the schrödinger’s cat thought experiment cat’s life or death was dependent on the state of a subatomic particle. According to Schrödinger, the Copenhagen interpretation implies

the uncertainty principle | 1

the schrödinger’s cat thought experiment The mechanics and rational of this most devious and methodical elimination (possibly) of innocent felines in the pursuit of scientific knowledge.

introductionA brief overview of the motivations and rationalizations behind this most terrible example of science gone awry.

| the schrödinger’s cat thought experiment4 5

Schrödinger and Einstein had exchanged letters about Einstein’s epr article, in the course of which Einstein had pointed out that the quantum superposition of an unstable keg of gunpowder will, after a while, contain both exploded and unexploded components.To further illustrate the putative incompleteness of quantum mechanics Schrödinger applied quantum mechanics to a living entity that may or may not be conscious.* In Schrödinger’s original thought experiment he describes how one could, in principle, transform a superposition inside an atom to a large-scale superposition of a live and dead cat by coupling cat and atom with the help of a ‘‘diabolical mechanism.’’ He proposed a scenario with a cat in a sealed box, where the cat’s life or death was dependent on the state of a subatomic particle. According to Schrödinger, the Copenhagen interpretation implies that the cat remains both alive and dead until the box is opened. Schrödinger did not wish to promote the idea of

ForewordSchrödinger’s cat is a thought experiment, often described as a paradox, devised by Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger in 1935. It illustrates what he saw as the problem of the Copenhagen interpretation* of quantum mechanics being applied to everyday objects. The thought experiment presents a cat that might be alive or dead, depending on an earlier random event.Schrödinger’s thought experiment was intended as a discussion of the epr article, named after its authors: Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen in 1935. The epr article had highlighted the strange nature of quantum superpositions. Broadly stated, a quantum superposition is the combination of all the possible states of a system (for example, the possible positions of a subatomic particle). The Copenhagen interpretation implies that the superposition only undergoes collapse into a definite state at the exact moment of quantum measurement.

In addition to being a centre of academic research in quantum

mechanics, Copenhagen was also the principle hub for the early

experiments that led to the creation of the science of lego mechanics.

It has been theorized that his disbelief in the consciousness of cats

may have contributed to his choosing them for the experiment.

Asked once if he considered using a dog, he replied, “Heavens no!”

introduction |


state stop being a linear combination of states, each of which resemble different classical states, and instead begin to have a unique classical description?) If the cat survives, it remembers only being alive. But explanations of the EPR experiments that are consistent with standard microscopic quantum mechanics require that macroscopic objects, such as cats and notebooks, do not always have unique classical descriptions. The purpose of the thought experiment is to illustrate this apparent paradox: our intuition says that no observer can be in a mixture of states, yet it seems cats, for example, can be such a mixture. Are cats required to be observers, or does their existence in a single well-defined classical state require another external observer?

dead-and-alive cats as a serious possibility; quite the reverse: the thought experiment serves to illustrate the bizarreness of quantum mechanics and the mathematics necessary to describe quantum states. Intended as a critique of just the Copenhagen interpretation—the prevailing orthodoxy in 1935—the Schrödinger cat thought experiment remains a topical touchstone for all interpretations of quantum mechanics; how each interpretation deals with Schrödinger’s cat is often used* as a way of illustrating and comparing each interpretation’s particular features, strengths and weaknesses.Schrödinger’s famous thought experiment poses the question: when does a quantum system stop existing as a mixture of states and become one or the other? (More technically, when does the actual quantum

Throughout the years, Schrödinger was known to have owned many

feline companions, many of whom meant with unfortunate ends

under rather suspicious circumstances. Their names are recorded

here for posterity:

Abigail, Abner, Abraham, Ace, Aces, Achilles, Acroy, Adagio, Adam,

Addams, Adelaide, Adlai, Adonis, Aesop, Africa, Agatha, Aggie, Agnes,

Aida, Aiko, Aimee, Bagheera, Bagpipes, Bailey, Baldrick, Baldur, Bali,

Bali Hai, Balki, Ballou, Balthazar, Balto, Bambino, Bamboo, Banshee,

Bart, Bashoh, Basil, Basker, Caesar, Cagney, Caicos, Cajun, Calamity,

Calamity Jane, Calicalpurnia, Calico, Calie, Caligula, Calin, Callas,

Callaway, Calvin, Calypso, Calze, Cambyses, Cameo, Cameron, Camille,

Cammie, Camus, Candidus, Candis, Canute, Capone, Cappuccino,

Capri, Dale, Dallas, Dalton, Damian, Dammit, Damocleus, Dancer,

Dandelion, Daniel, Danke, Dante, Daphne, Darius, Darkstar, Darla,

introduction |


CaveatThis book represents an amusing and fictional look at a theoretical experiment in the complicated field of quantum physics. While discussing the relevant topics in some technical detail from the viewpoint of contemporary particle physics, much of the interpretations, questions, facts, and flippant remarks contained in the captions and footnotes is completely and utterly false, and is, in no way intended to malign the fine groundbreaking work done by the scientists discussed in this book.

