• Question: how does the Schrodinger's cat theory work?

    Asked by over9000 to Damien, Rachael, Simon, Suzi, Tim on 15 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Suzi Gage

      Suzi Gage answered on 15 Jun 2011:

      Hi @over9000
      Thanks for this question 🙂
      The basic premise of this theory (and it’s quite ‘out there’ so bear with me) is that if you can’t be sure whether something is in one state or another, it is simultaneously in both states at the same time.

      His experiment involved putting a cat in a box, with a flask of deadly poison and a hammer which is operated by radiation (he didn’t REALLY do it, it’s a mind experiment!). As you can’t predict whether a radioactive particle will be released and set off the hammer to smash the flask and kill the cat, this is a RANDOM EVENT. So there’s a 50% chance the cat will live as the hammer will not fall, and a 50% chance the cat will die.

      Schroedinger reckoned that as long as you don’t look in the box, the cat is both alive and dead at the same time.

      His point was that when his colleagues did quantum physics, by observing the tiny particles they were interested in they were forcing them to be in either one state or another, which did not reflect their true ability to be in both states.

      Confusing huh? What do you think? Is Schroedinger right, or is this just silly? 🙂

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