Any two systems interacting will cause the collapse. It doesn't matter if the system is attached to a scientist or not.
> Any suggestions?
No, I'm a software developer, not a quantum physicist. :)
I suppose that means if a photon, say, is reflected by a mirror, that should collapse its wave function and any measurements after that should not have any effect on it?
Maybe it should be qualified what kind of interaction collapses wave function?
> I'm a software developer, not a quantum physicist.
Great, I’m not a quantum physicist either—yet here we are, talking about quantum physics!
I'm not sure if that example is the right one to use, but yes, that's roughly my understanding.
I suppose if we can calculate exactly how a given force would influence a photon, that would be essentially the same as “measuring” it.