What is Schrödinger’s Cat?
Not Schrödinger's cat
You may have heard the phrase “Schrödinger’s cat,” but like me, you may not have entirely understood what it meant. But I get it now, having watched the video below. It’s from scientists at the University of Nottingham in England, and in their Sixty Symbols project (a companion to the Periodic Table of Videos) they are producing videos explaining various symbols used in physics and astronomy. Schrödinger’s cat isn’t a symbol in the traditional sense, such as the Greek letters that often pop up in physics equations, but it definitely could benefit from some explanation.
Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger used the cat in a thought experiment to demonstrate that it was ridiculous to apply a feature of quantum mechanics to everyday objects like a cat. That feature is that an object can be in two different states simultaneously. And while this may be possible at the quantum mechanical level, it is not with a cat, for example, which cannot be both dead and alive.
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This is the best explanation of this thought experiment I’ve ever seen! Thanks for linking to it.
Comment by scibard — June 2, 2009 @ 2:45 pm
It’s really overcomplicating matters. The cat is not both alive and dead, it’s DEAD! How many cats do you know that can survive inside a sealed metal box, with or without cyanide, explosives, or other dismal options?
Comment by Doug in Tucson AZ — June 2, 2009 @ 3:33 pm
Best. Explaination. Evar.
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/113/the-story-of-schroedingers-cat-an-epic-poem
Comment by captian awesome — June 2, 2009 @ 10:28 pm
This is by far the best explination of this interesting and complex topic, you should take a look.
Comment by Nathan — June 12, 2009 @ 4:55 am
http://hubpages.com/hub/Quantum-Physics—Schrodingers-Cat
this is the link to the above statement by the way
Comment by Nathan — June 12, 2009 @ 4:55 am