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"A single quantum cannot be cloned", William Wotters, Wojciech Zurek, 1982

Reviewed October 30, 2024

Citation: Wootters, William K., and Wojciech H. Zurek. "A single quantum cannot be cloned." Nature 299.5886 (1982): 802-803.

Web: https://www.nature.com/articles/299802a0

Tags: Philosophical, Physical


This is the paper that introduced the "no-cloning" principle to quantum mechanics.

Of course, no-cloning is an immediate corollary of the linearity of quantum mechanics. The real contribution of this paper was to take this simple observation and to publicize it to physicists, making clear the philosophical implications.