In 1935, an ardent opponent of the newly emerging quantum mechanics, Eric Schrödinger, published an article that intended to denounce and prove the failure of a new branch of the development of physics.

The essence of the article is carrying out thought experiment :

1. A live cat is placed in a completely sealed box.
2. A Geiger counter containing one radioactive atom is placed next to the cat.
3. A flask filled with acid is attached directly to the Geiger counter.
4. The eventual decay of a radioactive atom will set off a Geiger counter, which in turn will break the flask and the acid that spills out of it will kill the cat.
5. Will the cat live or die if he is with such uncomfortable neighbors?
6. One hour is allotted for the experiment.

Answer to this question and was called upon to prove the inconsistency of quantum theory, which is based on superposition: the law of paradox - all microparticles of our world are always in two states at the same time, until they begin to observe them.

That is, being in a closed space (quantum theory), our cat, like its unpredictable neighbor - an atom, are synchronously present in two states:

1. A live and dead cat at the same time.
2. Decayed, and at the same time not decayed atom.

Which, according to classical physics, is a complete absurdity. It is impossible for such mutually exclusive things to exist simultaneously.

And this is correct, but only from the point of view of the macrocosm. Whereas completely different laws operate in the microcosm, and therefore Schrödinger was mistaken when applying the laws of the macrocosm to relations within the microcosm. Not realizing that targeted surveillance behind the ongoing uncertainties of the microworld, eliminate the latter.

In other words, if you open closed system, in which the cat is placed together with a radioactive atom, we will see only one of the possible states of the test subject.

This was proved by an American physicist from the University of Arkansas, Art Hobson. According to his theory, if you connect a microsystem (radioactive atom) with a macrosystem (Geiger counter), the latter will certainly be imbued with the state quantum entanglement first and goes into superposition. And, since we cannot directly observe this phenomenon, it will become unacceptable for us (which Schrödinger argued).

So, we found out that the atom and the radiation counter are in the same superposition. Then who or what, for this system, can be called a cat? If you think logically, the cat, in this case, becomes an indicator of the state of the radioactive nucleus (simply - an indicator):

1. The cat is alive, the core has not disintegrated.
2. The cat is dead, the core has disintegrated.

However, we must take into account the fact that the cat is also part of a single system, since it is also inside the box. Therefore, according to quantum theory, the cat is in the so-called non-local connection with the atom, i.e. in confused state , and hence in the superposition of the microworld.

It follows that, with a sudden change in one of the objects of the system, it will also happen with another object, no matter how far apart they are. The instantaneous change of state of both objects proves that we are dealing with unified system, simply divided by space into two parts.

So, we can say with confidence that Schrödinger's cat is momentarily either alive if the atom has not decayed, or dead if the atom has decayed.

And yet, it was thanks to Schrödinger's thought experiment that a mathematical device was constructed that describes the superposition of the microworld. This knowledge is found wide application in cryptography and computer technologies.

Finally, I would like to note the inexhaustible love for the mysterious paradox of "Schrödinger's cat" on the part of all kinds of writers and cinema. That's just a few examples:

1. A magical device called "Schrödinger's Cat" in Lukyanenko's novel "The Last Watch".
2. In the detective novel Dirk Gently's Detective Agency by Douglas Adams, there is a lively discussion of the problem of Schrödinger's cat.
3. In the novel by R. E. Heinlein "The Cat Passing Through Walls", the protagonist, a cat, is almost constantly in two states at the same time.
4. Famous Cheshire Cat Lewis Carroll in the novel "Alice in Wonderland", likes to appear in several places at once.
5. In the novel Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury raises the question of Schrödinger's cat, in the form of a living-dead mechanical dog.
6. In The Mage Healer, Christopher Stashef describes his vision of Schrödinger's cat in a very peculiar way.

And many other enchanting, completely impossible ideas about such a mysterious thought experiment.

