"decoherence" meaning in English

See decoherence in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /diːkəʊˈhɪəɹəns/ [UK] Forms: decoherences [plural]
Etymology: First attested 1902 (OED) in the electrical engineering sense "the resetting of a coherer." From decohere (also 1902) + -ence, representing the verbal noun (compare decohesion, decoherency). The quantum mechanics concept was introduced in 1970 by German physicist H. Dieter Zeh, writing in the journal Foundations of Physics. Etymology templates: {{suffix|en||-ence}} + -ence Head templates: {{en-noun|~}} decoherence (countable and uncountable, plural decoherences)
  1. (quantum mechanics) Loss of quantum coherence (phase relation between the quantum states of particles) in a physical system as it interacts with its environment. Tags: countable, uncountable Categories (topical): Quantum mechanics, Systems theory Synonyms (quantum mechanics): decoherency, quantum decoherence Translations (loss of quantum coherence): dekoherenssi (Finnish), décohérence [feminine] (French), Dekohärenz [feminine] (German), dekoherencija [feminine] (Serbo-Croatian)
    Sense id: en-decoherence-en-noun-Fi8MgjAM Disambiguation of Systems theory: 86 14 Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header, English terms suffixed with -ence, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 82 18 Disambiguation of English terms suffixed with -ence: 78 22 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 76 24 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 82 18 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 85 15 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 75 25 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 76 24 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 76 24 Disambiguation of Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations: 79 21 Disambiguation of 'quantum mechanics': 71 29 Disambiguation of 'loss of quantum coherence': 89 11
  2. (engineering, dated) The normal condition of sensitiveness in a coherer; reversion to such condition. Tags: countable, dated, uncountable Categories (topical): Engineering
    Sense id: en-decoherence-en-noun-2XQVwwZ8 Topics: engineering, natural-sciences, physical-sciences
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Related terms: coherence, decoherent, decoherence time, dephasing, einselection, quantum entanglement, quantum interference

Inflected forms

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "",
        "3": "-ence"
      },
      "expansion": "+ -ence",
      "name": "suffix"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "First attested 1902 (OED) in the electrical engineering sense \"the resetting of a coherer.\" From decohere (also 1902) + -ence, representing the verbal noun (compare decohesion, decoherency). The quantum mechanics concept was introduced in 1970 by German physicist H. Dieter Zeh, writing in the journal Foundations of Physics.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "decoherences",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "~"
      },
      "expansion": "decoherence (countable and uncountable, plural decoherences)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "coherence"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "decoherent"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "decoherence time"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "dephasing"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "einselection"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "quantum entanglement"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "quantum interference"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Quantum mechanics",
          "orig": "en:Quantum mechanics",
          "parents": [
            "Physics",
            "Sciences",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "82 18",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "78 22",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms suffixed with -ence",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "76 24",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "82 18",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "85 15",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "75 25",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "76 24",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "76 24",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "79 21",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "86 14",
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Systems theory",
          "orig": "en:Systems theory",
          "parents": [
            "Sciences",
            "Systems",
            "All topics",
            "Interdisciplinary fields",
            "Society",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1999, Jeffrey A. Barrett, The Quantum Mechanics of Minds and Worlds, Oxford University Press, page 221:",
          "text": "There is a sense in which simple interference effects are destroyed when a system's environment becomes correlated with its state. This phenomenon is called decoherence. I shall consider three approaches here. According to one, decoherence alone explains why we get determinate records. According to another, decoherence helps one to formulate a satisfactory interpretation of Everett by selecting a globally preferred basis that makes the right physical facts determinate in each Everett branch. According to a third, decoherence sects a locally preferred basis for each observer that makes the right physical facts determinate from the perspective of that particular observer.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2004, Friedel Weinert, The Scientist as Philosopher: Philosophical Consequences of Great Scientific Discoveries, Springer, page 272:",
