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Quantum Indeterminacy
Quantum indeterminacy is the apparent ''necessary'' incompleteness in the description of a physical system, that has become one of the characteristics of the standard description of quantum physics. Prior to quantum physics, it was thought that Quantum indeterminacy can be quantitatively characterized by a probability distribution on the set of outcomes of measurements of an observable. The distribution is uniquely determined by the system state, and moreover quantum mechanics provides a recipe for calculating this probability distribution. Indeterminacy in measurement was not an innovation of quantum mechanics, since it had been established early on by experimentalists that errors in measurement may lead to indeterminate outcomes. By the later half of the 18th century, measurement errors were well understood, and it was known that they could either be reduced by better equipment or accounted for by statistical error models. In quantum mechanics, however, indeterminacy is of a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Physical System
A physical system is a collection of physical objects under study. The collection differs from a set: all the objects must coexist and have some physical relationship. In other words, it is a portion of the physical universe chosen for analysis. Everything outside the system is known as the '' environment'', which is ignored except for its effects on the system. The split between system and environment is the analyst's choice, generally made to simplify the analysis. For example, the water in a lake, the water in half of a lake, or an individual molecule of water in the lake can each be considered a physical system. An '' isolated system'' is one that has negligible interaction with its environment. Often a system in this sense is chosen to correspond to the more usual meaning of system, such as a particular machine. In the study of quantum coherence, the "system" may refer to the microscopic properties of an object (e.g. the mean of a pendulum bob), while the relevant "env ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vector (geometry)
In mathematics, physics, and engineering, a Euclidean vector or simply a vector (sometimes called a geometric vector or spatial vector) is a geometric object that has magnitude (or length) and direction. Euclidean vectors can be added and scaled to form a vector space. A '' vector quantity'' is a vector-valued physical quantity, including units of measurement and possibly a support, formulated as a '' directed line segment''. A vector is frequently depicted graphically as an arrow connecting an ''initial point'' ''A'' with a ''terminal point'' ''B'', and denoted by \stackrel \longrightarrow. A vector is what is needed to "carry" the point ''A'' to the point ''B''; the Latin word means 'carrier'. It was first used by 18th century astronomers investigating planetary revolution around the Sun. The magnitude of the vector is the distance between the two points, and the direction refers to the direction of displacement from ''A'' to ''B''. Many algebraic operations on real numbe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bell's Inequalities
Bell's theorem is a term encompassing a number of closely related results in physics, all of which determine that quantum mechanics is incompatible with local hidden-variable theories, given some basic assumptions about the nature of measurement. The first such result was introduced by John Stewart Bell in 1964, building upon the Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen paradox, which had called attention to the phenomenon of quantum entanglement. In the context of Bell's theorem, "local" refers to the principle of locality, the idea that a particle can only be influenced by its immediate surroundings, and that interactions mediated by physical fields cannot propagate faster than the speed of light. " Hidden variables" are supposed properties of quantum particles that are not included in quantum theory but nevertheless affect the outcome of experiments. In the words of Bell, "If hidden-variable theoryis local it will not agree with quantum mechanics, and if it agrees with quantum mechani ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Self-adjoint
In mathematics, an element of a *-algebra is called self-adjoint if it is the same as its adjoint (i.e. a = a^*). Definition Let \mathcal be a *-algebra. An element a \in \mathcal is called self-adjoint if The set of self-adjoint elements is referred to as A subset \mathcal \subseteq \mathcal that is closed under the involution *, i.e. \mathcal = \mathcal^*, is called A special case of particular importance is the case where \mathcal is a complete normed *-algebra, that satisfies the C*-identity (\left\, a^*a \right\, = \left\, a \right\, ^2 \ \forall a \in \mathcal), which is called a C*-algebra. Especially in the older literature on *-algebras and C*-algebras, such elements are often called Because of that the notations \mathcal_h, \mathcal_H or H(\mathcal) for the set of self-adjoint elements are also sometimes used, even in the more recent literature. Examples * Each positive element of a C*-algebra is * For each element a of a *-algebra, the elements a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pauli Matrix
In mathematical physics and mathematics, the Pauli matrices are a set of three complex matrices that are traceless, Hermitian, involutory and unitary. Usually indicated by the Greek letter sigma (), they are occasionally denoted by tau () when used in connection with isospin symmetries. \begin \sigma_1 = \sigma_x &= \begin 0&1\\ 1&0 \end, \\ \sigma_2 = \sigma_y &= \begin 0& -i \\ i&0 \end, \\ \sigma_3 = \sigma_z &= \begin 1&0\\ 0&-1 \end. \\ \end These matrices are named after the physicist Wolfgang Pauli. In quantum mechanics, they occur in the Pauli equation, which takes into account the interaction of the spin of a particle with an external electromagnetic field. They also represent the interaction states of two polarization filters for horizontal/vertical polarization, 45 degree polarization (right/left), and circular polarization (right/left). Each Pauli matrix is Hermitian, and together with the ide ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elementary Particle