There was a kind of "secondary". He himself rarely engaged in a particular scientific problem. His favorite genre of work was a response to someone's scientific research, the development of this work or its criticism. Despite the fact that Schrödinger himself was an individualist by nature, he always needed someone else's thought, support for further work. Despite this peculiar approach, Schrödinger managed to make many discoveries.

Biographical information

Schrödinger's theory is now known not only to students of physics and mathematics departments. It will be of interest to anyone who is interested in popular science. This theory was created by the famous physicist E. Schrodinger, who went down in history as one of the creators of quantum mechanics. The scientist was born on August 12, 1887 in the family of the owner of an oilcloth factory. The future scientist, who became famous all over the world for his mystery, was fond of botany and drawing as a child. His first mentor was his father. In 1906, Schrödinger began his studies at the University of Vienna, during which he began to admire physics. When the first came World War, the scientist went to serve as an artilleryman. AT free time studied the theories of Albert Einstein.

By the beginning of 1927, a dramatic situation had developed in science. E. Schrödinger believed that the basis of the theory of quantum processes the idea of ​​the continuity of waves should serve. Heisenberg, on the contrary, believed that the concept of the discreteness of waves, as well as the idea of ​​quantum jumps, should be the foundation for this area of ​​​​knowledge. Niels Bohr did not accept any of the positions.

Advances in Science

For the concept of wave mechanics in 1933, Schrödinger received the Nobel Prize. However, brought up in the traditions of classical physics, the scientist could not think in other categories and did not consider quantum mechanics to be a full-fledged branch of knowledge. He could not be satisfied with the dual behavior of particles, and he tried to reduce it exclusively to the wave behavior. In his discussion with N. Bohr, Schrödinger put it this way: “If we plan to keep these quantum leaps, then I generally regret that I connected my life with atomic physics.

Further work of the researcher

At the same time, Schrödinger was not only one of the founders of modern quantum mechanics. It was he who introduced the term "objectivity of description" into scientific use. This is an opportunity scientific theories describe reality without the participation of the observer. His further research were devoted to the theory of relativity, thermodynamic processes, Born's nonlinear electrodynamics. Also, scientists have made several attempts to create a unified field theory. In addition, E. Schrödinger spoke six languages.

The most famous riddle

Schrödinger's theory, in which the same cat appears, grew out of the scientist's criticism of quantum theory. One of its main postulates is that as long as the system is not observed, it is in a state of superposition. Namely, in two or more states that exclude the existence of each other. The state of superposition in science has the following definition: it is the ability of a quantum, which can also be an electron, a photon, or, for example, the nucleus of an atom, to be simultaneously in two states or even at two points in space at a time when no one is watching him.

Objects in different worlds

It is very difficult for an ordinary person to understand such a definition. Because every object material world can be either at one point in space or at another. This phenomenon can be illustrated as follows. The observer takes two boxes and puts a tennis ball in one of them. It will be clear that it is in one box and not in the other. But if an electron is placed in one of the containers, then the following statement will be true: this particle is simultaneously in two boxes, no matter how paradoxical it may seem. In the same way, an electron in an atom is not located at a strictly defined point at one time or another. It rotates around the nucleus, being located at all points of the orbit at the same time. In science, this phenomenon is called "electron cloud".

What did the scientist want to prove?

Thus, the behavior of small and large objects implemented in perfect different rules. In the quantum world, there are some laws, and in the macrocosm - completely different. However, there is no such concept that would explain the transition from the world material items familiar to people to the microworld. Schrödinger's theory was created in order to demonstrate the insufficiency of research in the field of physics. The scientist wanted to show that there is a science whose purpose is to describe small objects, and there is a field of knowledge that studies ordinary objects. Largely due to the work of the scientist, physics was divided into two areas: quantum and classical.

