
There are two types of interference which can occur during the superposition of two waves. Where the waves cross, a resultant wave is formed with a displacement equal to the vector sum of the displacements of the individual waves. The input is usually the allowed different classical configurations, but without the duplication of including both position and momentum.Ī pair of particles can be in any combination of pairs of positions. Superposition occurs when two (or more) waves of the same type cross each ot her. The configuration space of a quantum mechanical system cannot be worked out without some physical knowledge.

The pattern is very similar to the one obtained by diffraction of classical waves.Īnother example is a quantum logical qubit state, as used in quantum information processing, which is a quantum superposition of the "basis states" | 0 ⟩ Mathematically, it refers to a property of solutions to the Schrödinger equation since the Schrödinger equation is linear, any linear combination of solutions will also be a solution(s).Īn example of a physically observable manifestation of the wave nature of quantum systems is the interference peaks from an electron beam in a double-slit experiment. Mathematically, much like waves in classical physics, any two (or more) quantum states can be added together ("superposed") and the result will be another valid quantum state conversely, every quantum state can be represented as a sum of two or more other distinct states. However, a measurement always finds it in one state, but before and after the measurement, it interacts in ways that can only be explained by having a superposition of different states. In quantum mechanics, a particle can be in a superposition of different states. We may not know what they are at any given time, but that is an issue of our understanding and not the physical system. In classical mechanics, things like position or momentum are always well-defined.

Quantum superposition is a fundamental principle of quantum mechanics.
