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According to the observer effect, physical systems can behave differently when there is an ‘observer’. This has been demonstrated in cases where the ‘observer’ is a machine.

It seems logical that if machines can effect processes, than human beings can do this too. After all, our bodies work in some ways like a complex machine.

Has it ever been experimentally demonstrated that observation by human beings can effect physical processes? A way to check this would be: repeat the physical process twice. The first time, a human only observes the result at the end. The second time, he observes what happens throughout the entire process.

Remark As I said above, it is very clear that the observer effect can happen when the observer is a machine. My question is, whether this can also happen when the observer is a human mind, and whether this has been experimentally verified.

Riemann
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Has it ever been experimentally demonstrated that observation by human beings can effect physical processes?

If the question is just, "is there evidence that humans have observed systems that are changed when they are observed?", the answer is that yes this is the whole point of quantum mechanics.

If your question is that if it is required for a human mind to be the thing that is collapsing the quantum state, then this is a less-accepted, less-popular interpetation of quantum mechanics. I believe most physicists would insist that there is nothing special about the mind and that a simple detector can create this effect of collapsing a state.

If you want an experiment that tries to look at the difference between when you make a measurement of something, versus when someone else (human or detector) makes a measurement of something -- this creates a paradox in typical interpretations of quantum mechanics. The paradox is known as the Wigner's friend problem.

I suggest reading more about the Wigner's friend problem if you want to try to understand some of the pecularities of what happens when you think seriously about wavefunction collapse in qantum mecahnics.

Steven Sagona
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  • As I made clear in my question, quantum systems can be influenced by machines which are not a humans mind. My question is: is it also possible that a quantum systems to be influenced by the human mind? – Riemann Jun 17 '22 at 15:43
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    "As I made clear in my question" -- apparently not. Your question has -4 votes at the moment, so I think you should be more open to the idea that you are the one that isn't being clear with what you want to understand. Additionally, I think that I have addressed what you have asked. Perhaps you should read my answer more carefully? – Steven Sagona Jun 17 '22 at 16:04
  • I have read through your answer. If I understand it correctly, you distinguish four cases about what my question may be. However, I think that my question does not fall in any of those four categories. – Riemann Jun 17 '22 at 16:09
  • Your first paragraph is not exactly what I am interested in; I know that humans have observed 2-slit experiments which were also observed by a machine. However, the machine was the thing that influenced the experiment and not the human begin. – Riemann Jun 17 '22 at 16:10
  • The second paragraph seems to be about the question whether the observer effect is possible without a human mind. In think that this is possible, because it had been experimentally demonstrated. However, this is not my question. – Riemann Jun 17 '22 at 16:11
  • The third paragraph seems to be about experiments with multiple observers. I am interested in experiments with only 1 observer, which is a human being – Riemann Jun 17 '22 at 16:12
  • The fourth paragraph is about wavefunctions; so the theory behind quantum mechanics. My question is more like a yes/no question, and is about whether some experiment has been succesfully carried out. – Riemann Jun 17 '22 at 16:14
  • Please let me know if I have misunderstood something – Riemann Jun 17 '22 at 16:14
  • "The second paragraph seems to be about the question whether the observer effect is possible without a human mind. In think that this is possible, because it had been experimentally demonstrated. However, this is not my question. " A theory in which collapse ONLY happens due to the mind is currently supported by all experiements. It's not a popular view, but it is consistent. I think if you disagree with this, you should try to study the Wigner's friend problem to understand why this interpetation is viable. – Steven Sagona Jun 17 '22 at 16:22
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    You are forgetting that someone needs to check the results of what the machine observes, that ITSELF is an observation performed by a human mind. Performing an experiment with just machines will always involve human minds collapsing the state unless the results of the experiment is never actually observed by any human (defeating the point of the experiment). Therefore the experiment you are asking about is impossible. This is why you need multiple observers to evaluate and understand what you are asking. (which is what wigner's friend is about) – Steven Sagona Jun 17 '22 at 16:23
  • Thank you, I finally understand what the problem is with my question. I will ask a new question instead – Riemann Jun 17 '22 at 16:43
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Observation affects measurements in quantum systems. Humans (and other similar life forms) behave classically. So, there can not be an experiment conducted, in which observations affect measurement...

schris38
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    What do you mean by ‘humans behave classically’? Humans consist of small particles which obey quantum mechanical laws – Riemann Jun 17 '22 at 15:41
  • Yes , but the scales a human can observe are scales in which nature behaves classically. On the contrary, a detector can have resolution small enough to observe properties of small particles that behave quantum mechanically, such as the electron. Human eye can not observe a single electron – schris38 Jun 17 '22 at 16:36
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    There are also macroscopic quantum effects. But anyway, it seems then that the answer to my question is ‘no’. – Riemann Jun 17 '22 at 18:15