[lit-ideas] Re: Understanding Why The Compressor Shorted To Ground
- From: Robert Paul <rpaul@xxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2007 13:09:22 -0800
I don't now recall the reference to the cat you cite above. Does the cat meow a
philosophical point?
Walter,
Just in case you're ever at a party with some physicists.
Yours phenomenally,
Robert
Schrödinger's cat A thought experiment introduced by Erwin Schrödinger
in 1935 to illustrate the paradox in quantum mechanics regarding the
probability of finding, say, a subatomic particle at a specific point in
space. According to Niels Bohr, the position of such a particle remains
indeterminate until it has been observed. Schrödinger postulated a
sealed vessel containing a live cat and a device triggered by a quantum
event, such as the radioactive decay of a nucleus. If the quantum event
occurs, cyanide is released and the cat dies; if the event does not
occur the cat lives. Schrödinger argued that Bohr's interpretation of
events in quantum mechanics means that the cat could only be said to be
alive or dead when the vessel has been opened and the situation inside
it had been observed. This paradox has been extensively discussed since
its introduction. It is currently thought that the concept of
decoherence might resolve this paradox in a satisfactory way.
Wigner's friend is a variation of the Schrödinger's cat paradox in which
a friend of the physicist Eugene Wigner (1902–95) is the first to look
inside the vessel. The friend will either find a live or dead cat.
However, if Professor Wigner has both the vessel with the cat and the
friend in a closed room, the state of mind of the friend (happy if there
is a live cat but sad if there is a dead cat) cannot be determined in
Bohr's interpretation of quantum mechanics until the professor has
looked into the room although the friend has already looked at the cat.
These paradoxes indicate the absurdity of the overstated roles of
measurement and observation in Bohr's interpretation of quantum mechanics.
How to cite this entry:
"Schrödinger's cat" A Dictionary of Physics. Ed. John Daintith. Oxford
University Press, 2000. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University
Press. Reed College. 26 November 2007
<http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t83.e2714>
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