A mechanical engineer's approach to the measurement problem: Is a picture worth a thousand words?

TL;DR

This paper presents a mechanical and schematic approach to the quantum measurement problem, illustrating the boundary between quantum and classical worlds and the role of biological detectors like retinal molecules.

Contribution

It introduces a visual, schematic method to analyze the measurement process, emphasizing the two-stage nature of detectors involving microscopic and macroscopic components.

Findings

Wave function collapse leaves microscopic information intact

The detector is a two-stage system with microscopic and macroscopic parts

Visualization aids in understanding boundary conditions before collapse

Abstract

The measurement problem is approached from a mechanical aspect, utilizing schematics to better assist in visualizing the boundary and the interplay between the quantum and classical worlds. This approach graphically illustrates what happens when a photon is absorbed by the retinal molecule, and reveals that even after collapse of the wave function, the information previously carried by the photon and passed on to the pi* electron, is still at the microscopic level waiting to be amplified up to the macroscopic level by the rod cell. This analysis reveals that the measuring device or detector is of an unusual 2-stage nature, consisting of a microscopic entity or rhodopsin molecule which is not affected by the environment, contained within a macroscopic rod cell which serves as an amplifier. This approach may also allow one to better visualize the boundary conditions just prior to collapse and whether it is necessary to make any kind of adjustment to the Schroedinger equation to achieve a nonlinear collapse.