What is Schrödinger's cat, Schrödinger's cat, everything about Schrödinger's cat, Schrödinger's cat paradox, Schrödinger's experience with a cat, cat in a box, neither alive nor dead cat, is Schrödinger's cat alive, experiment with a cat

This is a cat that is both alive and dead at the same time. He owes such an unfavorable state to the Nobel laureate in physics, the Austrian scientist Erwin Rudolf Joseph Alexander Schrödinger.

Sections:

The essence of the experiment / paradox

The cat is in a closed box, where there is a mechanism containing a radioactive core and a container with poisonous gas. The characteristics of the experiment are chosen so that the probability that the nucleus will disintegrate in 1 hour is 50%. If the core disintegrates, it sets the mechanism in motion, the gas container opens, and the cat dies. According to quantum mechanics, if no observation is made over the nucleus, then its state is described by a superposition (mixing) of two states - a decayed nucleus and an undecayed nucleus, therefore, the cat sitting in the box is both alive and dead at the same time.

It is worth opening the box - and the experimenter should see only one state - "the nucleus has decayed, the cat is dead" or "the nucleus has not decayed, the cat is alive." But while there is no observer in the process, the ill-fated little animal remains "dead".

Marginals

• Misfortune never comes alone
  Not only the health of the tailed inhabitant of the box is in doubt, but also its gender: in the original experiment, Schrödinger's cat was still a cat (die Katze).
• There are no "dead" cats
  It is important to remember that Schrödinger's experiment is not intended to prove the existence of "dead" cats (and, contrary to what was said in the second part of the Portal game, was not invented as an excuse for killing cats). Obviously, the cat must necessarily be either alive or dead, since there is no intermediate state.
  Experience shows that quantum mechanics is not able to describe the behavior of macrosystems (which the cat belongs to): it is incomplete without some rules that indicate when the system chooses one particular state, under what conditions the wave function collapses and the cat either remains alive or becomes dead. , but ceases to be a mixture of both.

Interpretations Copenhagen interpretation denies that before opening the box, the cat is in a state of mixing of the living and the dead. Some believe that as long as the box is closed, the system is in a superposition of the states “decayed nucleus, dead cat” and “undecayed nucleus, living cat”, and when the box is opened, only then does the wave function collapse to one of the options. Others - that "observation" occurs when a particle from the nucleus enters the detector; however, alas, in the Copenhagen interpretation there is no clear rule that says when this happens, and therefore this interpretation is incomplete until such a rule is introduced into it or it is not said how it can be introduced in principle. Everett's Many Worlds Interpretation, unlike Copenhagen, does not consider the process of observation to be something special. Here, both states of the cat exist, but decohere - that is, as the author understood, the unity of these states is violated as a result of interaction with environment. When the observer opens the box, he becomes entangled (mixed) with the cat, which results in two states of the observer, one corresponding to a live and one to a dead cat. These states do not interact with each other. The cat as a competent observer
The author believes that the decisive word should have been left to the cat, who, although not understanding a single belmes in quantum mechanics, is certainly the best aware of his condition. However, his competence as an observer, obviously, raises doubts among scientists. The exceptions are Hans Moravec, Bruno Marshal and Max Tegmark, who proposed a modification of the Schrödinger experiment known as "quantum suicide", which is an experiment with a cat from the point of view of a cat. Scientists pursued the goal of showing the difference between the Copenhagen and many-worlds interpretations of quantum mechanics. If the multi-world interpretation is correct, the cat, to the delight of the sympathizers, becomes Tsoi and always remains alive, since the participant is able to observe the result of the experiment only in the world in which he survives.

