A paradox in the quantum-mechanical treatment of destructive measurements on photons

Abstract Measurements on photons are frequently cited as confirmations of predictions of quantum mechanics (QMs), in particular in the context of Bell’s theorem. In this paper we show, however, that we cannot ever claim to have measured a property of a photon if we treat a destructive measurement of the value of a property of a photon prepared in a superposition of eigenstates in the framework of orthodox QM.