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principle of superposition
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principle of superposition - 04-14-2005, 03:39 PM

the principle of superposition is what makes quantum mechanics such a successful theory. It asserts that the state function or wave function is a superposition of many other wave functions, i.e., a linear combination of wave functions.

\psi_{1234}=a\psi_1+b\psi_2+c\psi_3+d\psi_4

The same principle is applied to electrostatics, where all charges are in relative rest with respect to a proper coordinate system, such that the force between two charges does not affect the forces between other charges.

This principle can now be related to a principle of connectivity, which says that for every pair of points, a unique vector connection can be defined. This implies that every point is connected to all the other infinite points. And for n number of points the discrete configuration approaches the continuous configuration as n approaches infinity and the product of n and (n-1) approaches n squared.
  
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