Schrödinger's theory: description

The scientist described his famous thought experiment in 1935. In its implementation, Schrödinger relied on the principle of superposition. Schrödinger emphasized that as long as we do not observe the photon, it can be either a particle or a wave; both red and green; both round and square. This uncertainty principle, which directly follows from the concept of quantum dualism, was used by Schrödinger in his famous cat riddle. The meaning of the experiment in brief is as follows:

• A cat is placed in a closed box, as well as a container containing hydrocyanic acid and a radioactive substance.
• The nucleus can disintegrate within an hour. The probability of this is 50%.
• If the atomic nucleus decays, then this will be recorded by the Geiger counter. The mechanism will work and the poison box will be broken. The cat will die.
• If the decay does not occur, then Schrödinger's cat will be alive.

According to this theory, until the cat is observed, it is simultaneously in two states (dead and alive), just like the nucleus of an atom (decayed or not decayed). Of course, this is possible only according to the laws of the quantum world. In the macrocosm, a cat cannot be both alive and dead at the same time.

Observer paradox

To understand the essence of Schrödinger's theory, it is also necessary to have an understanding of the paradox of the observer. Its meaning is that the objects of the microcosm can be simultaneously in two states only when they are not observed. For example, the so-called "Experiment with 2 slits and an observer" is known in science. On an opaque plate in which two vertical slits were made, scientists directed a beam of electrons. On the screen behind the plate, the electrons painted a wave pattern. In other words, they left black and white stripes. When the researchers wanted to observe how the electrons fly through the slits, the particles displayed only two vertical stripes on the screen. They behaved like particles, not like waves.

Copenhagen explanation

The modern explanation of Schrödinger's theory is called the Copenhagen one. Based on the paradox of the observer, it sounds like this: as long as no one observes the nucleus of an atom in the system, it is simultaneously in two states - decayed and undecayed. However, the statement that the cat is alive and dead at the same time is extremely erroneous. After all, the same phenomena are never observed in the macrocosm as in the microcosm.

So we are talking not about the “cat-core” system, but about the fact that the Geiger counter and the nucleus of the atom are interconnected. The kernel can choose one or another state at the moment when the measurements are made. However given choice does not take place at the moment when the experimenter opens the box with Schrödinger's cat. In fact, the opening of the box takes place in the macrocosm. In other words, in a system that is very far from the atomic world. Therefore, the nucleus selects its state exactly at the moment when it hits the detector of the Geiger counter. Thus, Erwin Schrödinger, in his thought experiment, did not fully describe the system.

General conclusions

Thus, it is not entirely correct to associate the macrosystem with the microscopic world. In the macro world quantum laws lose their power. The nucleus of an atom can be simultaneously in two states only in the microcosm. The same cannot be said about the cat, since it is an object of the macrocosm. Therefore, only at first glance it seems that the cat passes from the superposition to one of the states at the moment of opening the box. In fact, its fate is determined at the moment when the atomic nucleus interacts with the detector. The conclusion can be drawn as follows: the state of the system in Erwin Schrödinger's riddle has nothing to do with a person. It does not depend on the experimenter, but on the detector - an object that "observes" the nucleus.

Continuation of the concept

Schrödinger theory in simple words is described as follows: while the observer does not look at the system, it can be simultaneously in two states. However, another scientist - Eugene Wigner, went further and decided to bring the concept of Schrödinger to complete absurdity. “Excuse me!” said Wigner, “what if next to the experimenter watching the cat is his colleague?” The partner does not know what exactly the experimenter himself saw at the moment when he opened the box with the cat. Schrödinger's cat leaves the state of superposition. However, not for a fellow observer. Only at that moment, when the fate of the cat becomes known to the latter, can the animal be finally called alive or dead. In addition, there are billions of people on planet Earth. And the final verdict can be made only when the result of the experiment becomes the property of all living beings. Of course, all people can be told the fate of the cat and Schrödinger's theory briefly, but this is a very long and laborious process.

The principles of quantum dualism in physics were never refuted by Schrödinger's thought experiment. In a sense, every creature can be called neither alive nor dead (being in superposition) as long as there is at least one person who is not watching him.

