quantum measurement paradox
quantum measurement paradox
[¦kwänt·əm ′mezh·ə·mənt ‚par·ə‚däks] (quantum mechanics)
A paradox that arises because, at the atomic level where the quantum formalism has been directly tested, the most natural interpretation implies that when two or more different outcomes are possible it is not necessarily true that one or the other is actually realized, whereas at the everyday level such a state of affairs seems to conflict with direct experience.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.