Yes. Otherwise, this would be a sure way to secure nearly eternal life. Set up a ridiculously low probability quantum event to kill you, and move into a box.iMatt said:Considering only the Copenhagen interpretation, discounting the cat as an observer, and assuming wave function collapse at the time of opening the box - if you find the cat alive, has it aged whilst in the box?
Thanks.
Heinera said:Yes. Otherwise, this would be a sure way to secure nearly eternal life. Set up a ridiculously low probability quantum event to kill you, and move into a box.
Well, if we take Schrödinger's example literally (he actually devised this thought experiment with some tongue in cheek to argue against the orthodox Copenhagen interpretation) then the cat would be in a superposition of a dead and disintegrating cat and a live and aging cat. So if you find the cat alive, it would also have properly aged during the box time.iMatt said:Agree re eternal life. I am just not sure how the cat can age unless it exists in a alive state it's whole time in the box, rather than the neither alive nor dead state that I thought was the case. Probably a simple answer but seems to be escaping me.
Exactly. In a superpostion of states, the states that are superpositioned will still evolve as time goes by.iMatt said:Ok thanks. It seems that the superposition is not a static thing, but evolves with time as the separate states would.
Heinera said:Well, if we take Schrödinger's example literally (he actually devised this thought experiment with some tongue in cheek to argue against the orthodox Copenhagen interpretation) then the cat would be in a superposition of a dead and disintegrating cat and a live and aging cat. So if you find the cat alive, it would also have properly aged during the box time.
Schrödinger's cat is a thought experiment in quantum mechanics proposed by Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger in 1935. It illustrates the paradoxical nature of quantum superposition, where a cat in a sealed box can be both alive and dead at the same time until the box is opened and the cat's state is observed.
The thought experiment was named after its creator, Erwin Schrödinger, who used it to criticize the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. He wanted to demonstrate the absurdity of the interpretation where a particle can exist in multiple states at once until it is measured.
No, Schrödinger's cat is a thought experiment and does not actually involve a real cat. It is a theoretical scenario used to illustrate the principles of quantum mechanics and is not meant to be taken literally.
Schrödinger's cat is significant because it raises questions about the interpretation of quantum mechanics and the nature of reality. It challenges our understanding of how the world works and has sparked many debates and discussions among physicists and philosophers.
Schrödinger's cat is a thought experiment and as such, cannot be proven or disproven. It is a theoretical concept used to explore the complexities of quantum mechanics and does not have a definitive answer. The interpretation of the experiment is still a subject of debate among scientists.