• Nadav Katz from the University of California and his colleagues published the results of a laboratory experiment in which they managed to "return" the quantum state of a particle back, moreover, after measuring this state. Thus, it is possible to save the life of a cat, regardless of the conditions for the collapse of the wave function. It doesn't matter if he is alive or dead: you can always win back [link] .
• 06/03/2011 RIA Novosti reported that Chinese physicists were able to create eight-photon "Schrodinger's cat"[link] which should contribute to the development of future quantum computers

Image in culture

Perhaps no one has done more to popularize quantum mechanics than the poor cat. Even the people who are farthest from this complex field of knowledge, excited by the fate of the probably suffering little animal, are trying to figure out the intricacies of the experiment, hoping that not everything is so bad. The cat inspires artists and popular culture.
Let us mention his main merits:

Literature: The situation with Schrodinger's cat is discussed by the protagonists of the book Dirk Gently's Detective Agency by Douglas Adams. In Dan Simmons' Endymion main character Raoul Endymion writes his story while orbiting Armagast in Schrödinger's "cat box". In the last third of Robert Heinlein's book "The Cat Passing Through Walls", the ginger cat Pixel appears, which has the property of the Schrödinger cat to be in two states at the same time. In Terry Pratchett's book "Cat Without Fools", a breed of so-called "Schrödinger cats" is described in a humorous form, descended from the same Schrödinger's cat. Also, this thought experiment is mentioned more than once in other works of Pratchett, for example, in the novel Ladies and Gentlemen. In F. Gwinplein McIntyre's story "Nursing Schrödinger's Cat", one of the characters is Schrödinger's own pet, Tibbles the cat. Around this cat, in fact, the action unfolds humorous story, generously seasoned with details from different areas physics. The plot of Frederick Pohl's science fiction novel The Coming of the Quantum Cats (1986) is based on the idea of ​​the interaction of "neighboring" Universes. In Nikolai Baitov's philosophical and satirical miniature "Schrödinger's Cat", Schrödinger's paradox is turned inside out: an organization called the "League of Reversible Time" has been monitoring the live cat in the box for 50 years without interruption, believing that while the observation is being carried out - the state , in which the cat resides, should not change. In Lukyanenko's book "The Last Watch", the main character is thrown around the neck with a noose called "Schrödinger's cat", the peculiarity of which is that magicians do not understand whether this creature is alive or not. Mentioned in Greg Egan's novel "Quarantine", in Christopher Stashef's fantasy "Mage Healer", in Greg Beer (Gregory Dale Bear) in the story "Schrödinger's Plague"; Polish writer Sapkowski mentions Kodringer's cat. Mercy Shelley's cyberpunk novel 2048 states that "a guy with a last name that looked like a file was putting some unfortunate biorg in an iron box containing nothing but a vial of poison." Svetlana Shirankova's poem "Schrödinger's Cat" has a very inspiring beginning: "Doctor Schrödinger, your cat is still alive." Screen: In the Coen brothers' film A Serious Man, a student says to a professor, "I understand the dead cat experiment," which, of course, suggests otherwise. In the film "Repo Man" ("Collectors", in the Russian box office "Rippers"), the main character at the beginning of the film talks about an unknown scientist who has a cat. And this cat is in the state of "... both alive and dead at the same time ...". In one of the episodes of the science fiction series Stargate SG-1, a cat named Schrödinger appears. The protagonist of the sci-fi series Sliders also has the same name cat. In Stargate SG-1, a ginger cat named Schrödinger was given to an alien. Dead cat Schrödinger appears in CSI: Las Vegas (Season 8, Episode 15: The Theory of Everything). Schrödinger's cat is also mentioned in the TV series The Big Bang Theory, where as an answer to a girl's question whether she should go on a date, the hero draws an analogy with Schrödinger's cat, meaning that until you try, you won't know: "Penny, for in order to find out whether the cat is alive or dead, you need to open the box. In the series "Bugs", the role of Schrödinger's cat was played by the Red Mercury clue in a booby-trapped safe. IN Japanese anime"Hellsing (OVA)" (as in the manga of the same name), there is a cat-man character named Schrödinger, neither alive nor dead, with the ability to teleport ("be everywhere and nowhere"), and absolutely unkillable. In