The many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics or MWI (also known as the relative state formulation, theory of the universal wavefunction, many-universes interpretation, Oxford interpretation or many worlds), is an interpretation of quantum mechanics that claims to resolve all the "paradoxes" of quantum theory by allowing every possible outcome to every event to define or exist in its own "history" or "world", via the mechanism of quantum decoherence, instead of wavefunction collapse. Proponents argue that MWI reconciles how we can perceive non-deterministic events (such as the random decay of a radioactive atom) with the deterministic partial differential equations of quantum physics; which prior to many worlds had been viewed as a single "world-line", is rather a many-branched tree where every possible branch of history is realised.
See also
External links
- Many Worlds Quantum Theory, © Michael Clive Price, February 1995 This is a thorough text.