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GLM4475

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  1. GLM4475
    Cat has been around the world since more than thousands years ago. Their long history with humans has made their own place in human's ethiology, history, and society. If you were to ask 100 girls what the cutest animal is, about 70 of them will answer "cat". So, cats are undoubtedly popular. But even among this popular species, there is one who stands out even more. Although his existence is still unclear and no one has never laid his/her eyes on him, this one guy, I mean cat surely "exists" in our hearts. He is no other than Schrödinger's cat.

    As his name implies, his master is named Schrödinger. So what exactly the charm of this cat? What is his relation with the owner and what impact they brought to our world? We'll know that next week. See you............

    Ahem, just kidding. Maybe some of you have known a bit about this felis' identity. Yeah, he is a cat which is used by its master Erwin Schrödinger to prove his thought theory about Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics applied to everyday objects. This particular experiment presents our fellas Schrödinger's cat COULD BE SIMULTANEOUSLY BOTH AND DEAD, which is caused by being linked to a random subatomic event that may or may not occur. This state is called as a quantum superposition.

    The experiment is like this:

    Schrödinger's cat: a cat, a flask of poison, and a radioactive source are placed in a sealed box. If an internal monitor detects radioactivity (i.e. a single atom decaying), the flask is shattered, releasing the poison that kills the cat. The Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics implies that after a while, the cat is simultaneously alive and dead. Yet, when one looks in the box, one sees the cat either alive or dead, not both alive and dead. This poses the question of when exactly quantum superposition ends and reality collapses into one possibility or the other.

    Maybe some of you confused from the lengthy detailed explanation. In short, when Schrödinger's cat is put to the box, and the box then closed and sealed, we won't know whether the cat is alive or dead until we open the box, even if the box is hazardous and full of poisons. So during the time the cat is still inside the sealed box, it is SIMULTANEOUSLY ALIVE AND DEAD. But this is a PARADOX. Something alive couldn't be dead and something dead couldn't be alive. From here, comes several interpretations:

    1. Copenhagen interpretation
    2. Many-worlds interpretation and consistent histories
    3. Ensemble interpretation
    4. Relational interpretation
    5. Objective collapse theories
    6. Some other less popular theories (explanation on this will be skipped)

    1. Copenhagen interpretation

    In the Copenhagen interpretation, a system stops being a superposition of states and becomes either one or the other when an observation takes place. In short, this interpretation greatly depends on the existence of an observer, when the observer open the box and "observe" the cat, then it could be known the state of this cat.

    2. Many-worlds interpretation and consistent histories

    This theory basically said the same thing as Copenhagen interpretation, with one difference, that is the state between the box opened and after the box open decoherent from each other. In other words, when the box opened, THE WORLD SPLIT INTO 2 POSSIBILITIES, the observer see a dead cat and the observer see a live cat. This is also rhyme with consistent histories, that denies a possibility a live cat coming from a dead one.

    3. Ensemble interpretation

    Basically this interpretation said that this condition is only a statistical matter. Meaning it's only one of several prepared cats undergoing the same experiment. So it is ONLY A TRIVIAL MATTER.

    4. Relational interpretation

    This interpretation doesn't differentiate between the observer, the apparatus, and the cat or between animate object and inanimate one. Meaning that the cat or the apparatus could also be an observer. In short, if we see with the cat's point of view, he already knew (he has the information) about the condition, while the observer still doesn't, the observer will get the information the time he open the box.

    5. Objective collapse theories

    This last theory stated that superpositions are destroyed spontaneously (irrespective of external observation) when some objective physical threshold (of time, mass, temperature, irreversibility, etc.) is reached. Thus, the cat would be expected to have settled into a definite state long before the box is opened.


    If you still don't get the idea or getting confused by the explanation, this illustion MAY help:


    This thought experiment maybe seems so high-level and this quantum mechanic thingy doesn't sit well with you, but it's the fact about Schrödinger's cat, not a cute furry one, but rather transparent and tricky one. But still, Schrödinger's cat sure is one helluva cat not to be ignored.
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