the anime "To Aru Majutsu no Index", the protagonist objects to the girl's proposal to name the kitten Schrödinger that cats cannot be called this name. The anime Shigofumi also features a cat named Schrödinger. In the Japanese anime and game Umineko no naku koro ni, experience is used in Battler's attempt to prove the impossibility of magic (also used are Devil's Proof, Hempel's Crows, Laplace's Demon). In one of the Futurama episodes Law and Oracle, Schrödinger hid drugs in a box with a cat. Comics/manga: A small comic book about Schrödinger's cat and Maxwell's demon. He's Dead: Schrödinger of the Cat: And More Comics at joyreactor.ru. Games: There is a quest game "The Return of the Quantum Cat". In the Nethack game, there is a Quantum Mechanic monster, who sometimes has a box with a cat with him. The state of the cat is not determined until the moment the box is opened. In the game "Half-Life 2" there was a cat in the laboratory with teleporters, nightmares about which "still" visit Barney. The portrait of Schrödinger's cat is also found in the 1998 remake based on Half-Life. - "Black Mesa" ("Black Mesa", formerly known as "Black Mesa: Source"). Link to notarized screenshot. In every level of Bioshock, there is a dead cat in a nook, labeled Shrodinger. In the second part, it can also be found - the cat rests in one of the ice floes in a frozen room with four surveillance cameras in the corners. The NPC cat of the same name is featured in the Japanese RPG Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga. The main slogan of the game Portal, "The cake is a lie", is an errative of one of the outcomes of the Schrödinger experiment, namely "The cat is alive". In the second part of the game, the cat is also not forgotten. A mention of the experiment can be found in the rule book of the Russian board game"Age of Aquarius". The cat even has its own characteristic plate there - it is completely empty, so it seems that it is not there. Music: The so-called festival of non-standard music "Schrödinger's Cat", which took place under the slogan " Real life- real death - real music!" and “Is Schrödinger's Cat alive or dead? And you?" Google also reports that the name "Schrödinger's Cat" is a near-musical project of a very small team from Korolev near Moscow. The album of the British band Tears for Fears "Saturnine Martial and Lunatic" contains a song of the same name. The Russian band "Allein Fur" Immer also performs a song with the same name. Humor: Any joke about Schrödinger's cat is funny and unfunny at the same time. Schrödinger and Heisenberg drive down the highway to the conference, Schrödinger driving. Suddenly there is a blow and he stops the car. Heisenberg looks down the road:
- My God, it looks like I hit a cat!
- He died?
- I can not say exactly. Schrödinger walked around the room in search of a kitten that had shit, and he was sitting in a box, neither alive nor dead. Miscellaneous: Artists pay attention to Schrödinger's cat, trying to convey the ambiguity of his position by means of painting and graphics. Also, images of this little animal can be seen on T-shirts and mugs. Terrorists of whom it is not known exactly whether they are alive or dead are sometimes referred to as "Schrödinger terrorists". Of the well-known personalities, for example, Yasser Arafat was in this state when he was in a coma before his death, as well as Osama bin Laden. According to Absurdopedia, the cat in the poke is a simplified version of the Schrödinger's cat experiment [link] . Stephen Hawking paraphrased the catchphrase Hans Jost "When I hear about culture, I grab a gun" like this: "When I hear about Schrödinger's cat, my hand reaches for a gun!". The explanation is that, like many other physicists, Hawking is of the opinion that the "Copenhagen School" of the interpretation of quantum mechanics emphasizes the role of the observer unreasonably. In connection with the opening of the MEPhI Department of Theology, the following picture has become widespread on the network:

As Heisenberg explained to us, due to the uncertainty principle, the description of the objects of the quantum microworld is of a different nature than the usual description of the objects of the Newtonian macrocosm. Instead of spatial coordinates and speed, which we used to describe the mechanical movement of, for example, a ball on a billiard table, in quantum mechanics, objects are described by the so-called wave function. The crest of the "wave" corresponds to the maximum probability of finding a particle in space at the moment of measurement. The motion of such a wave is described by the Schrödinger equation, which tells us how the state of a quantum system changes with time.

