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How is superposition of waves in a guitar string different from superposition of waves in an atom?

philipov 5y ago
When waves overlap on a guitar string they are two different waves whose state covers the same area. A wave superposition in an atom is a single wave that has a position state that's more complex than being in a single location.
- SemanticStrengh 5y ago
  There is a single location, the wave is just a probability density map
  - whatshisface 5y ago
    There's only a single location in the aftermath of a measurement that takes infinite energy to make.
    - SemanticStrengh 5y ago
      https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/TOPICAL-REVIEW%3A-Testing-the-limits-of-quantum-state-Leggett/4e8a67d43e4727a5a494b1be9ff8e26ba234d3fd https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/TOPICAL-REVIEW%3A-Test...
- drran 5y ago
  Superposition is a mathematical conception, while the wave in a physical guitar string is a physical thing. Superposition is the mathematical description of _our_ uncertainty about position of a particle. The physical wave in a guitar string does redistribution of mass in the string using energy. The physical wave does some work, while superposition does nothing, because superposition is used for predictions only. When we know the location or other properties of a particle after a measurement, then its superposition is meaningless. They share nothing in common in the physical world, while they share a lot in mathematical description of their behavior.
whatshisface 5y ago
They are not all that different until two particles or two strings are involved. In quantum mechanics, "either one string is vibrating or the other" is a state the strings can be in, and a state that can be added or subtracted from other states. In classical mechanics you can say "half of the energy is in a low frequency vibration and half is in a high frequency vibration," which is roughly equivalent (mathematically, not conceptually) to a single particle either being in a high or low state - but as for two strings, either one is vibrating or the other, and you might not know which one is vibrating, but one is.

When waves overlap on a guitar string they are two different waves whose state covers the same area. A wave superposition in an atom is a single wave that has a position state that's more complex than being in a single location.

SemanticStrengh 5y ago
There is a single location, the wave is just a probability density map
- whatshisface 5y ago
  There's only a single location in the aftermath of a measurement that takes infinite energy to make.
  - SemanticStrengh 5y ago
    https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/TOPICAL-REVIEW%3A-Testing-the-limits-of-quantum-state-Leggett/4e8a67d43e4727a5a494b1be9ff8e26ba234d3fd https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/TOPICAL-REVIEW%3A-Test...
drran 5y ago
Superposition is a mathematical conception, while the wave in a physical guitar string is a physical thing. Superposition is the mathematical description of _our_ uncertainty about position of a particle. The physical wave in a guitar string does redistribution of mass in the string using energy. The physical wave does some work, while superposition does nothing, because superposition is used for predictions only. When we know the location or other properties of a particle after a measurement, then its superposition is meaningless. They share nothing in common in the physical world, while they share a lot in mathematical description of their behavior.

whatshisface 5y ago

They are not all that different until two particles or two strings are involved. In quantum mechanics, "either one string is vibrating or the other" is a state the strings can be in, and a state that can be added or subtracted from other states. In classical mechanics you can say "half of the energy is in a low frequency vibration and half is in a high frequency vibration," which is roughly equivalent (mathematically, not conceptually) to a single particle either being in a high or low state - but as for two strings, either one is vibrating or the other, and you might not know which one is vibrating, but one is.