Not everyone reads books about the great inventions of mankind. But for sure everyone who watched the series "Theory big bang”, heard about such a phenomenon as “Schrödinger's Cat”. Since it is related to quantum mechanics, a person without technical education quite difficult to understand its meaning. Let's try to figure out what the concept of "Schrödinger's Cat" means in simple words.

Content:

Brief historical background

Erwin Schrödinger – famous physicist, one of the creators of the theory of quantum mechanics. hallmark his scientific activity was the so-called secondary. He was rarely the first to investigate anything.

Basically, Schrödinger wrote reviews of someone's invention or scientific achievement, criticized the author or proceeded to further development of other people's research and discoveries. Although he was an individualist by nature, he could not but rely on other people's ideas and thoughts, which he took as a basis in his research. Despite this, he made huge contribution in the development of quantum mechanics, largely due to his riddle about the "Schrödinger's Cat".

Schrödinger's accomplishments in science include:

• creation of the concept of wave mechanics (for this he received the Nobel Prize in 1933);
• introduced into scientific circulation the term "objectivity of description" - substantiated the possibility of scientific theories without direct involvement the subject of research (an outside observer) to describe the surrounding reality;
• developed the theory of relativity;
• studied thermodynamic processes and Born's nonlinear electrodynamics;
• attempted to create unified theory fields.

The concept of "Schrödinger's cat"

"Shroedinger `s cat"- the famous mystery of the Schrödinger theory, a thought experiment conducted by an Austrian theoretical physicist, with the help of which it was possible to demonstrate the incompleteness of quantum mechanics in the transition from microsystems to macrosystems. All this theory is based on criticism scientists achievements quantum mechanics.

Before proceeding to the description of the experiment, it is necessary to define the basic concepts that are used in it. The main postulate of the famous phenomenon says that as long as no one is watching the system, it is in superposition position- simultaneously in two or more states that exclude mutual existence. Schrödinger himself gave the following definition of superposition - this is a quantum ability (an electron, a photon, and the nucleus of an atom can be in the role of a quantum) to be in several states or several points of space at the same time, while no one is watching the system. A quantum is a microscopic object of the microenvironment.

Description of the experiment

The original article in which Schrödinger explains his experiment was published in 1935. The method of comparison and even impersonation was used to describe the experiment.

Understanding exactly what Schrödinger had in mind when studying this article is very difficult. I will try to describe the essence of the experiment in simple words.

We put the cat in a box with a mechanism that contains a radioactive atomic nucleus, and a container filled with poisonous gas. The experiment is carried out with precisely selected decay probability parameters atomic nucleus– 50% for 1 hour. When the core decays, gas leaks from the container, which leads to the death of the cat. If this does not happen, nothing happens to the cat, he is alive and healthy.

An hour passes, and we want to get an answer to the question: did the cat die or stay alive? According to the advanced theory of Schrödinger, the nucleus of an atom, like a cat, is in a box in several states at the same time (the definition of superposition). Until the moment of opening the box, the microsystem, in which the nucleus of the atom and the cat are located, with a probability of 50% - have the state "the nucleus has decayed, the cat has died", and with the same probability have the state "the nucleus has not decayed, the cat is alive". This confirms the hypothesis that the cat sitting in the box is both alive and dead at the same time, that is, it is in several states at the same time at the same time. It turns out that the cat sitting in the box is both alive and dead at the same time.

talking plain language, The Schrödinger's Cat phenomenon explains the possibility of the fact that from the point of view of quantum mechanics, the cat is both alive and dead at the same time which is impossible in reality. On this basis, we can conclude that there are significant flaws in the theory of quantum mechanics.

If you do not observe the nucleus of an atom in a microsystem, then there is a mixing of two states - a decayed and non-decayed nucleus. When the box is opened, the experimenter can observe only one specific state. Since the cat represents the nucleus of the atom, it will also be in only one state - either alive or dead.