Now about the cat. Everyone knows that cats love to hide in boxes (). Erwin Schrödinger was also aware. Moreover, with purely Nordic savagery, he used this feature in a famous thought experiment. Its essence was that a cat was locked in a box with an infernal machine. The machine is connected through a relay to a quantum system, for example, a radioactively decaying substance. The decay probability is known and is 50%. The infernal machine works when the quantum state of the system changes (decay occurs) and the cat dies completely. If we leave the "Cat-box-infernal machine-quanta" system to itself for one hour and remember that the state of the quantum system is described in terms of probability, then it becomes clear that to find out whether the cat is alive or not, in this moment time, for sure, will not work, just as it will not work out exactly to predict the fall of a coin on heads or tails in advance. The paradox is very simple: the wave function describing a quantum system mixes two states of a cat - it is alive and dead at the same time, just as a bound electron with equal probability can be located anywhere in space equidistant from the atomic nucleus. If we don't open the box, we don't know exactly how the cat is. Without making observations (read measurements) on the atomic nucleus, we can describe its state only by a superposition (mixing) of two states: a decayed and non-decayed nucleus. A nuclear-addicted cat is both alive and dead at the same time. The question is this: when does a system cease to exist as a mixture of two states and chooses one concrete one?

The Copenhagen interpretation of the experiment tells us that the system ceases to be a mixture of states and chooses one of them at the moment when an observation takes place, which is also a measurement (the box opens). That is, the very fact of measurement changes the physical reality, leading to the collapse of the wave function (the cat either becomes dead or remains alive, but ceases to be a mixture of both)! Think about it, the experiment and the measurements that accompany it change the reality around us. Personally, this fact makes my brain much stronger than alcohol. The notorious Steve Hawking also takes this paradox hard, repeating that when he hears about Schrödinger's cat, his hand reaches for the Browning. The severity of the reaction of the outstanding theoretical physicist is due to the fact that, in his opinion, the role of the observer in the collapse of the wave function (falling it to one of two probabilistic) states is greatly exaggerated.

Of course, when Professor Erwin conceived his cat-fraud back in 1935, it was a clever way to show the imperfection of quantum mechanics. Indeed, a cat cannot be alive and dead at the same time. As a result, one of the interpretations of the experiment was the obvious contradiction between the laws of the macro-world (for example, the second law of thermodynamics - a cat is either alive or dead) and the micro-world (a cat is alive and dead at the same time).

The above is applied in practice: in quantum computing and in quantum cryptography. A fiber-optic cable sends a light signal that is in a superposition of two states. If attackers connect to the cable somewhere in the middle and make a signal tap there in order to eavesdrop on the transmitted information, then this will collapse the wave function (from the point of view of the Copenhagen interpretation, an observation will be made) and the light will go into one of the states. Having carried out statistical tests of light at the receiving end of the cable, it will be possible to find out whether the light is in a superposition of states or whether it has already been observed and transmitted to another point. It does possible creation means of communication that exclude imperceptible signal interception and eavesdropping.

Another most recent interpretation of Schrödinger's thought experiment is the story of Sheldon Cooper, the hero of the Big Bang Theory series, which he spoke to the less educated neighbor Penny. The point of Sheldon's story is that the concept of Schrödinger's cat can be applied to relationships between people. In order to understand what is happening between a man and a woman, what kind of relationship between them: good or bad, you just need to open the box. Until then, relationships are both good and bad.

Yuri Gordeev
Programmer, game developer, designer, artist

"Schrödinger's cat" is a thought experiment proposed by one of the pioneers of quantum physics to show how strange quantum effects look when applied to macroscopic systems.

