The Mott problem is an iconic challenge to quantum mechanics theory: how can the prediction of spherically symmetric wave function result in linear tracks seen in a cloud chamber.: 119ff The problem was first formulated in 1927 by Albert Einstein and Max Born and solved in 1929 by Nevill Francis Mott. Mott's solution notably only uses the wave equation, not wavefunction collapse, and it is considered the earliest example of what is now called decoherence theory.