Schrodinger's cat - I just don't get it....

[Baldbloke]

A quick first google on this says:

In simple terms, Schrödinger stated that if you place a cat and something that could kill the cat (a radioactive atom) in a box and sealed it, you would not know if the cat was dead or alive until you opened the box, so that until the box was opened, the cat was (in a sense) both "dead and alive"."

Nope. Call me dense but I think all you could truly say was "The cat is dead OR alive". Not both.

Always niggled me this "both" bit. And wth does "in a sense" mean?

 

[Diddums]

It means it's time to put the glass down and go to bed.

 

[aardvark]

its an analogy for subatomic particles - it has nothing to do with cats.

 

[sigma]

Also, isn't the quote often taken out of context? He was actually trying to show the opposite of what most people think he was?

 

[Blueball]

....and only the smile was left!

 

[inogen]

A normal cat in a box, is dead or alive. Schrodinger's cat is dead AND alive. That's the point, it highlight's the difference between macro events and quantum ones and how the human brain doesn't intuitively understand quantum superposition, being, in the case of the cat, if were a quantum object, dead AND alive.

Quantum superposition is about an object at quantum level being observable to be in all possible positions and states at the same. ie, it would be possible to open the box and find the cat dead or alive, so it is both dead AND alive and exhibits on observation, both states.

 

[inogen]

Also, isn't the quote often taken out of context? He was actually trying to show the opposite of what most people think he was?

Indeed, yes, the cat is supposed to highlight how it's impossible to think normally about how quantum stuff works, because even though the possibility of the cat being alive and dead is true, when you open the box, the cat is either dead or alive.

Not so at quantum level.

 

[Mr Badger]

What if the cat was on a treadmill?

 

[Lysander]

A normal cat in a box, is dead or alive. Schrodinger's cat is dead AND alive. That's the point, it highlight's the difference between macro events and quantum ones and how the human brain doesn't intuitively understand quantum superposition, being, in the case of the cat, if were a quantum object, dead AND alive.

Quantum superposition is about an object at quantum level being observable to be in all possible positions and states at the same. ie, it would be possible to open the box and find the cat dead or alive, so it is both dead AND alive and exhibits on observation, both states.

You're going to have to break this down. Why and how is it dead and alive? Or how could it be? Or is it not?

 

[inogen]

What if the cat was on a treadmill?

one of my cats could do with going on a treadmill.

 

[inogen]

You're going to have to break this down. Why and how is it dead and alive? Or how could it be? Or is it not?

If the cat is in superposition (which it isn’t, it’s a cat) then it would be observable as both dead and alive.

 

[Thekwango]

What if the cat was on a treadmill?

What if the box was cardboard and the cat did a pee on it which soaked it causing the cat to fall through. While falling it claws the radioactive vial and causes it to break releasing radiation which escapes through the hole the cat made and poisons all the observers. Does that mean the cat is still alive because no one witnessed it dying. Ha work that one out Schrodinger!

 

[Thekwango]

You're going to have to break this down. Why and how is it dead and alive? Or how could it be? Or is it not?

It has to be dead AND alive in or order to be dead OR alive. I think.

If we know something is in one of two states but don’t know which we have to accept that it has to be considered to be in both states until such time as we can positively identify the which state it is actually in. So in the case of the cat, we have to think of it as both dead and alive until such time as we can confirm if it is indeed dead or alive.

I dunno, maybe I’m just making stuff up and sounding stupid in the process!!

 

[caff]

I asked ChatGPT, and I think it came up with a fairly simple explanation:

Schrödinger's cat is a thought experiment that illustrates the concept of superposition in quantum mechanics. The idea is that, according to quantum mechanics, a particle (such as a radioactive atom) can exist in multiple states simultaneously (such as being "decayed" and "not decayed") until it is observed or measured. In the thought experiment, the cat represents a macroscopic object that is affected by the state of the radioactive atom. The idea is that, until the box is opened, the cat is in a superposition of states, meaning that it is "both dead and alive" in a sense that the state of the cat is indeterminate and can only be determined by opening the box and observing it. The "in a sense" means that this is a thought experiment and not a real physical situation, but it serves as a way to illustrate the concept of superposition.

 

[Minusorange]

A quick first google on this says:

In simple terms, Schrödinger stated that if you place a cat and something that could kill the cat (a radioactive atom) in a box and sealed it, you would not know if the cat was dead or alive until you opened the box, so that until the box was opened, the cat was (in a sense) both "dead and alive"."

Nope. Call me dense but I think all you could truly say was "The cat is dead OR alive". Not both.

Always niggled me this "both" bit. And wth does "in a sense" mean?

You cannot prove the cat is alive or dead without opening the box, so it exists in potentially both states until it is observed at one state

It's a bit like God, nobody can prove one exists and nobody can prove one doesn't exist

It's more philosophical than anything whilst technically being true

 

[Thekwango]

You cannot prove the cat is alive or dead without opening the box, so it exists in potentially both states until it is observed at one state

This guy said what I wanted to say but makes much more sense and with much less words

 

[MissChief]

I've always liked Schrödinger’s immigrant. Simultaneously coming here to take your job and get benefits at the same time

 

[inogen]

You cannot prove the cat is alive or dead without opening the box, so it exists in potentially both states until it is observed at one state

Yes, this, but also, the cat cannot exist in superposition, but if it could, the observer would observe, on opening the box, the cat being both dead and alive.

Cats can’t be observed in superposition, but quantum atomic particles can.

Or rather, cats are not observed in superposition, but quantum particles are.

 

[Penfold101]

You can't know what state it's in until you observe it, and the act of observing it changes the properties. You can't know the position and spin of a subatomic particle, as measuring one changes the other.

Quantum mechanics be whack.

Edit: it's similar to the way we technically can't know the speed of light in one direction, as any method of measuring it involves using systems that rely on this moving at that same speed. Want to bounce a signal and measure the time? You're assuming it travels the same speed both ways.

 

[inogen]

You can't know what state it's in until you observe it, and the act of observing it changes the properties. You can't know the position and spin of a subatomic particle, as measuring one changes the other.

Quantum mechanics be whack.

Aye. And all states are simultaneously observable. And not, because observing them… etc etc.