Schrodinger's Cat
Created | Updated Jan 28, 2002
Schrodinger's cat was the pet of Danish physicist Erwin Schrodinger (1887- 1961). At that time it had been postulated, and to all intents and purposes proved, that the observer played a crucial role in the result of an experiment at the quantum level.
Whether one observed a particle or whether one observed a wave depended upon how one looked at the world. This led some scientists to imagine that matter existed in an indeterminate state until it interacted with the observer.
Schrodinger proposed that a cat should be placed in a safe, with a phial of poison that could be released by a quantum event, for example the decay of a single atom.
After a suitable period of time, for instance the period of time for which there was a fifty per cent chance that the atom would decay, the safe was to be opened and the health of the cat observed.
According to the theory that matter is undetermined until observed, then the cat also is undetermined until observed: it exists in a state which is neither dead nor alive until the safe is opened, and becomes either dead or alive when observed.
People marveled at this profound revelation, and it hardened the popular view that the quantum world was one of the strangest and most mystical realms of science.
But Schrodinger was not supporting the indeterminacy of matter, he was lampooning it. He was seeking to show that such a view of matter led to an absurd conclusion: that cats could be neither dead nor alive. In fact, cats are always one or the other, never both and never neither, but this escaped many people. A lot of confusion resulted, especially among scientists. Whether matter is particular or wavey is still a matter of debate, but cats will always be cats. If you dont believe me, find one, and decide for yourself.
Whether one observed a particle or whether one observed a wave depended upon how one looked at the world. This led some scientists to imagine that matter existed in an indeterminate state until it interacted with the observer.
Schrodinger proposed that a cat should be placed in a safe, with a phial of poison that could be released by a quantum event, for example the decay of a single atom.
After a suitable period of time, for instance the period of time for which there was a fifty per cent chance that the atom would decay, the safe was to be opened and the health of the cat observed.
According to the theory that matter is undetermined until observed, then the cat also is undetermined until observed: it exists in a state which is neither dead nor alive until the safe is opened, and becomes either dead or alive when observed.
People marveled at this profound revelation, and it hardened the popular view that the quantum world was one of the strangest and most mystical realms of science.
But Schrodinger was not supporting the indeterminacy of matter, he was lampooning it. He was seeking to show that such a view of matter led to an absurd conclusion: that cats could be neither dead nor alive. In fact, cats are always one or the other, never both and never neither, but this escaped many people. A lot of confusion resulted, especially among scientists. Whether matter is particular or wavey is still a matter of debate, but cats will always be cats. If you dont believe me, find one, and decide for yourself.