          "text": "We have already alluded to decoherence in connection with the emergence of classical space-time, the ‘collapse′ of the wave function (Case 3) and the notion of entanglement. Physicists have hailed the discovery of decoherence as ‘the most important advance in the foundation of quantum theory since Bell's inequalities.’¹³¹ This praise is based on good reasons: (a) decoherence offers new ways of understanding quantum mechanics for it embodies a critique of entrenched terminology (‘collapse’ of the wave function, complementarity); (b) it is testable since it appeals to physical processes; (c) it offers an insight into a much more fundamental level of quantum indeterminacy.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2008, D. Klauser, W. A. Coish, Daniel Loss, “Quantum-Dot Spin Qubit and Hyperfine Interaction”, in Rolf Haug, editor, Advances in Solid State Physics, 46, Springer, page 20:",
          "text": "A detailed investigation of decoherence during gating due to a bosonic environment was performed in the original work of Loss and DiVincenzo. Since then, there have been many studies of leakage and decoherence in the context of the quantum-dot quantum computing proposal.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2015, Fernanda Samaniega, “Manipulating Spins: Causality and Decoherence”, in Uskali Mäki, Ioannis Votsis, Stéphanie Ruphy, Gerhard Schurz, editors, Recent Developments in the Philosophy of Science: EPSA13 Helsinki, Springer,, page 191:",
          "text": "One way of preventing both decoherences is to set up the system in a \"non-decoherent quantum state.\"",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Loss of quantum coherence (phase relation between the quantum states of particles) in a physical system as it interacts with its environment."
      ],
      "id": "en-decoherence-en-noun-Fi8MgjAM",
      "links": [
        [
          "quantum mechanics",
          "quantum mechanics"
        ],
        [
          "quantum coherence",
          "quantum coherence"
        ],
        [
          "phase",
          "phase"
        ],
        [
          "relation",
          "relation"
        ],
        [
          "quantum state",
          "quantum state"
        ],
        [
          "physical system",
          "physical system"
        ],
        [
          "interact",
          "interact"
        ],
        [
          "environment",
          "environment"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "quantum mechanics",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(quantum mechanics) Loss of quantum coherence (phase relation between the quantum states of particles) in a physical system as it interacts with its environment."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "_dis1": "71 29",
          "sense": "quantum mechanics",
          "word": "decoherency"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "71 29",
          "sense": "quantum mechanics",
          "word": "quantum decoherence"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "loss of quantum coherence",
          "word": "dekoherenssi"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "loss of quantum coherence",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "décohérence"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "loss of quantum coherence",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Dekohärenz"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "89 11",
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "loss of quantum coherence",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "dekoherencija"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Engineering",
          "orig": "en:Engineering",
          "parents": [
            "Applied sciences",
            "Technology",
            "Sciences",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The normal condition of sensitiveness in a coherer; reversion to such condition."
      ],
      "id": "en-decoherence-en-noun-2XQVwwZ8",
      "links": [
        [
          "engineering",
          "engineering#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "coherer",
          "coherer"
        ],
        [
          "reversion",
          "reversion"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(engineering, dated) The normal condition of sensitiveness in a coherer; reversion to such condition."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "dated",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "engineering",
        "natural-sciences",
        "physical-sciences"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/diːkəʊˈhɪəɹəns/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Foundations of Physics",
    "H. Dieter Zeh",
    "quantum decoherence"
  ],
  "word": "decoherence"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English nouns",
    "English terms suffixed with -ence",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations",
    "en:Systems theory"
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "",
        "3": "-ence"
      },
      "expansion": "+ -ence",
      "name": "suffix"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "First attested 1902 (OED) in the electrical engineering sense \"the resetting of a coherer.\" From decohere (also 1902) + -ence, representing the verbal noun (compare decohesion, decoherency). The quantum mechanics concept was introduced in 1970 by German physicist H. Dieter Zeh, writing in the journal Foundations of Physics.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "decoherences",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "~"
      },
      "expansion": "decoherence (countable and uncountable, plural decoherences)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "coherence"
    },
    {
      "word": "decoherent"
    },
    {
      "word": "decoherence time"
    },
    {
      "word": "dephasing"
    },
    {
      "word": "einselection"
    },
    {
      "word": "quantum entanglement"
    },
    {