I'll really try to explain in simple words: gentlemen of physics, do not seek. The phrase "roughly speaking" is implied further before each sentence.

On a very, very small scale, the world is made up of things that behave in very unusual ways. One of the strangest characteristics of such objects is the ability to be in two mutually exclusive states at the same time.

What is even more unusual from an intuitive point of view (someone will even say, creepy) - the act of purposeful observation eliminates this uncertainty, and an object that has just been in two contradictory states at the same time appears before the observer in only one of them, as if in nothing never happened, looks off to the side and whistles innocently.

At the subatomic level, everyone has long been accustomed to these antics. There is a mathematical apparatus that describes these processes, and knowledge about them has found a variety of applications: for example, in computers and cryptography.

At the macroscopic level, these effects are not observed: the objects familiar to us are always in a single specific state.

And now a thought experiment. We take a cat and put it in a box. We also place a flask with poisonous gas, a radioactive atom and a Geiger counter there. A radioactive atom may or may not decay at any time. If it decays, the counter will detect radiation, a simple mechanism will break the flask with gas, and our cat will die. If not, the cat will live.

We close the box. From this point on, from the point of view of quantum mechanics, our atom is in a state of uncertainty - it decayed with a probability of 50% and did not decay with a probability of 50%. Before we open the box and look inside (make an observation), it will be in both states at once. And since the fate of a cat directly depends on the state of this atom, it turns out that the cat is also literally alive and dead at the same time (“... smearing a living and dead cat (sorry for the expression) in equal proportions ...” - writes the author of the experiment). This is how quantum theory would describe this situation.

Schrödinger hardly guessed what a stir his idea would make. Of course, the experiment itself, even in the original, is described extremely rudely and without pretense of scientific accuracy: the author wanted to convey to his colleagues the idea that the theory needs to be supplemented with clearer definitions of such processes as “observation” in order to exclude scenarios with cats in boxes from its jurisdiction.

The idea of ​​a cat was even used to “prove” the existence of God as a supermind, which by its continuous observation makes our very existence possible. In reality, "observation" does not require a conscious observer, which deprives quantum effects of some mysticism. But even so, quantum physics remains today the front of science with many unexplained phenomena and their interpretations.

Ivan Boldin
Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Researcher, MIPT graduate

The behavior of objects in the microworld (elementary particles, atoms, molecules) differs significantly from the behavior of objects with which we usually have to deal. For example, an electron can fly simultaneously through two spatially distant places or be simultaneously in several orbits in an atom. To describe these phenomena, a theory was created - quantum physics. According to this theory, for example, particles can be smeared in space, but if you want to determine where the particle is after all, then you will always find the entire particle in some place, that is, it will sort of collapse from its smeared state to some specific place. That is, it is believed that until you measure the position of a particle, it has no position at all, and physics can only predict with what probability in what place you can find a particle.

Erwin Schrödinger, one of the creators of quantum physics, asked himself the question: what if, depending on the result of measuring the state of a microparticle, some event occurs or does not occur. For example, this could be implemented in the following way: a radioactive atom is taken with a half-life of, say, an hour. An atom can be placed in an opaque box, put there a device that, when the products of the radioactive decay of the atom hit it, breaks an ampoule with poisonous gas, and put a cat in this box. Then you will not see from the outside whether the atom has decayed or not, that is, according to quantum theory, it simultaneously decayed and did not decay, and the cat, therefore, is both alive and dead. Such a cat became known as Schrödinger's cat.

It may seem surprising that a cat can be alive and dead at the same time, although formally there is no contradiction here and this is not a refutation of quantum theory. However, questions may arise, for example: who can carry out the collapse of an atom from a smeared state to a certain state, and who, in such an attempt, himself passes into a smeared state? How does this collapse process proceed? Or how is it that the one who performs the collapse does not himself obey the laws of quantum physics? Whether these questions make sense, and if so, what are the answers to them, is still unclear.

