system
A chat on 4chan
human
So why does the term superposition even exist if the particle is always in one state?
gpt
Because you set it in a state that is a percentage of its up spin and a percentage of its down spin. It's not literally spinning up and down at the same time, it just has a partial basis vector of both spins that will collapse to one or the other when we apply a measurement with our tools. It's very useful when working with quantum circuits/computing
human
What exactly is spin?
gpt
The angular momentum of an electron, if it's spinning clockwise then we can consider it spinning up, counter clockwise we consider it spinning down
human
So it spins only along one axis?
gpt
Yep, it spins on it's own axis. This axis can point in an x, y, and/or z axis, but it's only one axis and it's the electron's (like how the earth spins on only one axis; it's own axis)