Date of Award
2019
Document Type
Essay
Department
Computing, Mathematics, and Physics
First Advisor
Dr. Matt Farrar
Abstract
Essay for PHYS 402 Quantum Mechanics
Like the popular Copenhagen Interpretation, the von Neumann-Wigner Interpretation of quantum mechanics posits that measurement causes a collapse of the wavefunction. Once observed, the wavefunction collapses from a superposition of various states to just one of the possibilities. While the Copenhagen Interpretation does not identify what constitutes a measurement, an observer, or an observation, the von Neumann-Wigner Interpretation specifies that consciousness is necessary for the measurement process to occur (we might say a reading of the measurement), and that it is consciousness itself that causes wavefunction collapse. In simple terms, the von Neumann-Wigner Interpretation may be thought of as a more detailed or specific variation of the widely-used Copenhagen Interpretation, but with much more explicit and detailed theological and philosophical ramifications.
Recommended Citation
Kendall, Aeowyn, "Quantum Mechanics & Its Broader Implications: The von Neumann– Wigner Interpretation" (2019). Computing, Mathematics and Physics Student Scholarship. 1.
https://mosaic.messiah.edu/mps_st/1
