Schrödinger's cat comes closer: Nature

In summary, a team of physicists from the University of Oxford has proposed a scheme using a tiny mirror to create a quantum superposition of states in an object with around a hundred trillion atoms. This is a billion times larger than anything previously demonstrated. It has been known since the discovery of superfluidity and the Josephson junction that quantum effects are important in the very cold domain as well as the very small. The proposed experimental design is ingenious and has a high chance of success. However, some argue that the identification of quantum with the microscopic level is too restrictive, and the convergence of macroscopic and microscopic in black holes presents an interesting topic for exploration.
  • #1
Ivan Seeking
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Now a team of physicists has published the recipe for making a large object - not cat-sized, but certainly bacterium-sized - in such a quantum quandary1. A tiny mirror, they propose, can be in two places at once... William Marshall of the University of Oxford and his coworkers outline a scheme for evading decoherence to achieve a quantum superposition of states in an object with around a hundred trillion atoms. This is about a billion times larger than anything demonstrated previously.

http://www.nature.com/nsu/030929/030929-3.html
 
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  • #2
It has been commonplace to say that quantum effects only become important in the domeain of the very small. But actually ever since superfluidity and the Josephson junction they have been known to be important at the very cold domain too. This is a most ingenious experimental design, and there is every reason to expect it to work.
 
  • #3
Originally posted by selfAdjoint
It has been commonplace to say that quantum effects only become important in the domeain of the very small. But actually ever since superfluidity and the Josephson junction they have been known to be important at the very cold domain too. This is a most ingenious experimental design, and there is every reason to expect it to work.

good point about superfluid helium and Josephson junction (one of a class of cold solid state examples)

the essence of quantum seems not to be that it describes nature at the microscopic level but in how it describes
storing information in a hilbert space, how information is handled
is what makes it a quantum theory or not a quantum theory, or?
I find the identification between quantum and microscopic troubling enough to comment on it sometimes

random thought: ordinary-size black holes are very cold
and, at the same time, a place where macroscopic and microscopic seem ready to converge---where gravity and quantum analysis may make contact. sorry if this is vague, just
a thought your post provoked
 

1. What is Schrödinger's cat paradox?

Schrödinger's cat paradox is a thought experiment that was proposed by Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger in 1935. It involves a hypothetical cat that is placed in a sealed box with a radioactive substance, a Geiger counter, and a small amount of poison. The experiment states that according to the laws of quantum mechanics, the cat is both alive and dead at the same time until the box is opened and the cat's state is observed.

2. How does Schrödinger's cat relate to quantum mechanics?

Schrödinger's cat is a famous example used to explain the principles of quantum mechanics, specifically the concept of superposition. According to quantum mechanics, particles can exist in multiple states at the same time until they are observed or measured. This means that the cat is in a state of superposition, where it is both alive and dead, until someone opens the box and observes its state.

3. What is the significance of Schrödinger's cat paradox?

Schrödinger's cat paradox highlights the strange and counter-intuitive concepts of quantum mechanics. It challenges our understanding of reality and raises questions about the role of observation and measurement in determining outcomes. It has been used to illustrate the limitations of classical physics and the need for a new framework to explain the behavior of particles at the subatomic level.

4. Is Schrödinger's cat a real experiment?

No, Schrödinger's cat is a purely theoretical experiment and has never been performed in real life. It was proposed as a way to illustrate the strange and complex principles of quantum mechanics. However, there have been experiments conducted that demonstrate the principles of superposition and other concepts related to Schrödinger's cat paradox.

5. What is the nature of Schrödinger's cat's existence?

According to the principles of quantum mechanics, Schrödinger's cat exists in a state of superposition, where it is simultaneously alive and dead. This means that its exact state cannot be determined until it is observed or measured. It also brings into question the nature of reality and how our perceptions and observations shape it.

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