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Quantum Theoretical Concepts of Measurement: Part I

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2022

James L. Park
James L. Park*
Affiliation:
Washington State University
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Abstract

The overall purpose of this paper is to clarify the physical meaning and epistemological status of the term ‘measurement’ as used in quantum theory. After a review of the essential logical structure of quantum physics. Part I presents interpretive discussions contrasting the quantal concepts observable and ensemble with their classical ancestors along the lines of Margenau's latency theory. Against this background various popular ideas concerning the nature of quantum measurement are critically surveyed. The analysis reveals that, in addition to internal mathematical difficulties, all the so-called quantum theories of measurement are grounded in unjustifiable, classical presuppositions.

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Type
Research Article
Information
Philosophy of Science , Volume 35 , Issue 3 , September 1968 , pp. 205 - 231
Copyright
Copyright © Philosophy of Science Association 1968

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Footnotes

†

This essay is based on part of a dissertation presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Yale University. Part II will appear in the immediately succeeding issue (Volume XXXV, No. 4) of Philosophy of Science.

References

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