Quantum Superposition State
A Quantum Superposition State is a quantum state that is in both a spin-up state and a spin-down state.
- Context:
- It can be responsible for Atom Binding.
- …
- Counter-Example(s):
- See: Schrödinger's Cat, Quantum Mechanics, Schrödinger Equation, Energy Levels, Eigenstates, Interference (Wave Propagation), Qubit, Quantum System.
References
2015
- http://youtube.com/watch?v=aUuaWVHhx-U
- QUOTE: Leo Kouwenhoven is a professor of physics at TU Delft. His team at the QU Tech Lab designs experiments to place electrons in superpositions. Why? Because we need computers that can process information as quickly and efficiently as nature does, using quantum mechanics.
So, what is a superposition? Quantum theory says that electrons can circle different atoms at the same time. That's the glue that keeps atoms together into molecules and stops our bodies from falling apart. It's how a green plant leaf can "process" light into oxygen in the fastest and most efficient way possible. If a plant can think that way, why can't a computer do that, too?
- QUOTE: Leo Kouwenhoven is a professor of physics at TU Delft. His team at the QU Tech Lab designs experiments to place electrons in superpositions. Why? Because we need computers that can process information as quickly and efficiently as nature does, using quantum mechanics.
2014
- (Wikipedia, 2014) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/quantum_superposition Retrieved:2014-7-26.
- Quantum superposition is a fundamental principle of quantum mechanics that holds that a physical system — such as an electron — exists partly in all its particular theoretically possible states (or, configuration of its properties) simultaneously; but when measured or observed, it gives a result corresponding to only one of the possible configurations (as described in interpretation of quantum mechanics).
Mathematically, it refers to a property of solutions to the Schrödinger equation; since the Schrödinger equation is linear, any linear combination of solutions to a particular equation will also be a solution of it. Such solutions are often made to be orthogonal (i.e. the vectors are at right-angles to each other), such as the energy levels of an electron. In other words, the overlap of the states is nullified, and the expectation value of an operator is the expectation value of the operator in the individual states, multiplied by the fraction of the superposition state that is "in" that state (see also eigenstates).
An example of a directly observable effect of superposition is interference peaks from an electron wave in a double-slit experiment. Another example is a quantum logical qubit state, as used in quantum information processing, which is a linear superposition of the "basis states" [math]\displaystyle{ |0 \rangle }[/math] and [math]\displaystyle{ |1 \rangle }[/math].
Here [math]\displaystyle{ |0 \rangle }[/math] is the Dirac notation for the quantum state that will always give the result 0 when converted to classical logic by a measurement. Likewise [math]\displaystyle{ |1 \rangle }[/math] is the state that will always convert to 1.
- Quantum superposition is a fundamental principle of quantum mechanics that holds that a physical system — such as an electron — exists partly in all its particular theoretically possible states (or, configuration of its properties) simultaneously; but when measured or observed, it gives a result corresponding to only one of the possible configurations (as described in interpretation of quantum mechanics).
2013
- (Nimmrichter & Hornberger, 2013) ⇒ Stefan Nimmrichter, and Klaus Hornberger. (2013). “Macroscopicity of Mechanical Quantum Superposition States.” Physical review letters 110, no. 16
- ABSTRACT: We propose an experimentally accessible, objective measure for the macroscopicity of superposition states in mechanical quantum systems. Based on the observable consequences of a minimal, macrorealist extension of quantum mechanics, it allows one to quantify the degree of macroscopicity achieved in different experiments.