The Copenhagen interpretation
Niels BohrWerner HeisenbergMax Born
This page delivers no verdict; it presents claims and evidence with their sources. No theory in science is absolute. Method
For everyone
Based on the views of Bohr and Heisenberg in the 1920s, the Copenhagen interpretation is the most widely taught. Quantum theory gives the probabilities of measurement results rather than what is observed "in itself". A measurement is made with an apparatus described classically and yields a single result. According to the principle of complementarity, wave and particle descriptions are mutually exclusive yet jointly necessary perspectives. The interpretation has no single, definitive form.
For specialists
Heisenberg's uncertainty relation of 1927 and the idea of complementarity Bohr presented at Como the same year are the core of the interpretation. The Born rule gives measurement probabilities as |ψ|². Where the line between the quantum and the classical world is drawn is not clearly defined, which critics see as leaving the measurement problem unsolved.
Claims
Positions
- Critics (Einstein, Bell and others)
- Unless what a measurement and an observer are is defined, the theory does not give a complete description of the physical world.[3]
Connections
Sources
- Article (1927). Über den anschaulichen Inhalt der quantentheoretischen Kinematik und Mechanik. Zeitschrift für Physik 43, 172–198DOI 10.1007/BF01397280archive
- Article (1928). The quantum postulate and the recent development of atomic theory. Nature 121, 580–590DOI 10.1038/121580a0archive
- EncyclopediaCopenhagen Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophyplato.stanford.eduarchive
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Cite this page
Athena contributors. (2026). The Copenhagen interpretation. Athena: The tree of human knowledge. Retrieved November 1, 2026, from https://latifkedi.github.io/athena/en/d/kopenhag/
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title = {The Copenhagen interpretation},
author = {{Athena contributors}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://latifkedi.github.io/athena/en/d/kopenhag/}},
note = {Athena: The tree of human knowledge. Accessed: 2026-11-01}
}Added: September 28, 2026 · Last changed: September 28, 2026 · Page history