Physical reality and the Complementarity Principle

TL;DR

This paper explores how measurement processes in quantum mechanics convert wave uncertainty into apparatus uncertainty, and argues for an information-theoretic interpretation based on recent quantum information advances.

Contribution

It presents a novel perspective linking measurement-induced uncertainty transfer to an information-theoretic understanding of quantum mechanics.

Findings

Measurement converts wave uncertainty into apparatus uncertainty.

Subsequent measurements do not reveal new information about the wave.

Supports an information-theoretic interpretation of quantum mechanics.

Abstract

Consideration of the von Neumann measurement process underlying interference experiments shows that the uncertainty in the incoming wave, responsible for its interference, translates during measurement into an uncertainty at the measuring apparatus. However, subsequent measurement on the apparatus does not reveal any new information about the interfering wave. This observation, in the context of recent advances in quantum information, suggests an argument for an information theoretic interpretation of quantum mechanics.