George Panin
graduated from RKhTU them. DI. Mendeleev, Chief Specialist research department (market research)

As Heisenberg explained to us, due to the uncertainty principle, the description of the objects of the quantum microworld is of a different nature than the usual description of the objects of the Newtonian macrocosm. Instead of spatial coordinates and speed, which we used to describe the mechanical movement of, for example, a ball on a billiard table, in quantum mechanics, objects are described by the so-called wave function. The crest of the "wave" corresponds to the maximum probability of finding a particle in space at the moment of measurement. The motion of such a wave is described by the Schrödinger equation, which tells us how the state of a quantum system changes with time.

Now about the cat. Everyone knows that cats love to hide in boxes (thequestion.ru). Erwin Schrödinger was also aware. Moreover, with purely Nordic savagery, he used this feature in a famous thought experiment. Its essence was that a cat was locked in a box with an infernal machine. The machine is connected through a relay to a quantum system, for example, a radioactively decaying substance. The decay probability is known and is 50%. The infernal machine works when the quantum state of the system changes (decay occurs) and the cat dies completely. If you leave the “Cat-box-infernal machine-quanta” system to itself for one hour and remember that the state of the quantum system is described in terms of probability, then it becomes clear that it’s probably impossible to find out whether the cat is alive or not, at a given moment in time, just as it will not work out accurately to predict the fall of a coin on heads or tails in advance. The paradox is very simple: the wave function describing a quantum system mixes two states of a cat - it is alive and dead at the same time, just as a bound electron with equal probability can be located anywhere in space equidistant from the atomic nucleus. If we don't open the box, we don't know exactly how the cat is. Without making observations (read measurements) on the atomic nucleus, we can describe its state only by a superposition (mixing) of two states: a decayed and non-decayed nucleus. A nuclear-addicted cat is both alive and dead at the same time. The question is this: when does a system cease to exist as a mixture of two states and chooses one concrete one?

The Copenhagen interpretation of the experiment tells us that the system ceases to be a mixture of states and chooses one of them at the moment when an observation takes place, which is also a measurement (the box opens). That is, the very fact of measurement changes the physical reality, leading to the collapse of the wave function (the cat either becomes dead or remains alive, but ceases to be a mixture of both)! Think about it, the experiment and the measurements that accompany it change the reality around us. Personally, this fact makes my brain much stronger than alcohol. The notorious Steve Hawking also takes this paradox hard, repeating that when he hears about Schrödinger's cat, his hand reaches for the Browning. The severity of the reaction of the outstanding theoretical physicist is due to the fact that, in his opinion, the role of the observer in the collapse of the wave function (falling it to one of two probabilistic) states is greatly exaggerated.

Of course, when Professor Erwin conceived his cat-fraud back in 1935, it was a clever way to show the imperfection of quantum mechanics. Indeed, a cat cannot be alive and dead at the same time. As a result, one of the interpretations of the experiment was the obvious contradiction between the laws of the macro-world (for example, the second law of thermodynamics - a cat is either alive or dead) and the micro-world (a cat is alive and dead at the same time).

The above is applied in practice: in quantum computing and in quantum cryptography. A fiber-optic cable sends a light signal that is in a superposition of two states. If attackers connect to the cable somewhere in the middle and make a signal tap there in order to eavesdrop on the transmitted information, then this will collapse the wave function (from the point of view of the Copenhagen interpretation, an observation will be made) and the light will go into one of the states. Having carried out statistical tests of light at the receiving end of the cable, it will be possible to find out whether the light is in a superposition of states or whether it has already been observed and transmitted to another point. This makes it possible to create means of communication that exclude imperceptible signal interception and eavesdropping.

