In the double slit experiment what causes the wave collapse function?

Question

I know any object observing it can do it. Even a rock or just the machine measuring it. But does the wave collapse because there is some sort of contact with it and the observer or does it collapse for some completely different reason.

Can pure thought do it? Just wondering. There are a lot of rumors going around that your consciousness can collapse the wave function of the particle. I want to know is that true or false. Please, at least for this part, include a reliable source.

Answer 1

The initial superposition of multiple states can reduce to a single state due to the act of an observer. The whole debate on consciousness/ other factors is stil ongoing and by no means definite.



But does consciousness collapse the wave function? This document is an interesting read, and although they do not necessarily apply consciousness to one specific wave function, they believe it accounts for a reduction of states.

Answer 2

In order to observe which slit an electron is going through, you need to interact with it in some way. On everyday scales, you can see which slit an object goes through by simply seeing the light reflected from it. Even a single photon "hitting" an electron is enough to cause its path to change. Of course, there are many ways of observing which slit it goes through (not just using light), but all of them need to interact with the electron. By interacting with them, you have changed the experiment.



Basically, if you measure something then you necessarily change it.



Wave function collapse isn't some magical thing - it is simply the result of making a measurement. In order to make a measurement, you need to interact with the system. You can argue about the philosophical implications (as many do), though this sort of thinking usually never gets anything accomplished. You can spend all day thinking about what, for example, the number 1 "really means," and at the end of the day you will probably have learned nothing useful.

Answer 3

HMMMMMMMMMMMM I FONDER<> I beleive the wave collapse function abob thing goes something like this. The little particles see a hot guy particle and say ohhhhh lets vibrate those elctromagnetic penizes. Then the girl particles says woah woah woah their, your movin a little fast for me something like 300,000,000 m/s fast hint hint hint spped of light. Then the guy particles grabs the girl with his intense elctric charge using the up quark charm particle to literly rape this ***** in the ASSSSSSSS and says give me your KY *****. THIS IS SOME INTENSE ****, i mean yopu dont want to get imbetween a neuron and nutrino when they meet a photon. But the mitochondria could step in and say wait, i have an *** plug to help inhance this cytoplasm. E=MC^2



p.s. physisist today beleive their are more fundamental forces besides the basic four (gravitational, electromagnetic, strong, and weak) and one of these forces is beleived to be the concious, which could result in new particles creating this wave like collapsion.

Answer 4

the uncertainty principle by werner heisenberg. read answer by elfmotat.