Unraveling the paradox - the Copenhagen interpretation

Scientists from Copenhagen solved the riddle of Schrödinger's Cat. The modern Copenhagen interpretation is that the cat is alive/dead with no intermediate states, because the nucleus does not or does not decay when the box is opened, but even earlier when the nucleus is sent to the detector. The explanation for this is as follows: reduction wave function The "cat-detector-nucleus" microsystem has no connection with the person observing the box, but is connected with the detector-observer of the nucleus.

This interpretation of the phenomenon of Schrödinger's Cat denies the possibility of the cat being in a state of superposition before opening the box - in the state of a live/dead cat at the same time. A cat in a macrosystem is always in only one state.

Important! Schrödinger's experiment showed that a micro-object and a macro-object behave in systems in accordance with different laws- the laws of quantum physics and the laws of physics in its classical understanding respectively.

But there is no science that studies phenomena during the transition from a macrosystem to a microsystem. Erwin Schrödinger got excited about the idea of ​​conducting such an experiment precisely for the purpose of proving the weakness and incompleteness of the general theory of physics. His deepest desire was to demonstrate by concrete experience that each science fulfills its own tasks: classical physics studies macroobjects, quantum physics studies microobjects. There is a need to develop scientific knowledge to describe the transition process from large to small objects in systems.

It is very difficult for a simple layman to understand the essence of this paradox right away. Indeed, in the minds of every person there is a conviction that any object of the material world in this moment time can only be at one point.

But Schrödinger's theory can be applied only to micro-objects, while the cat is an object of the macrocosm.

The most recent interpretation of the Schrödinger's Cat paradox is its application in The Big Bang Theory, in which protagonist Sheldon Cooper explained his nature to a less educated Penny. Cooper transferred this phenomenon to the area human relations. To understand good or bad relationship between people of the opposite sex, you just need to open the box. And up to this point, any relationship is both good and bad.

June 24th, 2015

To my shame, I want to admit that I heard this expression, but did not know at all what it meant and at least on what topic it was used. Let me tell you what I read on the Internet about this cat ...

« Shroedinger `s cat"- this is the name of the famous thought experiment of the famous Austrian theoretical physicist Erwin Schrödinger, who is also a laureate Nobel Prize. With the help of this fictitious experiment, the scientist wanted to show the incompleteness of quantum mechanics in the transition from subatomic systems to macroscopic systems.

The original article by Erwin Schrödinger was published in 1935. Here is the quote:

You can also construct cases in which burlesque is enough. Let some cat be locked in a steel chamber, along with the next diabolical machine (which should be regardless of the intervention of the cat): inside the Geiger counter is a tiny amount radioactive substance, so small that only one atom can decay within an hour, but with the same probability it may not decay; if this happens, the reading tube is discharged and a relay is activated, lowering the hammer, which breaks the cone of hydrocyanic acid.

If we leave this entire system to itself for an hour, then we can say that the cat will be alive after this time, as long as the atom does not decay. The first decay of an atom would have poisoned the cat. The psi-function of the system as a whole will express this by mixing in itself or smearing the living and dead cat (forgive the expression) in equal proportions. Typical in similar cases is that the uncertainty initially limited atomic world, is converted into macroscopic uncertainty, which can be eliminated by direct observation. This prevents us from naively accepting the "blur model" as reflecting reality. By itself, this does not mean anything unclear or contradictory. There is a difference between a fuzzy or out-of-focus photo and a cloud or fog shot.

In other words:

1. There is a box and a cat. The box contains a mechanism containing a radioactive atomic nucleus and a container of poisonous gas. The experimental parameters are chosen so that the probability of nuclear decay in 1 hour is 50%. If the core disintegrates, the gas container opens and the cat dies. If the disintegration of the nucleus does not occur, the cat remains alive and well.
2. We close the cat in a box, wait an hour and ask ourselves: is the cat alive or dead?
3. Quantum mechanics, as it were, tells us that the atomic nucleus (and hence the cat) is in all possible states at the same time (cf. quantum superposition). Before we opened the box, the “cat-core” system is in the state “the core has decayed, the cat is dead” with a probability of 50% and in the state “the nucleus has not decayed, the cat is alive” with a probability of 50%. It turns out that the cat sitting in the box is both alive and dead at the same time.
4. According to modern Copenhagen interpretation, the cat is still alive / dead without any intermediate states. And the choice of the decay state of the nucleus occurs not at the moment of opening the box, but even when the nucleus enters the detector. Because the reduction of the wave function of the "cat-detector-nucleus" system is not connected with the human observer of the box, but is connected with the detector-observer of the nucleus.