Another most recent interpretation of Schrödinger's thought experiment is the story of Sheldon Cooper, the hero of the Big Bang Theory series, which he spoke to the less educated neighbor Penny. The point of Sheldon's story is that the concept of Schrödinger's cat can be applied to relationships between people. In order to understand what is happening between a man and a woman, what kind of relationship between them: good or bad, you just need to open the box. Until then, relationships are both good and bad. youtube.com

In 1935 the great physicist, Nobel laureate and the founder of quantum mechanics Erwin Schrödinger formulated his famous paradox.

The scientist suggested that if you take a certain cat and place it in an opaque steel box with a "hellish machine", then in an hour he will be alive and dead at the same time. The mechanism in the box is as follows: inside the Geiger counter is a microscopic amount of radioactive material that can decay into only one atom in an hour; in this case, it may not decay with the same probability. If the decay does occur, then the lever mechanism will work and the hammer will break the vessel with hydrocyanic acid and the cat will die; if there is no decay, then the vessel will remain intact, and the cat will be alive and well.

If it were not about a cat and a box, but about the world of subatomic particles, then scientists would say that the cat is both alive and dead at the same time, but in the macrocosm this conclusion is incorrect. So why do we operate with such concepts when it comes to smaller particles of matter?

Schrödinger's illustration is the best example to describe the main paradox of quantum physics: according to its laws, particles such as electrons, photons and even atoms exist in two states at the same time ("alive" and "dead", if you remember the long-suffering cat). These states are called superpositions.

American physicist Art Hobson (Art Hobson) from the University of Arkansas (Arkansas State University) offered his solution to this paradox.

"Measurements in quantum physics are based on the operation of certain macroscopic devices, such as the Geiger counter, which determine the quantum state of microscopic systems - atoms, photons and electrons. Quantum theory implies that if you connect a microscopic system (particle) to some macroscopic device, distinguishing between two different states of the system, then the device (Geiger counter, for example) will go into a state of quantum entanglement and will also be simultaneously in two superpositions. However, it is impossible to observe this phenomenon directly, which makes it unacceptable, "says the physicist.

Hobson says that in Schrödinger's paradox, the cat plays the role of a macroscopic device, a Geiger counter, connected to a radioactive nucleus, to determine the state of decay or "non-decay" of this nucleus. In this case, a live cat would be an indicator of "non-decay" and a dead cat would be an indicator of decay. But according to quantum theory, the cat, like the nucleus, must be in two superpositions of life and death.

Instead, according to the physicist, the quantum state of the cat must be entangled with the state of the atom, which means that they are in a "non-local connection" with each other. That is, if the state of one of the entangled objects suddenly changes to the opposite, then the state of its pair will also change in the same way, no matter how far apart they are. In doing so, Hobson refers to this quantum theory.

"The most interesting thing in the theory of quantum entanglement is that the change in the state of both particles occurs instantly: no light or electromagnetic signal would have time to transfer information from one system to another. Thus, we can say that this is one object divided into two parts space, no matter how great the distance between them," explains Hobson.

Schrödinger's cat is no longer alive and dead at the same time. He is dead if decay happens, and alive if decay never happens.

We add that similar solutions to this paradox have been proposed by three more groups of scientists over the past thirty years, but they were not taken seriously and remained unnoticed in wide scientific circles. Hobson notes that the solution of the paradoxes of quantum mechanics, at least theoretical, is absolutely necessary for its deep understanding.

Perhaps some of you have heard such a phrase as "Schrödinger's cat." However, for most people this name does not mean anything.

If you consider yourself a thinking subject, and even pretend to be an intellectual, then you should definitely find out what Schrödinger's cat is and why he became famous in.

Shroedinger `s cat- This thought experiment, proposed by the Austrian theoretical physicist Erwin Schrödinger. This talented scientist received in 1933. Nobel Prize in physics.

Through his famous experiment, he wanted to show the incompleteness of quantum mechanics in the transition from subatomic to macroscopic systems.

Erwin Schrödinger tried to explain his theory with the original example of a cat. He wanted to make it as simple as possible so that his idea was understandable to any person.

Whether he succeeded or not, you will find out by reading the article to the end.

