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Concept

Copenhagen interpretation

A depiction of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics, featuring a central Earth-like sphere surrounded by concentric rings of interconnected lines and particles, symbolizing the probabilistic nature of quantum states.

The orthodox reading of quantum mechanics, associated with Bohr and Heisenberg in the late 1920s, which treats the wavefunction as a tool for calculating measurement probabilities rather than a description of physical reality. A system has no definite property until measured; measurement causes an abrupt, non-unitary collapse. The interpretation is pragmatic and is what almost every working physicist uses, though most regard it as philosophically unsatisfying.

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