Preparation (physics) experienced in quantum mechanics. Preparation (physics) Generally, measuring instruments are meant to get the (pre-)existent value of a physical quantity of a system with as little change of, or interaction with the system as possible. — If a measuring instrument fixes a physical quantity of a physical system for further use (post-existent), then the measurement process is called preparation. For example, a graduated cylinder filled to a definite mark prepares a certain volume of the liquid for further use. Though preparation measures a physical quantity — at least by fixing it — it often destroys previous states of the physical
Interaction point Interaction point In particle physics, an interaction point (IP) is the place where particles collide in an accelerator experiment. The "nominal" interaction point is the design position, which may differ from the "real" or "physics" interaction point, where the particles actually collide. A related, but distinct, concept is the "primary vertex": the reconstructed location of an individual particle collision. For fixed target experiments, the interaction point is the point where beam and target interact. For colliders, it is the place where the beams interact. Experiments (detectors) at particle accelerators are built around the nominal interaction points of the accelerators. The