      "word": "quantum interference"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "en:Quantum mechanics"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1999, Jeffrey A. Barrett, The Quantum Mechanics of Minds and Worlds, Oxford University Press, page 221:",
          "text": "There is a sense in which simple interference effects are destroyed when a system's environment becomes correlated with its state. This phenomenon is called decoherence. I shall consider three approaches here. According to one, decoherence alone explains why we get determinate records. According to another, decoherence helps one to formulate a satisfactory interpretation of Everett by selecting a globally preferred basis that makes the right physical facts determinate in each Everett branch. According to a third, decoherence sects a locally preferred basis for each observer that makes the right physical facts determinate from the perspective of that particular observer.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2004, Friedel Weinert, The Scientist as Philosopher: Philosophical Consequences of Great Scientific Discoveries, Springer, page 272:",
          "text": "We have already alluded to decoherence in connection with the emergence of classical space-time, the ‘collapse′ of the wave function (Case 3) and the notion of entanglement. Physicists have hailed the discovery of decoherence as ‘the most important advance in the foundation of quantum theory since Bell's inequalities.’¹³¹ This praise is based on good reasons: (a) decoherence offers new ways of understanding quantum mechanics for it embodies a critique of entrenched terminology (‘collapse’ of the wave function, complementarity); (b) it is testable since it appeals to physical processes; (c) it offers an insight into a much more fundamental level of quantum indeterminacy.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2008, D. Klauser, W. A. Coish, Daniel Loss, “Quantum-Dot Spin Qubit and Hyperfine Interaction”, in Rolf Haug, editor, Advances in Solid State Physics, 46, Springer, page 20:",
          "text": "A detailed investigation of decoherence during gating due to a bosonic environment was performed in the original work of Loss and DiVincenzo. Since then, there have been many studies of leakage and decoherence in the context of the quantum-dot quantum computing proposal.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2015, Fernanda Samaniega, “Manipulating Spins: Causality and Decoherence”, in Uskali Mäki, Ioannis Votsis, Stéphanie Ruphy, Gerhard Schurz, editors, Recent Developments in the Philosophy of Science: EPSA13 Helsinki, Springer,, page 191:",
          "text": "One way of preventing both decoherences is to set up the system in a \"non-decoherent quantum state.\"",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Loss of quantum coherence (phase relation between the quantum states of particles) in a physical system as it interacts with its environment."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "quantum mechanics",
          "quantum mechanics"
        ],
        [
          "quantum coherence",
          "quantum coherence"
        ],
        [
          "phase",
          "phase"
        ],
        [
          "relation",
          "relation"
        ],
        [
          "quantum state",
          "quantum state"
        ],
        [
          "physical system",
          "physical system"
        ],
        [
          "interact",
          "interact"
        ],
        [
          "environment",
          "environment"
        ]
      ],
      "qualifier": "quantum mechanics",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(quantum mechanics) Loss of quantum coherence (phase relation between the quantum states of particles) in a physical system as it interacts with its environment."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English dated terms",
        "en:Engineering"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "The normal condition of sensitiveness in a coherer; reversion to such condition."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "engineering",
          "engineering#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "coherer",
          "coherer"
        ],
        [
          "reversion",
          "reversion"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(engineering, dated) The normal condition of sensitiveness in a coherer; reversion to such condition."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "dated",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "engineering",
        "natural-sciences",
        "physical-sciences"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/diːkəʊˈhɪəɹəns/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "sense": "quantum mechanics",
      "word": "decoherency"
    },
    {
      "sense": "quantum mechanics",
      "word": "quantum decoherence"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "loss of quantum coherence",
      "word": "dekoherenssi"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "loss of quantum coherence",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "décohérence"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "loss of quantum coherence",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Dekohärenz"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "loss of quantum coherence",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "dekoherencija"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Foundations of Physics",
    "H. Dieter Zeh",
    "quantum decoherence"
  ],
  "word": "decoherence"
}

Download raw JSONL data for decoherence meaning in English (5.8kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-10-22 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-10-02 using wiktextract (eaa6b66 and a709d4b). 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.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.