From: hal@finney.org
Date: Fri Sep 22 2000 - 10:58:22 MDT
David Blenkinsop writes:
> I am reminded here that a really worthwhile source of detail on the
> general properties of Many Worlds theories is Michael Clive Price's
> "Everett FAQ", at http://www.hedweb.com/everett/everett.htm#splitsh
> Here, under the slightly misleading heading, "Could we detect other
> Everett-worlds?", Price describes an interestingly advanced experiment
> for someday "proving" that a alternate worlds exist.
BTW I believe the experiment concept originated with David Deutsch.
Scerir pointed to an interesting paper,
http://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/9510007:
: Proposal for an experimental test of the many-worlds interpretation of
: quantum mechanics
:
: Author: R.Plaga
: Journal-ref: Found.Phys. 27 (1997) 559
:
: The many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics predicts the
: formation of distinct parallel worlds as a result of a quantum
: mechanical measurement. Communication among these parallel worlds
: would experimentally rule out alternatives to this interpretation. A
: procedure for ``interworld'' exchange of information and
: energy, using only state of the art quantum optical equipment,
: is described. A single ion is isolated from its environment in an
: ion trap. Then a quantum mechanical measurement with two discrete
: outcomes is performed on another system, resulting in the formation
: of two parallel worlds. Depending on the outcome of this measurement
: the ion is excited from only one of the parallel worlds before
: the ion decoheres through its interaction with the environment. A
: detection of this excitation in the other parallel world is direct
: evidence for the many-worlds interpretation. This method could have
: important practical applications in physics and beyond.
Personally I don't believe it for a second. But it would have been cool
if it had worked.
Hal
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