Schrödinger's cat must die!

[woodguard]

In Quantum superposition, the particle collapses the wavefuction into one state when observed?

Is the particle real in two or more states at the same time, or is it in a state we don’t know until we observe.

 

[Hamradioguy]

Maybe.....or then again....maybe not.

 

[Molinaro]

"Is the particle real in two or more states at the same time.."

Since it's just as real any one time as any other time, I'd say yes to this.

"..is it in a state we don’t know until we observe."

And I say yes to this also.

 

[Arkan_Wolfshade]

*sigh* Read the title of the thread and my first thought was, "but what if it's already dead?"

 

[Oolon Colluphid]

You don't need to open the box to see if it's dead. Wait a month or two. Then breathe deeply....ugh!

 

[Jeff Corey]

The Institutional Animal Care Committee has rejected Doktor Shroedinger's proposal because it has a 50% chance of killing the cat. These odds are unacceptable because the ethical flaws are not outweighed by the scientific import of the result of the experiment.

 

[Dark Jaguar]

Okay, but we don't need a cat. The box should work just as well without one. Just see if that poison that is supposed to kill the cat has been released or not by opening it and using a gas detector.

 

[The Bad Astronomer]

Actually, this thread title would be a brilliant title for a movie or a book.

 

[Hawk one]

Would the movie feature Jet Li, Phil?

 

[HarryKeogh]

Actually, this thread title would be a brilliant title for a movie or a book.

My band's name is Schrodinger's Cat and the Wave Functions. Never quite sure where we're playing or what time we'll get on stage but we still rock.

 

[geni]

In Quantum superposition, the particle collapses the wavefuction into one state when observed?

Is the particle real in two or more states at the same time, or is it in a state we don’t know until we observe.

Evidence suggests that the particle is in two states at the same time.

 

[Peter Soderqvist]

Philosophy of science is not yet falsifiable!

Why not two equally real ones?
One particle from our universe in a superposition of state with another particle from the multiverse, which acquire decoherence when measured?

 

[emperorchaos]

My band's name is Schrodinger's Cat and the Wave Functions. Never quite sure where we're playing or what time we'll get on stage but we still rock.

Hahahaha, that has been nominated!

 

[Dr Richard]

Schrodinger's wife to Schrodinger:

What the **** have you done to the cat? It looks half dead...

Seriously, the answer to the question is that the particle would appear to us to be in both states, not simply one state that we don't know about.

The reason for this is that interference and half-mirror effects actually require the waveform to be the accurate description of reality. This does not, of course, make sense to our large scale interpretation of events.

Roger Penrose (Emperor's New Mind etc) covers this subject well and accessibly I think. He goes on to argue that such inconsistencies between quantum and "real world" events would be resolved by a successful quantum description of gravity... at which point my grasp of physics fails me. i do not know enough about current superstring theory to know if this is really the case, but I am least confident that someone out there will eventually know the answer to this question....

 

[blutoski]

In Quantum superposition, the particle collapses the wavefuction into one state when observed?

Is the particle real in two or more states at the same time, or is it in a state we don’t know until we observe.

It's in one state or the other, but we don't know until we observe. To represent this in an equation, we need to add the two states' wavefunctions.

 

[tkingdoll]

At TAM, Jas wore a t-shirt that said "Schrodinger's cat is dead".

Carry on.

 

[oldunbeliever]

My band's name is Schrodinger's Cat and the Wave Functions. Never quite sure where we're playing or what time we'll get on stage but we still rock.

Great! And you are not really there until someone observes you! Rock on, guys!

 

[Bronze Dog]

At TAM, Jas wore a t-shirt that said "Schrodinger's cat is dead".

Carry on.

You should have seen the other side.

 

[woodguard]

The particle that is observed, does it stay that same way forever or when my back is turned it jumps back into superposition?

Is the cat like the light in my fridge. When I open the door sometimes it’s alive and sometimes it is died.(If it is lives, does it like the tasted of brains?)


What is meant by the observer? Would the cat kill itself (or free it’s self), if it seen the test equipment.


Why does chemicals changing in a brain(the observer seeing something) collapses the wavefuction.

Is this one of those thing that looks real great on paper, but useless in real life?

 

[Bronze Dog]

I don't know much about QM, but the "observer" doesn't have to be conscious in any way.