We don't know a millionth of one percent of anything.- Thomas Alva Edison
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Philosophy Timeline:
The history of philosophy starting with the Pre-Socratic
philosophers.
Schrödinger's Cat: Dead or
Alive? Or both?
In 1995, Erwin
Schrödinger proposed a weird illustration to explain one of the
main principles of quantum
theory of superposition. Schrödinger's cat serves to demonstrate the
apparent conflict between what quantum theory tells us is true about the
nature and behavior of matter on the microscopic level and what we
observe to be true about the nature and behavior of matter on the
macroscopic level.
First, we have a living cat and place it in a thick lead box. At this stage, there is no question that the cat is alive. We then throw in a vial of cyanide and seal the box. We do not know if the cat is alive or if it has broken the cyanide capsule and died. Since we do not know, the cat is both dead and alive, according to quantum law, in a superposition of states. It is only when we break open the box and learn the condition of the cat that the superposition is lost, and the cat becomes one or the other (dead or alive).
We know that superposition actually occurs at the subatomic level, because there are observable effects of interference, in which a single particle is demonstrated to be in multiple locations simultaneously. What that fact implies about the nature of reality on the observable level (cats, for example, as opposed to electrons) is one of the stickiest areas of quantum physics. Schrödinger himself said, later in life, that he wished he had never met that cat.
Quantum Weirdness:
Recently, physicists have been occupied with a weird
concept which is currently being used to develop technologies that use
quantum computing, quantum cryptography and quantum teleporting. This
concept is called
QUANTUM ENTANGLEMENT and puts forth a
strange theory, first suggested by Einstein, then rejected by himself.
According to the theory, you can have two subatomic particles millions
of light years distant from each other which are still able to effect each
other. You can manipulate the distant one by just manipulating the one
in your lab.
The most recent practical use of this phenomenon occurred as a money
transfer event between Vienna City Hall and an Austrian bank. The
communications code of the transfer is claimed to be unbreakable.
A Quantized Dialog:
"God does not play dice with the universe." --
Albert Einstein
"Who are you to tell God what to do?" -- Niels Bohr
"God not only plays dice, but sometimes throws them where they cannot be
seen." -- Stephen Hawking
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Last updated:
05/30/05.