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A horizontal Stern-Gerlach spin measurement measures $S_x$. The inputs are its orthogonal eigenstates, soThe output beam identifies the input with certainty in a single ideal measurement.

A vertical Stern-Gerlach spin measurement is a $z$-spin measurement. The Born rule givesThus this measurement cannot distinguish the two preparations, even by repeating the same measurement on many identically prepared copies: it discards their relative-phase difference in this basis.

For a normalized quantum state, $|\alpha {|}^2+|\beta {|}^2=1$, and the Born rule gives $\boxed{p(z+)=|\alpha {|}^2,p(z-)=|\beta {|}^2}$. If the displayed coefficients are not normalized, divide both by $|\alpha {|}^2+|\beta {|}^2$. A quantum superposition is a coherent linear combination: relative phase affects other spin measurements, unlike an incoherent statistical mixture with the same $z$-measurement probabilities.

Every pure qubit quantum state is an eigenstate of spin along some axis. Its Bloch vector isFor real normalized $\alpha ,\beta$, choose $\theta$ modulo $2\pi$ with $\alpha =\cos (\theta /2)$ and $\beta =\sin (\theta /2)$, allowing an irrelevant global sign. ThenEquivalently, $S_{\mathbf{n}}=(\hslash /2)\left(\begin{array}{cc}{\alpha }^2-{\beta }^2& 2\alpha \beta \\ 2\alpha \beta & {\beta }^2-{\alpha }^2\end{array}\right)$. A Stern-Gerlach spin measurement on this axis yields its positive result with certainty, so the state is not a nontrivial quantum superposition in that measurement basis.

Send a beam through a vertical Stern-Gerlach spin measurement apparatus, spatially resolve its two spin components, and block the negative-$z$ beam. The transmitted particles are prepared in $\boxed{|\uparrow ⟩}$. For an initially unpolarized beam, half the intensity survives ideally. This is conditional quantum state preparation by a projective measurement and filtering.

The first Stern-Gerlach spin measurement transmits $x+$ with probability $|⟨x+|\uparrow ⟩{|}^2=1/2$. The selected quantum state $|x+⟩$ then yields $z-$ with conditional probability $|⟨\downarrow |x+⟩{|}^2=1/2$. Relative to the original beam,Among particles reaching the second apparatus, the negative-$z$ fraction is $1/2$; the requested fraction uses the original intensity and is $1/4$.