Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!sdd.hp.com!news.cs.indiana.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!nanotech From: Jim_Day.XSIS@xerox.com Newsgroups: sci.nanotech Subject: Re: wave-function collapse Message-ID: Date: 20 Dec 90 19:15:15 GMT Sender: nanotech@athos.rutgers.edu Lines: 13 Approved: nanotech@aramis.rutgers.edu It's true that discussions of wave-function collapse have little to do with nanotechnology. But the quantum Zeno effect, investigated by Itano and others, does demonstrate beautifully the distinction between the act of measurement and the act of observation. For a good description of this effect, see page 24 of the May issue of Scientific American. [Once a usable theory has been found to explain wave-function collapse, it might have major implications for nanotech (or might not). Most of our currently proposed nanomachines are designed as if molecules behaved more of less macroscopically. If quantum state superposition can be controlled one could build some pretty nifty machines... --JoSH]