Quantum mechanics is fundamentally indeterministic because its predictions are entirely probabilistic.

Although the schrodinger equation is itself deterministic in its time evolution, its predictions using probability densities are probabilistic. Indeterminacy is shown in radioactive decay where two identical particles may decay at different times. Although the time constant or half-life for decay may be known, the time at which it actually occurs is indeterministic or a matter of chance. Another example is with photons passing through a beam splitter such as a half-silvered mirror. ere, the wave function is described as being both transmitted and reflected by the mirror each with probability !." for an ideal mirror. It is not until the photon is actually detected that the wavefunction collapses to give measurements as predicted with half of them reflected and half transmitted. #ach measurement is completely random in origin. An example of the eisenberg uncertainty principle is $x $p % &'(. )here is a fundamental limit to the accuracy that certain pairs of observables, or measured physical attributes, of a system may be measured. ere, the more accurately position is measured the more uncertainty there is in momentum. )his is in stark contrast to *ewtonian mechanics where the positions and momenta of particles may be prescribed exactly with distinct values. Quantum mechanics destroys the notion of real tra+ectories which is not a flaw in the measurement process but a feature of the underlying physical description. In quantum mechanics the wavefunction is defined by the solution of the schrodinger equation to give a probability amplitude for all x ,position- and t ,time- according to the given boundary conditions. .or fixed potentials with no time dependence the solutions give rise to stationary states or eigenfunctions with associated particular eigenvalues or energies. *o degeneracy is shown in one dimension. According to standard interpretations of quantum mechanics the wavefunction description is as complete a description as is possible for the state of the system. idden variables may be introduced to define unknowns but this does not lead to a theory with greater predictive power. )he indeterminacy does not arise from our lack of knowledge of the time evolution of the wave function between measurements as this is entirely deterministic. It arises from the measurement process when the wavefunction collapses according to the statistics of the given probability density. #igenvalue equations such as eigenfunctions and / where is the amiltonian operator, are the

the eigenvalues give rise to discrete energies in a bound system when /A 01 outside the boundary

solved for given boundary conditions. )ypically restrictions and

/ 2sin,kx- 0 3cos,kx- within. If a system is in a particular stationary then a measurement will unambiguously lead to the associated

state with eigenfunction eigenvalue

for its energy.

)he wavefunction collapses on to a stationary state eigenfunction and a measurement of energy taken immediately after another energy measurement will lead to the same result. According to the overlap rule where the probability amplitude of the overlap integral I is given by4 / ,x- ,x,t- dx

)hen the probability of measuring the energy eigenvalue defined by 5 is 6ro /| where

when the system is in a state

is an energy eigenfunction and ,x,t- the

wave function description for the system, both normalised. 7nly those areas where both and 5 are non-8ero contribute to , hence the name. 9egions of that may be positive or

negative can occur leading to cancellations. :here the overlap integral for two functions tends to 8ero, they are deemed to be orthogonal. ;imilarly if the wavefunction ,x,t- is given as a sum of energy eigenfunctions4 ,x,t- / then the probability of measuring the eigenvalue is given by4

6ro

/|

where

is the coefficient of the ith energy eigenfunction

, or its

probability amplitude. )he fixed values of the coefficients in describing the isolated system ,x,t- are the quantum mechanical version of the classical law of conservation of energy. )hus the energy eigenvalues have fixed probabilities. 1orn<s rule states that the probability of finding a particle at a time t within an interval =x centered around x is =x where / 5,x,t-. )his holds where =x is small enough that

may be considered constant. .or larger intervals an integral needs to be evaluated. )he probability of finding a particle within a given interval is the integral of the wavefunction modulus squared over that interval w.r.t. dx at the time t. 6rob a>x>b is dx

?pon measurement of position, the wavefunction collapses and any subsequent measurement will find the particle to be at the same position.

Any prediction of an observable 7 will be associated with an observable linear operator and a set of eigenvalue equations / where is one eigenfunction and for energy / the 'd 0

associated eigenvalue. )hese operators include the amiltonian @,x-, the momentum operator

/ -ihd/dx, and the position operator . )hose operators that and ,for an unbound particle-

give rise to a continuous range of measurements such as

may have their measurement domain divided into n sections of =x or =p so that they are measured within a specific interval to a desired accuracy. )his ensures that infinite probability amplitudes do not occur for exact values. A more mathematically precise formulation introduces the use of the dirac delta function. .or observables that are non-commutating a measurement of one may be followed by a measurement of the other without an influence being affected by the previous measurement. .or those that are commutating this is not possible. In an example such as as position and momentum for a free particle according to the eisenberg uncertainty principle if x is measured to within $x this will introduce an uncertainty for any subsequent measurement of p, with $p % &',($x-. )o compare with experiment a system must be prepared in a specific state ,i.e. the ground state- many times and the measurement made only once following preparation. After many measurements the recorded data will statistically match the predicted probabilities. 9epeated measurements cannot be made on the same system due to the disturbance introduced on the system by the measurement process.