Copenhagen interpretation

…be known as the “Copenhagen interpretation” of quantum mechanics, which postulated that the indeterminacy in the theory (i.e., that only the probability of a result could be predicted) was fundamental and should be accepted by scientists. There was no underlying deterministic order to be found. Some physicists, most notably…

…present article—is known as the Copenhagen interpretation because its main protagonist, Niels Bohr, worked in that city. The Copenhagen view of understanding the physical world stresses the importance of basing theory on what can be observed and measured experimentally. It therefore rejects the idea of hidden variables as quantities that…

As discussed above, the Copenhagen interpretation of the measurement process is essentially pragmatic. It distinguishes between microscopic quantum systems and macroscopic measuring instruments. The initial object or event—e.g., the passage of an electron, photon, or atom—triggers the classical measuring device into giving a reading; somewhere along the chain of…

…which became known as the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics, was that reality can be ascribed only to a measurement. Einstein argued that the physical world must have real properties whether or not one measures them; he and Schrödinger published a number of thought experiments designed to show that things…