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Journal of Physics Conference Series

The life and entangled adventures of Schrödinger’s cat

Anthony Sudbery

Published Oct 1, 2024• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract This paper, intended for a general audience, contains a description of Erwin Schrödinger’s thought experiment which was designed to show the strange results of extending the formalism of quantum theory, particularly the idea of superposition, beyond the subatomic regime. A way of understanding superposition in the terms of formal logic is outlined. The development of Schrödinger’s ideas after this thought experiment is traced along with a brief description of some work which realises it in actual experiments, as well as proposals for taking it further.

DOI
10.1088/1742-6596/2877/1/012074

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Abstract This paper, intended for a general audience, contains a description of Erwin Schrödinger’s thought experiment which was designed to show the strange results of extending the formalism of quantum theory, particularly the idea of superposition, beyond the subatomic regime. A way of understanding superposition in the terms of formal logic is outlined. The development of Schrödinger’s ideas after this thought experiment is traced along with a brief description of some work which realises it in actual experiments, as well as proposals for taking it further.
In this lecture, intended for a general audience, I describe Schrödinger's thought experiment which was designed to show the strange results of extending the formalism of quantum theory, particularly the idea of superposition, beyond the subatomic regime. I describe a way to understand superposition in the terms of formal logic. I trace the development of Schrodinger's ideas after this thought experiment, and briefly sketch some work which realises it in actual experiments, and proposals for taking it further.
The question whether quantum mechanics is complete and the nature of the transition between quantum mechanics and classical mechanics have intrigued physicists for decades. There have been many experimental breakthroughs in creating larger and larger quantum superposition and entangled states since Erwin Schrödinger proposed his famous thought experiment of putting a cat in a superposition of both alive and dead states in 1935. Remarkably, recent developments in quantum optomechanics and electromechanics may lead to the realisation of quantum superposition of living microbes soon. Recent evidence also suggests that quantum coherence may play an important role in several biological processes. In this review, we first give a brief introduction to basic concepts in quantum mechanics and the Schrödinger’s cat thought experiment. We then review developments in creating quantum superposition and entangled states and the realisation of quantum teleportation. Non-trivial quantum effects in photosynthetic light harvesting and avian magnetoreception are also discussed. At last, we review recent proposals to realise quantum superposition, entanglement and state teleportation of micro-organisms, such as viruses and bacteria.
Erwin Schrodinger first described the thought-experiment which has since become known as 'the paradox of Schrodinger's cat' 51 years ago. In recent years, popular accounts of quantum mechanics have tended to adopt one or other of the philosophically most extreme solutions to this paradox, i.e. the consciousness hypothesis or the many worlds interpretation. The author attempts to redress the balance by describing what he takes to be the orthodox solution to the paradox which explains the paradox, without recourse to such counterintuitive notions as a cat simultaneously dead and alive or a universe continually splitting into multiple worlds, as being due to a misapplication of the quantum formalism.
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.
In this paper we consider the phenomenon of superpositions in quantum mechanics and suggest a way to deal with the idea in a logical setting from a syntactical point of view, that is, as subsumed in the language of the formalism, and not semantically. We restrict the discussion to the propositional level only. Then, after presenting the motivations and a possible world semantics, the formalism is outlined and we also consider within this schema the claim that superpositions may involve contradictions, as in the case of the Schrödinger's cat, which (it is usually said) is both alive and dead. We argue that this claim is a misreading of the quantum case. Finally, we sketch a new form of quantum logic that involves three kinds of negations and present the relationships among them. The paper is a first approach to the subject, introducing some main guidelines to be developed by a `syntactical' logical approach to quantum superpositions.
We reopen Erwin Schrodinger's thought experiment involving a cat in an informationally impenetrable box. A common view is that the cat enters a superposition of alive/dead because of a lack of observation, leading to uncertainty about the state of the cat. We, on the other hand, argue that the cat only enters a superposition if everything about the cat is known prior to the box being closed. The superposition results from a lack of uncertainty inside the box. Rather than interpreting this state of affairs as a live and dead cat interacting with each other, we suggest that the more natural interpretation is that of an inability to precisely position events within spacetime due to the lack of uncertainty. We clarify how stable measurement depends on a diversified portfolio of statistical uncertainty, and how the lack of such uncertainty in Schrodinger's box precludes stabilization.