According to quantum mechanics, if the nucleus of an atom is not observed, then its state is described by a mixture of two states - a decayed nucleus and an undecayed nucleus, therefore, a cat sitting in a box and personifying the nucleus of an atom is both alive and dead at the same time. If the box is opened, then the experimenter can see only one specific state - "the nucleus has disintegrated, the cat is dead" or "the nucleus has not disintegrated, the cat is alive."

essence human language: Schrödinger's experiment showed that, from the point of view of quantum mechanics, a cat is both alive and dead at the same time, which cannot be. Hence, quantum mechanics has significant flaws.

The question is this: when does a system cease to exist as a mixture of two states and chooses one concrete one? The purpose of the experiment is to show that quantum mechanics is incomplete without some rules that specify under what conditions the wave function collapses, and the cat either becomes dead or remains alive, but ceases to be a mixture of both. Since it is clear that the cat must necessarily be either alive or dead (there is no intermediate state between life and death), this will be the same for the atomic nucleus. It must necessarily be either broken up or not broken up (Wikipedia).

Another most recent interpretation of Schrödinger's thought experiment is the story of Sheldon Cooper, the hero of the Big Bang Theory series, which he spoke to the less educated neighbor Penny. The point of Sheldon's story is that the concept of Schrödinger's cat can be applied to relationships between people. In order to understand what is happening between a man and a woman, what kind of relationship between them: good or bad, you just need to open the box. Until then, relationships are both good and bad.

Below is a video clip of this Big Bang Theory dialogue between Sheldon and Peny.

Schrödinger's illustration is best example to describe the main paradox of quantum physics: according to its laws, particles such as electrons, photons, and even atoms exist in two states at the same time (“alive” and “dead”, if you remember the long-suffering cat). These states are called superpositions.

American physicist Art Hobson of the University of Arkansas (Arkansas State University) offered his solution to this paradox.

"Measurements in quantum physics are based on the operation of some macroscopic devices, such as a Geiger counter, with the help of which quantum state microscopic systems - atoms, photons and electrons. Quantum theory implies that if you connect a microscopic system (particle) to some macroscopic device that distinguishes two different states system, then the device (Geiger counter, for example) will go into a state of quantum entanglement and will also be simultaneously in two superpositions. However, it is impossible to observe this phenomenon directly, which makes it unacceptable,” says the physicist.

Hobson says that in Schrödinger's paradox, the cat plays the role of a macroscopic instrument, a Geiger counter, connected to a radioactive nucleus, to determine the state of decay or "non-decay" of this nucleus. In this case, a live cat will be an indicator of "non-decay", and a dead cat - an indicator of decay. But according to quantum theory, the cat, like the nucleus, must be in two superpositions of life and death.

Instead, according to the physicist, the quantum state of the cat must be entangled with the state of the atom, which means that they are in a "non-local connection" with each other. That is, if the state of one of the entangled objects suddenly changes to the opposite, then the state of its pair will also change in the same way, no matter how far apart they are. At the same time, Hobson refers to the experimental confirmation of this quantum theory.

“The most interesting thing in the theory of quantum entanglement is that the change in the state of both particles occurs instantly: no light or electromagnetic signal would have time to transfer information from one system to another. So you can say that it is one object divided into two parts by space, no matter how great the distance between them is,” explains Hobson.

Schrödinger's cat is no longer alive and dead at the same time. He is dead if decay happens, and alive if decay never happens.

