Abstract The thought experiment ‘Schrödinger’s cat’ exposes fundamental dilemmas in how we interpret quantum physics, and has a potential for deepening students’ understanding of this part of modern physics, including its philosophical consequences. In this paper we report results from the project ReleQuant on how Norwegian physics students in upper secondary schools interpret the thought experiment. The analysis resulted in nine categories, and we discuss how these relate to interpretations made by physicists, in particular the concept of superposition. Even if students’ responses in many cases can be related to interpretations that make sense in physics, we conclude that lack of knowledge about the purpose and the historical context of the thought experiment limits students understanding of the physics content. Exploring the thought experiment from a historical perspective might deepen student understanding of key concepts in quantum physics as well as of how physics develops.
Abstract The thought experiment ‘Schrödinger’s cat’ exposes fundamental dilemmas in how we interpret quantum physics, and has a potential for deepening students’ understanding of this part of modern physics, including its philosophical consequences. In this paper we report results from the project ReleQuant on how Norwegian physics students in upper secondary schools interpret the thought experiment. The analysis resulted in nine categories, and we discuss how these relate to interpretations made by physicists, in particular the concept of superposition. Even if students’ responses in many cases can be related to interpretations that make sense in physics, we conclude that lack of knowledge about the purpose and the historical context of the thought experiment limits students understanding of the physics content. Exploring the thought experiment from a historical perspective might deepen student understanding of key concepts in quantum physics as well as of how physics develops.
Abstract Quantum physics is challenging for young students, but also a source of fascination. Observation is a key concept in order to understand how principles and experimental results in quantum physics differ from what we are used to in classical physics and everyday experiences. In this study we investigate how pre-university physics students understand the concept of observation in the case of the famous double-slit experiment with electrons and interpretations of its results. We found that a conception of observation as looking, meaning a passive registration, is prevalent among students. This causes serious problems in understanding quantum physics and leads to very unproductive speculations that links to mysticism. Some students considered observation as measurement involving some sort of apparatus, but very few expressed the key idea of measurement as interaction. We discuss how a more explicit discussion of what observation means in quantum physics can benefit students’ understanding of principles in quantum physics and their philosophical consequences.
The perspectives of introductory classical physics students can often negatively influence how those students later interpret quantum phenomena when taking an introductory course in modern physics. A detailed exploration of student perspectives on the interpretation of quantum physics is needed, both to characterize student understanding of physics concepts, and to inform how we might teach traditional content. Our previous investigations of student perspectives on quantum physics have indicated they can be highly nuanced, and may vary both within and across contexts. In order to better understand the contextual and often seemingly contradictory stances of students on matters of interpretation, we interviewed 19 students from four introductory modern physics courses taught at the University of Colorado. We find that students have attitudes and opinions that often parallel the stances of expert physicists when arguing for their favored interpretations of quantum mechanics, allowing for more nuanced characterizations of student perspectives in terms of three key interpretive themes. We present a framework for characterizing student perspectives on quantum mechanics, and demonstrate its utility in interpreting the sometimes contradictory nature of student responses to previous surveys. We further find that students most often vacillate in their responses when what makes intuitive sense to them is not in agreement with what they consider to be a correct response, underscoring the need to distinguish between the personal and the public perspectives of introductory modern physics students.
This work aims to analyze the philosophical consequences of the Schrödinger's cat thought experiment, discussing, among other issues, the physical explanation of the experiment and its meaning, the consequences and implications in Quantum Mechanics, namely, the privileged status of the observer, the notion of superposition, the question of self-state and wave collapse, in short, Erwin Schrödinger's criticisms of the orthodox interpretation of Quantum Mechanics. We will deal with the philosophical consequences of Schrödinger's cat mental experiment, seeking to contribute to the understanding of the aspects that differentiate Classical Physics from Quantum Mechanics, in addition to contributing to philosophical discussion in the discussion of realistic and anti-realistic positions that are found in the midst of the debate established between precursors of Quantum Mechanics. It is hoped that this article will enable an expansion of knowledge of the philosophy involved in this entire debate and that it will generate reflections on the ultimate nature of reality.
The perspectives of introductory classical physics students can often negatively influence how those students later interpret quantum phenomena when taking an introductory course in modern physics. A detailed exploration of student perspectives on the interpretation of quantum physics is needed, both to characterize student understanding of physics concepts, and to inform how we might teach traditional content. Our previous investigations of student perspectives on quantum physics have indicated they can be highly nuanced, and may vary both within and across contexts. In order to better understand the contextual and often seemingly contradictory stances of students on matters of interpretation, we interviewed 19 students from four introductory modern physics courses taught at the University of Colorado. We find that students have attitudes and opinions that often parallel the stances of expert physicists when arguing for their favored interpretations of quantum mechanics, allowing for more nuanced characterizations of student perspectives in terms of three key interpretive themes. We present a framework for characterizing student perspectives on quantum mechanics, and demonstrate its utility in interpreting the sometimes-contradictory nature of student responses to previous surveys. We further find that students most often vacillate in their responses when what makes intuitive sense to them is not in agreement with what they consider to be a correct response, underscoring the need to distinguish between the personal and the public perspectives of introductory modern physics students.
Schrodinger's cat thought experiment highlights the paradox of quantum superposition, which challenges classical interpretation of reality. This paper introduces a new perspective that addresses the coexistence of quantum states through an almost superposition in three - dimensional space. By building on a previous theory of space, the author suggests that quantum systems exhibit an almost simultaneity of states, which resolves the philosophical concerns raised by Schrodinger and Einstein. This novel framework negates the need for many world interpretations and provides a clearer understanding of quantum behavior.
This article reconsiders E. Schrödinger's cat paradox experiment from a new perspective, grounded in the interpretation of quantum mechanics that belongs to the class of interpretations designated as "reality without realism" (RWR) interpretations. These interpretations assume that the reality ultimately responsible for quantum phenomena is beyond conception, an assumption designated as the Heisenberg postulate. Accordingly, in these interpretations, quantum physics is understood in terms of the relationships between what is thinkable and what is unthinkable, with, physical, classical, and quantum, corresponding to thinkable and unthinkable, respectively. The role of classical physics becomes unavoidable in quantum physics, the circumstance designated as the Bohr postulate, which restores to classical physics its position as part of fundamental physics, a position commonly reserved for quantum physics and relativity. This view of quantum physics and relativity is maintained by this article as well but is argued to be sufficient for understanding fundamental physics. Establishing this role of classical physics is a distinctive contribution of the article, which allows it to reconsider Schrödinger's cat experiment, but has a broader significance for understanding fundamental physics. RWR interpretations have not been previously applied to the cat experiment, including by N. Bohr, whose interpretation, in its ultimate form (he changed it a few times), was an RWR interpretation. The interpretation adopted in this article follows Bohr's interpretation, based on the Heisenberg and Bohr postulates, but it adds the Dirac postulate, stating that the concept of a quantum object only applies at the time of observation and not independently.