Quantum wave function collapse is not instantaneous Shutterstock / peterschreiber.media
The collapse of the quantum wave function 鈥 in which quantum objects go from existing within many possible states at once to settling into a concrete one understood by classical physics 鈥 does not happen instantaneously, directly challenging a long-standing textbook understanding of quantum physics.
The most notorious example of this phenomenon is Erwin Schr枚dinger鈥檚 thought experiment where a cat in a box is in a quantum state of both 鈥渄ead鈥 and 鈥渁live鈥 at the same time. Opening the box and looking at the cat 鈥 measuring the system 鈥 鈥collapses鈥&丑别濒濒颈辫;