We add that similar solutions to this paradox have been proposed by three more groups of scientists over the past thirty years, but they were not taken seriously and remained unnoticed in wide scientific circles. Hobson notes that the solution of the paradoxes of quantum mechanics, at least theoretical, is absolutely necessary for its deep understanding.

Schrödinger

And just recently, THEORETICS EXPLAINED HOW GRAVITY KILLS SCHROEDINGER'S CAT, but this is already more complicated ...

As a rule, physicists explain the phenomenon that superposition is possible in the world of particles, but impossible with cats or other macro objects, interference from environment. When a quantum object passes through a field or interacts with random particles, it immediately assumes just one state - as if it were measured. This is how the superposition collapses, as scientists believed.

But even if in some way it became possible to isolate the macroobject, which is in a state of superposition, from interactions with other particles and fields, then it would still sooner or later take on a single state. By at least, this is true for processes occurring on the surface of the Earth.

“Somewhere in interstellar space, maybe a cat would have a chance to maintain quantum coherence, but on Earth or near any planet this is extremely unlikely. And the reason for this is gravity,” explains the lead author of the new study, Igor Pikovski (Igor Pikovski) from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Pikovsky and his colleagues from the University of Vienna argue that gravity has a destructive effect on quantum superpositions of macroobjects, and therefore we do not observe such phenomena in the macrocosm. The basic concept of the new hypothesis, by the way, is summarized in feature film"Interstellar".

Einstein general theory Relativity states that an extremely massive object will warp space-time near it. Considering the situation at a smaller level, we can say that for a molecule placed near the surface of the Earth, time will go somewhat slower than for one that is in the orbit of our planet.

Due to the influence of gravity on space-time, a molecule that falls under this influence will experience a deviation in its position. And this, in turn, should also affect its internal energy - vibrations of particles in a molecule, which change over time. If a molecule is introduced into a state of quantum superposition of two locations, then the relation between the position and internal energy would soon cause the molecule to "choose" only one of the two positions in space.

“In most cases, the phenomenon of decoherence is associated with external influence, but in this case the internal vibration of the particles interacts with the movement of the molecule itself,” Pikovsky explains.

This effect has not yet been observed, since other sources of decoherence, such as magnetic fields, thermal radiation and vibrations tend to be much stronger, and cause quantum systems to break down long before gravity does. But experimenters seek to test the stated hypothesis.

A similar setup could also be used to test the ability of gravity to destroy quantum systems. To do this, it will be necessary to compare the vertical and horizontal interferometers: in the first, the superposition will soon disappear due to the dilation of time at different "heights" of the path, while in the second, the quantum superposition may persist.

sources

http://4brain.ru/blog/%D0%BA%D0%BE%D1%82-%D1%88%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0% B3%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B0-%D1%81%D1%83%D1%82%D1%8C-%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%81%D1% 82%D1%8B%D0%BC%D0%B8-%D1%81%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B8/

http://www.vesti.ru/doc.html?id=2632838

Here's a little more near-scientific: for example, and here. If you don't already know, read about and what it is. And we find out what The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy is made -

Surely you have heard more than once that there is such a phenomenon as "Schrödinger's Cat". But if you are not a physicist, then, most likely, you only remotely imagine what kind of cat it is and why it is needed.

« Shroedinger `s cat”- this is the name of the famous thought experiment of the famous Austrian theoretical physicist Erwin Schrödinger, who is also a Nobel Prize winner. With the help of this fictitious experiment, the scientist wanted to show the incompleteness of quantum mechanics in the transition from subatomic systems to macroscopic systems.

In this article, an attempt is made to explain in simple terms the essence of Schrödinger's theory about the cat and quantum mechanics, so that it is accessible to a person who does not have a higher technical education. The article will also present various interpretations of the experiment, including those from the Big Bang Theory series.

