Chatbox II: The Rebirth

But why would... Okay, how can something be both dead and alive?
And why would the cat be in the box in the first place? I mean, what kind of theory or hypothesis or whatever --what does a cat being dead and alive support?

 

It is quantum physics...the idea of superposition...the flux of the atom expanded to flux for the cat.
Schrödinger applied quantum mechanics to a living entity that may or may not be conscious. In Schrödinger’s original thought experiment he describes how one could, in principle, transform a superposition inside an atom to a large-scale superposition of a live and dead cat by coupling cat and atom with the help of a ‘‘diabolical mechanism.’’ He proposed a scenario with a cat in a sealed box, where the cat's life or death was dependent on the state of a subatomic particle. According to Schrödinger, the Copenhagen interpretation implies that the cat remains both alive and dead until the box is opened.

 

So the cat lives or dies depending on the state the particle is in when the box is opened? Or --does the cat die regardless, and it only dies when the box is opened? What about oxygen?

My head hurts.

 

So the tree in the forest is also a quantum physics paradox. Without an observer, the tree eiter falls or does not, according to the relative densities of the probabilitistic wave function. Until observed, it both falls and does not fall.

In macroscopic terms, both possibilities occur, generating parallel realities. The existence of an observer determines which reality track that observer is on.

On the other hand, there is also a corresponding observer on the other reality track.

 

It is thought experiment. HE never actually did it. It was just that a higher life form could be in flux as the atom is...that the flux isn't limited to size. Don't worry...I only understand so much of it myself. There is a reason I was Lit major.

 

No, because the atom (theoretically) has a 50% chance of splitting and therefore killing the cat, there is also an equal chance it will not. Ergo, the cat is both alive AND dead due to quantum flux.

 

So you guys are saying that the cat is both alive and dead (or the tree has both fallen and not fallen) until someone is around to see and prove it?

I would have assumed that the cat is still alive, or the tree is still standing, until it is proven not to be.

 

No, the cat is actually used to give a representation of two different sates of being which in the world of particles can both be present at the same time. The cat is either alive or dead (technically both) and these two states are simply representative of two states of being which cannot be known until the box is opened. Once the box is opened and the state is observed, the other choice(s) disappears.

 

EXACTLY!

Quantum Flux.

 

Well, that seems silly to me! (Probably because I'm ignorant, but it still seems silly.) Wouldnt you just assume the cat is still alive until it is proven that it is not?
That's like... I havent seen my dog for about ten minutes. I'm not going to assume she's dead. I'm going to assume she's alive, since that's the last state I saw her in, and I have no other evidence to assume that she is dead.

This all seems very similar to the question, "If a tree falls in a forest, but no one is around to hear, does it make a sound?"
Of course it makes a sound. The tree isnt going to fall silently just because you arent around! It's like a very solipsistic way of thinking...

 

It's a theory. It's meant to prove a point. The whole point of quantum flux is that observing certain reactions is actually an interference in itself and therefore changes the outcome. If you cannot see, hear or feel the cat, and you know there is an equal chance of it being alive or dead, how can you know that it is still alive? Yet if you open the box to look, The cat could escape. That's my understanding, anyway.

 

LOL, Freshmaker! You're hilarious and definitely one of a kind.

How come I'm the only one around here who doesnt get the point of this.. errr.. point? It's fun trying to, though.

 

*sigh*

If I were to say anything more I would feel like I'm repeating myself, so I'll express my feelings with this strangled sound from the back of my throat.

aaaaargh.

[size=-5]Thank you, Yahtzee![/size]

 

In truth, there is no way to conduct the experiment. because you have to observe an outcome.

Unless we find a way someday to jump from one quantum thread to another, there will be no way to directly observe this quantum splitting (but consider the Sliders science fiction series). However, quantum mechanics has successfully predicted enough other measurable scientific phenomena that the essence of it has to be accepted.

There is also the Science fiction short story by Larry Niven, All the Myriad Ways, and a few companion stories like On a Foggy Night.

At one point, Niven argues that quantum splitting is refuted by the fact that loaded dice do in fact make outcomes skewed, but that ignores the fact that different quantum branchings have different probability densities.

 

[size=-5]Which therefore serves as a 'get out' clause for every Quantum Physicist in the world.[/size]

 

Sorry.

I find comfort in the fact that no cat was actually killed, as was my first reaction.

So is the idea here that there are parallel realities? Meaning that the cat is both alive AND dead? That's the part I dont think I can wrap my head around. It's one or the other. Both are possibilities... I could be a supermodel or a bum or a rich tycoon or the girl you see in the avatar right here. But I'm only one of those...
WAIT.

Is this related to the String Theory at all? I dont know a lot about the String Theory, but this seems very similar to it. Like there are other parallel universes all with different outcomes and whatnot? Is the String Theory part of quantum physics?

 

Sorta. It's theoretical physics that utilizes quantum mechanics.

 

That's funny Freshmaker.

 

Go back and read the rest of the post you quoted. The proof is in all the other verified theories derived from those fundamental quantum theories. Perhaps the most dramatic of these is Hawking radiation from singularities (black holes).

 

I was joking Cog. :redface:

 

The physicist phizzed my brain.

 

I believe in Nom Theory.

I get noms, I happy!

 

Sorry folks, I'm a bit of a Physix Phreak. Any wonder that I find good SF fascinating?

 

I'm a writing freak.