Note on Zeno's paradox in quantum theory
A decaying quantum system, if observed very frequently in order to ascertain whether or not it is still undecayed, will not decay at all. The derivation of this effect - known, e.g., as Zeno's paradox - has been criticized recently. It has been argued that measurements performed in a very short time interval, ..delta..t, produce states with a very large energy uncertanty, ..delta..E, and that Zeno's paradox disappears if this is taken into account. By construction of an explicit counterexample it is proved, however, that there is no energy-time uncertainty relation of the required kind; therefore, the criticism mentioned is unjustified.
- Research Organization:
- Texas Univ., Austin (USA). Center for Particle Theory
- DOE Contract Number:
- AS05-76ER03992
- OSTI ID:
- 5116394
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/ER/03992-387
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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