Description of the experiment

The original article by Erwin Schrödinger was published in 1935. In it, the experiment was described using or even personified:

You can also construct cases in which burlesque is enough. Let some cat be locked in a steel chamber, along with the following diabolical machine (which should be independent of the intervention of the cat): inside the Geiger counter is a tiny amount of radioactive material, so small that only one atom can decay in an hour, but with the same the probability may not fall apart; if this happens, the reading tube is discharged and a relay is activated, lowering the hammer, which breaks the cone of hydrocyanic acid.

If we leave this entire system to itself for an hour, then we can say that the cat will be alive after this time, as long as the atom does not decay. The first decay of an atom would have poisoned the cat. The psi-function of the system as a whole will express this by mixing in itself or smearing the living and dead cat (forgive the expression) in equal proportions. Typical in such cases is that the uncertainty, originally limited to the atomic world, is transformed into a macroscopic uncertainty that can be eliminated by direct observation. This prevents us from naively accepting the "blur model" as reflecting reality. By itself, this does not mean anything unclear or contradictory. There is a difference between a fuzzy or out-of-focus photo and a cloud or fog shot.

In other words:

1. There is a box and a cat. The box contains a mechanism containing a radioactive atomic nucleus and a container of poisonous gas. The experimental parameters are chosen so that the probability of nuclear decay in 1 hour is 50%. If the core disintegrates, the gas container opens and the cat dies. If the disintegration of the nucleus does not occur, the cat remains alive and well.
2. We close the cat in a box, wait an hour and ask ourselves: is the cat alive or dead?
3. Quantum mechanics, as it were, tells us that the atomic nucleus (and hence the cat) is in all possible states at the same time (see quantum superposition). Before we opened the box, the “cat-core” system is in the state “the core has decayed, the cat is dead” with a probability of 50% and in the state “the nucleus has not decayed, the cat is alive” with a probability of 50%. It turns out that the cat sitting in the box is both alive and dead at the same time.
4. According to the modern Copenhagen interpretation, the cat is still alive / dead without any intermediate states. And the choice of the decay state of the nucleus occurs not at the moment of opening the box, but even when the nucleus enters the detector. Because the reduction of the wave function of the "cat-detector-nucleus" system is not connected with the human observer of the box, but is connected with the detector-observer of the nucleus.

Explanation in simple words

According to quantum mechanics, if the nucleus of an atom is not observed, then its state is described by a mixture of two states - a decayed nucleus and an undecayed nucleus, therefore, a cat sitting in a box and personifying the nucleus of an atom is both alive and dead at the same time. If the box is opened, then the experimenter can see only one specific state - "the nucleus has disintegrated, the cat is dead" or "the nucleus has not disintegrated, the cat is alive."

Essence in human language: Schrödinger's experiment showed that, from the point of view of quantum mechanics, a cat is both alive and dead at the same time, which cannot be. Consequently, quantum mechanics has significant flaws.

The question is this: when does a system cease to exist as a mixture of two states and chooses one concrete one? The purpose of the experiment is to show that quantum mechanics is incomplete without some rules that specify under what conditions the wave function collapses, and the cat either becomes dead or remains alive, but ceases to be a mixture of both. Since it is clear that the cat must necessarily be either alive or dead (there is no intermediate state between life and death), this will be the same for the atomic nucleus. It must necessarily be either broken up or not broken up (Wikipedia).

Video from The Big Bang Theory

Another most recent interpretation of Schrödinger's thought experiment is the story of Sheldon Cooper, the hero of the Big Bang Theory series, which he spoke to the less educated neighbor Penny. The point of Sheldon's story is that the concept of Schrödinger's cat can be applied to relationships between people. In order to understand what is happening between a man and a woman, what kind of relationship between them: good or bad, you just need to open the box. Until then, relationships are both good and bad.

Below is a video clip of this Big Bang Theory dialogue between Sheldon and Peny.

Was the cat still alive as a result of the experiment?

For those who read the article inattentively, but still worries about the cat - good news: do not worry, according to our data, as a result of a thought experiment by a crazy Austrian physicist

NOT A SINGLE CAT WERE INJURED