Quantum superposition
Principle of quantum mechanics / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Quantum superposition?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
Quantum superposition is a fundamental principle of quantum mechanics that states that linear combinations of solutions to the Schrödinger equation are also solutions of the Schrödinger equation. This follows from the fact that the Schrödinger equation is a linear differential equation in time and position. More precisely, the state of a system is given by a linear combination of all the eigenfunctions of the Schrödinger equation governing that system.
An example is a qubit used in quantum information processing. A qubit state is most generally a superposition of the basis states and :
where is the quantum state of the qubit, and , denote particular solutions to the Schrödinger equation in Dirac notation weighted by the two probability amplitudes and that both are complex numbers. Here corresponds to the classical 0 bit, and to the classical 1 bit. The probabilities of measuring the system in the or state are given by and respectively (see the Born rule). Before the measurement occurs the qubit is in a superposition of both states.
The interference fringes in the double-slit experiment provide another example of the superposition principle.