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Content: Role of the Observer: since the quantum world can not be observed directly, we are forced to use instruments as extensions of our
senses
however, quantum entities are so small that even contact with one photon changes their position and momentum
= measurement problem
1st hint that the observer is an important piece of any quantum experiment, can not isolate the observer or
their effects
The quantum world can be not be perceived directly, but rather through the
use of instruments. And, so, there is a problem with the fact that the
act of measuring disturbs the energy and position of subatomic particles. This is called the measurement problem. the two slit experiment is a good test of the role of the observer in the quantum realm
any experimental design that attempts to determine which slit a photon has passed through (test for its
particle nature) destroys the interference pattern (its wavelike nature)
this is a breakdown of objective reality
each quantum entity has dual potential properties, which become an actual characteristic if and when it is observed
Thus, we begin to see a strong coupling of the properties of an quantum
object and and the act of measuring those properties. The question of the
reality of quantum properties remains unsolved. All quantum mechanical
principles must reduce to Newtonian principles at the macroscopic level
(there is a continuity between quantum and Newtonian mechanics). How does the role of the observer effect the wave and particle nature of
the quantum world? One test is to return to the two slit experiment and
try to determine count which slit the photon goes through. If the photon
is a particle, then it has to go through one or the other slit.