I think people seriously misinterpret what "observation" means on a quantum level. I think a better term would be "interact" - you cannot observe something without interacting with it in some way (e.g. a photon hitting it). In that sense, the interaction is what collapses the wavefunction, not whether or not you are present to observe it.
I think people seriously misinterpret what "observation" means on a quantum level. I think a better term would be "interact" - you cannot observe something without interacting with it in some way (e.g. a photon hitting it). In that sense, the interaction is what collapses the wavefunction, not whether or not you are present to observe it.
Elitzur and Vaidman would like a word...
Well that's both confusing and fascinating - so it's basically quantum Russian roulette