Schroedinger's Cat Discussion Group
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In 1935, Erwin Schroedinger published what was to become one of the most celebrated paradoxes in quantum theory, the Shroedinger's Cat. In this gedanken experiment, a cat is placed in a box, together with a radioactive atom. If the atom decays, and the Geiger-counter detects an alpha particle, the hammer hits a flask of prussic acid (HCN), killing the cat. The paradox is that a cat can only be alive or dead, nothing in between. Before the observer opens the box, the cat's fate is tied to the wave function of the atom, which is itself in a superposition of decayed and undecayed states. Thus, said Schroedinger, the cat must itself be in a superposition of dead and alive states before the observer opens the box. Once the observer opens the box and looks at the cat, the wave function of the atom collapses and determines the cat's state. The simple act of observation determines the quantum state.

What do you think?

This board is devoted to all scientific/mathematical puzzles and paradoxes. You are invited to post your puzzle or paradox, and see if the group can figure it out.

Don't let the cat get your tongue!

 

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