Measurement problem

Key question

What does quantum theory describe?

Check your understanding

Find an example, an application and a limit. Explain the concept without using its name, then compare your explanation with a primary source.

Claims to examine

• Bell-type correlations constrain combinations of assumptions about local hidden-variable accounts.

  Editorial claim · contestedExamine the source →

Follow a learning route

• What does quantum theory describe?

  Learn the formalism needed to compare measurement, Bell correlations, decoherence and interpretations.

Reading connections

• Can Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality Be Considered Complete?

  Einstein, Podolsky · Rosen

• Can Quantum-Mechanical Description of Physical Reality be Considered Complete?

  Niels Bohr

• On the Einstein Podolsky Rosen Paradox

  John Bell

• Bell’s Theorem

  Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy editors

• Relative State Formulation of Quantum Mechanics

  Hugh Everett III

• The Role of Decoherence in Quantum Mechanics

  Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy editors