Editing Wave function collapse (section)

==Terminology==
The two terms "reduction of the state vector" (or "state reduction" for short) and "wave function collapse" are used to describe the same concept. A [[quantum state]] is a mathematical description of a quantum system; a [[quantum state vector]] uses Hilbert space vectors for the description.<ref name=messiah>{{Cite book|last=Messiah|first=Albert|title=Quantum Mechanics|date=1966|publisher=North Holland, John Wiley & Sons|isbn=0486409244|language=en}}</ref>{{rp|159}} Reduction of the state vector replaces the full state vector with a single eigenstate of the observable.

The term "wave function" is typically used for a different mathematical representation of the quantum state, one that uses spatial coordinates also called the "position representation".<ref name=messiah/>{{rp|324}} When the wave function representation is used, the "reduction" is called "wave function collapse".