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From: brooks@lll-crg.ARPA (Eugene D. Brooks III)
Newsgroups: net.physics
Subject: Re: Re: Faster than light.
Message-ID: <670@lll-crg.ARPA>
Date: Sun, 30-Jun-85 14:42:18 EDT
Article-I.D.: lll-crg.670
Posted: Sun Jun 30 14:42:18 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 3-Jul-85 08:23:34 EDT
References: <322@sri-arpa.ARPA>
Organization: Lawrence Livermore Labs, CRG group
Lines: 16

> Let me now take up your objection - essentially that a spatially distributed
> wave function collapses instantaneously upon measurement, and this seems to
> contradict relativity. Well, yes and no. Yes because how does the wave

The wave function is not physical matter or an energy field.  It is a
computational entity used to predict the results of experiments.  When you
solve the equations of motion, you are solving for the motion of a computational
entity which can then be used to predict the results of experiment.  It won't
predict results that are in violation with relativity, ie that the photon
gets absorbed sooner than the speed of light would allow for.

The wave function itself is just a computational device and is not some real
physical thing that is distributed over space.  The wave function "collapse"
is simply the statement that there was one photon and if it gets absorbed in
a given detector then no other detectors will absorb it.  This is about as
simple and intuitive as you can get.