In particle physics, an elementary particle or fundamental particle is a subatomic particle that is not composed of other particles. The Standard Model presently recognizes seventeen distinct particles—twelve fermions and five bosons. As a consequence of flavor and color combinations and antimatter, the fermions and bosons are known to have 48 and 13 variations, respectively. Among the 61 elementary particles embraced by the Standard Model number: electrons and other leptons, quarks, and the fundamental bosons. Subatomic particles such as protons or neutrons, which contain two or more elementary particles, are known as composite particles. Ordinary matter is composed of atoms, themselves once thought to be indivisible elementary particles. The name ''atom'' comes from the Ancient Greek word ''ἄτομος'' ( atomos) which means ''indivisible'' or ''uncuttable''. Despite the theories about atoms that had existed for thousands of years, the factual existence of ato ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spin-1/2
In quantum mechanics, spin is an intrinsic property of all elementary particles. All known fermions, the particles that constitute ordinary matter, have a spin of . The spin number describes how many symmetrical facets a particle has in one full rotation; a spin of means that the particle must be rotated by two full turns (through 720°) before it has the same configuration as when it started. Particles with net spin include the proton, neutron, electron, neutrino, and quarks. The dynamics of spin- objects cannot be accurately described using classical physics; they are among the simplest systems whose description requires quantum mechanics. As such, the study of the behavior of spin- systems forms a central part of quantum mechanics. Stern–Gerlach experiment The necessity of introducing half-integer spin goes back experimentally to the results of the Stern–Gerlach experiment. A beam of atoms is run through a strong heterogeneous magnetic field, which then splits ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eigenvector
In linear algebra, an eigenvector ( ) or characteristic vector is a vector that has its direction unchanged (or reversed) by a given linear transformation. More precisely, an eigenvector \mathbf v of a linear transformation T is scaled by a constant factor \lambda when the linear transformation is applied to it: T\mathbf v=\lambda \mathbf v. The corresponding eigenvalue, characteristic value, or characteristic root is the multiplying factor \lambda (possibly a negative or complex number). Geometrically, vectors are multi- dimensional quantities with magnitude and direction, often pictured as arrows. A linear transformation rotates, stretches, or shears the vectors upon which it acts. A linear transformation's eigenvectors are those vectors that are only stretched or shrunk, with neither rotation nor shear. The corresponding eigenvalue is the factor by which an eigenvector is stretched or shrunk. If the eigenvalue is negative, the eigenvector's direction is reversed. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orthonormal Basis
In mathematics, particularly linear algebra, an orthonormal basis for an inner product space V with finite Dimension (linear algebra), dimension is a Basis (linear algebra), basis for V whose vectors are orthonormal, that is, they are all unit vectors and Orthogonality_(mathematics), orthogonal to each other. For example, the standard basis for a Euclidean space \R^n is an orthonormal basis, where the relevant inner product is the dot product of vectors. The Image (mathematics), image of the standard basis under a Rotation (mathematics), rotation or Reflection (mathematics), reflection (or any orthogonal transformation) is also orthonormal, and every orthonormal basis for \R^n arises in this fashion. An orthonormal basis can be derived from an orthogonal basis via Normalize (linear algebra), normalization. The choice of an origin (mathematics), origin and an orthonormal basis forms a coordinate frame known as an ''orthonormal frame''. For a general inner product space V, an orthono ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spectral Theorem
In linear algebra and functional analysis, a spectral theorem is a result about when a linear operator or matrix can be diagonalized (that is, represented as a diagonal matrix in some basis). This is extremely useful because computations involving a diagonalizable matrix can often be reduced to much simpler computations involving the corresponding diagonal matrix. The concept of diagonalization is relatively straightforward for operators on finite-dimensional vector spaces but requires some modification for operators on infinite-dimensional spaces. In general, the spectral theorem identifies a class of linear operators that can be modeled by multiplication operators, which are as simple as one can hope to find. In more abstract language, the spectral theorem is a statement about commutative C*-algebras. See also spectral theory for a historical perspective. Examples of operators to which the spectral theorem applies are self-adjoint operators or more generally normal operator ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vector Space Dimension
In mathematics, the dimension of a vector space ''V'' is the cardinality (i.e., the number of vectors) of a basis of ''V'' over its base field. p. 44, §2.36 It is sometimes called Hamel dimension (after Georg Hamel) or algebraic dimension to distinguish it from other types of dimension. For every vector space there exists a basis, and all bases of a vector space have equal cardinality; as a result, the dimension of a vector space is uniquely defined. We say V is if the dimension of V is finite, and if its dimension is infinite. The dimension of the vector space V over the field F can be written as \dim_F(V) or as : F read "dimension of V over F". When F can be inferred from context, \dim(V) is typically written. Examples The vector space \R^3 has \left\ as a standard basis, and therefore \dim_(\R^3) = 3. More generally, \dim_(\R^n) = n, and even more generally, \dim_(F^n) = n for any field F. The complex numbers \Complex are both a real and complex vector space; we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
