of quantum superposition is a consequence of the quantum-mechanical superposition principle. However, relying on precise but not attainable space or time coordinates, quantum superposition makes little sense physically if we use it to describe or explain experimental results obtained by measurement. Space or time is usually modeled by a metric space endowed with the usual distance function. Irrelevant to instrument precision and measurement accuracy, unattainability of precise coordinates is a well-established mathematical fact following from properties of the corresponding metric topology, and hence rules out completely, in principle, the possibility for us to obtain precise coordinates by measurement in actually performed experiments. In classical mechanics, unattainability of precise coordinates is hardly noticeable, and measurement results obtained in classical physics can still be reasonably explained even though precise coordinates are unattainable. However, when we explain measurement results obtained in quantum physics, unattainability of precise coordinates should not be omitted. In the conceptual scheme of current quantum theory, omission of unattainability of precise coordinates is an unfortunate flaw, which is largely responsible not only for the invalidity of quantum superposition in description of the physical world but also for various ineligible applications of quantum mechanics. Nevertheless, in no sense does the flaw imply quantum mechanics as a successful theory failing to be correct. As shown in this article, the flaw is repairable. By taking into account unattainability of precise coordinates, we can reinterpret the meaning of quantum superposition to repair the flaw without affecting eligible applications of quantum mechanics while avoiding all the ineligible applications.