The essence of the experiment Schrödinger's cat

Suppose a certain cat is locked in a steel chamber along with such an infernal machine (which must be protected from the direct intervention of a cat): inside a Geiger counter there is such a tiny amount of radioactive material that only one atom can decay in an hour, but with the same probability may not fall apart; if this happens, the reading tube is discharged and a relay is activated, lowering the hammer, which breaks the cone of hydrocyanic acid.

If we leave this whole system to itself for an hour, then we can say that the cat will be alive after this time, as long as the atom does not decay.

The first decay of an atom would have poisoned the cat. The psi-function of the system as a whole will express this by mixing in itself or smearing the living and dead cat (forgive the expression) in equal proportions.

Typical in similar cases is that the uncertainty originally limited to the atomic world is transformed into a macroscopic uncertainty that can be eliminated by direct observation.

This prevents us from naively accepting the "blur model" as reflecting reality. By itself, this does not mean anything unclear or contradictory.

There is a difference between a fuzzy or out-of-focus photo and a cloud or fog shot.

In other words, we have a box and a cat. A device with a radioactive atomic nucleus and a container with poisonous gas is installed in the box.

During the experiment, the probability of decay or non-disintegration of the nucleus is equal to 50%. Therefore, if it decays, the animal will die, and if the nucleus does not decay, Schrödinger's cat will remain alive.

We lock the cat in a box, and wait for an hour, reflecting on the frailty of life.

According to the laws of quantum mechanics, the nucleus (and, consequently, the cat itself) can simultaneously be in all possible states (see quantum superposition).

Until the moment when the box is not yet opened, the “cat-core” system assumes two options for the outcome of events: “nucleus decay - the cat is dead” with a probability of 50%, and “nucleus decay did not happen - the cat is alive” with the same degree of probability.

It turns out that Schrödinger's cat, sitting inside the box, is both alive and dead at the same time.

The interpretation of the Copenhagen interpretation says that in any case, the cat is alive and dead at the same time. The choice of nuclear decay comes not when we open the box, but also when the nucleus enters the detector.

This is due to the fact that the reduction of the wave function of the "cat-detector-nucleus" system is in no way interconnected with the person observing from the outside. It is directly connected with the detector-observer of the atomic nucleus.

Schrödinger's cat in simple words

According to the laws of quantum mechanics, in the event that no observation takes place over the atomic nucleus, it can be dual: that is, decay will either happen or not.

It follows from this that the cat, which is in the box and represents the core, can be both alive and dead at the same time.

But at the moment when the observer decides to open the box, he will be able to see only one of the 2 possible states.

But now a natural question arises: when exactly does the system cease to exist in a dual form?

Through this experience, Schrödinger argued that quantum mechanics is incomplete without certain rules explaining when the wave function collapses.

Considering the fact that sooner or later Schrödinger's cat must become either alive or dead, this will be similar for the atomic nucleus: atomic decay will either occur or not.

The essence of experience in human language

Schrödinger, using the example of a cat, wanted to show that, according to quantum mechanics, an animal will be both alive and dead at the same time. This, in fact, is impossible, from which it is concluded that quantum mechanics today has significant flaws.

Video from The Big Bang Theory

The character of the series, Sheldon Cooper, tried to explain to his "narrow-minded" girlfriend the essence of the Schrödinger's Cat experiment. To do this, he used the example of the relationship between a man and a woman.

To find out what kind of relationship they have, you just need to open the box. In the meantime, it will be closed, their relationship can be both positive and negative at the same time.

Did Schrödinger's cat survive the experiment?

If one of our readers is worried about the cat, then you should calm down. During the experiment, none of them died, and Schrödinger himself called his experiment mental, that is, one that is carried out exclusively in the mind.

We hope that you understand what the essence of the Schrödinger's Cat experiment is. If you have any questions, you can ask them in the comments. And, of course, share this article on social networks.

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