Everett branch

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English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Named after American physicist Hugh Everett III, who proposed the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics in 1957.

Noun[edit]

Everett branch (plural Everett branches)

  1. (quantum mechanics) A particular sequence of wavefunction collapses, which, according to the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, corresponds to a particular universe.
    • 1993 August 6, Justin Smith, “Possible worlds and Everett's worlds”, in sci.physics‎[1] (Usenet):
      This discussion is fascinating because I used to be acquainted with some philosophers who were trying to use Everett's theory as a way to give a `rigorous' meaning to `possible'. In other words, a world is possible if there exists a causal chain of Everett branches connecting it with our world.
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