"Heisenberg cut" meaning in English

See Heisenberg cut in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Forms: Heisenberg cuts [plural]
Etymology: Named after Werner Heisenberg, who contributed to the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics, and specifically to the theory of wavefunction collapse. Head templates: {{en-noun}} Heisenberg cut (plural Heisenberg cuts)
  1. (quantum mechanics, philosophy of physics) A conceptualised division separating the quantum system being observed from the classical system that comprises the observer's information, knowledge and conscious awareness. Wikipedia link: Heisenberg cut, Werner Heisenberg Categories (topical): Quantum mechanics Synonyms: Heisenberg's cut Translations (conceptualised division between quantum and classical realms): Heisenbergscher Schnitt [masculine] (German)

Inflected forms

Download JSON data for Heisenberg cut meaning in English (3.6kB)

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          "ref": "2014, Henry P. Stapp, “Quantum Physics and Philosophy of Mind”, in Antonella Corradini, Uwe Meixner, editors, Quantum Physics Meets the Philosophy of Mind, Walter de Gruyter, page 9",
          "text": "The original \"Copenhagen\" way of describing the collapse process was tied to a mysterious thing called the \"Heisenberg cut\". Everything lying \"below\" this cut was supposed to be described in the mathematical language of quantum mechanics, whereas everything lying \"above\" the cut was described either in the language of classical physics, or in psychological or mental terms.[…]A principal move made by von Neumann was to show that the Heisenberg cut could be moved all the way up, so that reality was unambiguously separated into a purely mental part, and a part described in the mathematical language of quantum mechanics.",
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          "ref": "2018, Lars Jaeger, The Second Quantum Revolution, Springer, page 252",
          "text": "Another idea is to question the impermeability of the Heisenberg cut: Is the separation between the macro and micro worlds really as sharp as Heisenberg and Bohr assumed?",
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          "ref": "2021, Carl S. Helrich, The Quantum Theory—Origins and Ideas, Springer, page 192",
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      "word": "Heisenbergscher Schnitt"
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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-05 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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