This property has proved most useful in studying implications of quantum theory, but it is also a source of the key conundrum associated with its interpretation. Quantum mechanics is an especially important example of a fundamental theory in which the superposition principle is valid and of profound significance. The superposition principle is important both because it simplifies finding solutions to complicated linear problems (they can be decomposed into sums of solutions of simpler problems) and because many of the fundamental laws of physics are linear. Each of these facts is connected with the linearity of Maxwell's equations, which describe electricity and magnetism. The same is true for the magnetic field and its cause-electric currents. Consequently, an electric force caused by a collection of charges is given by a superposition-a vector sum-of the forces caused by the individual charges. , are coefficients) also satisfies the same equation.įor example, an electric field is proportional to the charge that generates it., solve the linear equation, then s, where α, β, γ,.When this is true, equations which describe such a phenomenon are known as linear, and their solutions obey the superposition principle. The principle, obeyed by many equations describing physical phenomena, that a linear combination of the solutions of the equation is also a solution.Īn effect is proportional to a cause in a variety of phenomena encountered at the level of fundamental physical laws as well as in practical applications.
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