(cont’d) Darth Vader, Daryl, Dash, Dashiell, Eberhard, Ebony, Echo,

Eclipse, Eddy, Edgar, Edhessa, Edison, Edith, Edmunda, Edmundo,

Edsel, Edseletta, Edward, Eggroll, Egon, Egypt, Ei Kan, Einstein, El Toro,

Elba, Elbee, Electra, Eleni, Felice, Felicia, Felicity, Felis, Felisha, Felix,

Fennel, Fenway, Fergie, Feroscia, Ferrari, Ferret, Ferris, Ferus, Festus,

Fettucine, Fez, Fezzik, Fickel, Fidel, Fido, Figaro, Fila, Filbert, Fillmore,

Fimo, Fingers, Finian, Finn, Finnegan, Fireball, Galahad, Galooli,

Gamiel, Gamin, Gamma, Gandolf, Gandy, Gangway, Ganymede, Garbo,

Gareth, Garf, Garfield, Garfunkle, Garfy, Gargantua, Garrick, Garrison,

Garth, Gator, Gazork, Geebee, Geener, Geesha, Hamlet, Hammurabi,

Hanable, Handel, Handyman, Hanibal, Hank, Hans, Hantu, Happy,

Harissa, Harlow, Harmony, Harold, Harper, Harpo, Harrigan, Harry

Pawter, Ice, Iceberg, Icey, Ida, Iddy, Igloo, Igmu, Ignatz, Igor, Ike, Ilsa,

Ilya, Jacob, Jacquar, Jade, Jadzia, Jaeger, Jaffa, Jago, Jaka, Jake,

Jamaica, Jamina, Jamocha, Janelle, Janina, Jarmara, Jaromir, Keiko,

Keller, Kelley, Kellogg, Kendra, Kentucky, Kepurr, Kerouac, Kerry, Kesa,

Kesakin, Keta, Lad, Lady Griddlebone, Lady Jane, Lady Muck, Lady

Pepper, Lafeyette, Lamar, Lambert, Lana, Lapleach, Laplover, Larisa,

Larry, Laser, Lasher, Latke, Latte, Launcelot, Laurel, Lauren, Laverne,

Machiavelli, Macintosh, Mackenzie, Madam, Madame Phloi, Maddie,

Madeira, Madison, Madmax, Madonna, Mae, Maestro, Mafalda,

Magellan, Magenta, Maggie, Magic, Magna, Magnificat, Magnolia,

Magnus, Mahogany, Napper, Nappers, Nappy, Narcissus, Natasha,

Nate, Nathan, Ned, Neddy, Nefer, Neferkitty, Nefertiti, Negatory,

Negus, Nelda, Nellie, Nellinda, Nelson, Nemesis, Nene, Neo, Neon,

Neptune, Nera, Nerble, Nerf, Nermal, Ogopogo, Oklahoma, Olaf,

introduction |


Old Chum, Old Deuteronomy, Old Mike, Olga, Olive, Oliver, Olivier,

Olli, O’malley, Omega, Onassis, Onyxs, Oops, Opal, Ophelia, Opie,

Oprah, Opus, Orangie, Orbit, Oreo, Orion, Orlando, Paige, Paisley,

Paka, Paladin, Paleface, Palermo, Paloma, Palooka, Pancho, Panda,

Pandora, Pandy, Pantha, Pantoufle, Papoose, Parkay, Pasha, Pashakin,

Patachou, Patch, Patches, Patrick, Quark, Queen, Queenie, Quendi,

Quentin, Quiches, Quimby, Quincy, Rain, Rainbow, Raintree, Raisin,

Ralph, Ramar, Rambis, Rambo, Rameesh, Rameses, Randall, Randy,

Raoul, Raphael, Rapunzel, Raquel, Rascal, Rascle, Rasputin, Rasta,

Ratkiller, Sadie, Sailor, Saint, Saki, Salami, Salem, Salerno, Salley, Sally,

Salome, Salsa, Salty, Salvador, Samba, Sambo, Sambrina, Sambucca,

Samitha, Tangerine, Tango, Tanja, Tanner, Tanuki, Tapioca, Tappy,

Tarot, Tarzan, Tash, Tasha, Tater, Tatiana, Tatoo, Tatters, Taurus,

Taylor, Taz, Tazzie, Teabone, Teacup, Teaser, Teazle, Tecumseh, Teeny,

Tegan, Tegoo, Ulanova, Ulysses, Uma, Unagi, Uncle Sam, Uranus,

Uriel, Ursa, Ursula, Ushki, Utopia, Valium, Valky, Valmont, Van Gogh,

Vanilla, Varuna, Veera, Vegas, Velma, Velvet, Venezia, Veni, Venus,

Verboten, Veronica, Verushka, Vesuvius, Vidalia, Vincent, Viola, Violet,

Virgil, Vivaldi, Vlad, Vladimir, Vogue, Voltaire, Voodoo, Vorpal, Waldo,

Wallenda, Wallis, Wally, Walnut, Walter, Walter Mitty, Wampum,

Wanda, Warlock, Washington, Watson, Wayne, Wearie Willy, Weasel,

Webster, Wee Willy, Wendy, Wesley, Whatever, Wheels, Whimsey,

Xanadu, Xanthus, Xavier, Xena, Xerox, Xerxes, Yang, Yogi, Yoko, Yoriie,

Yoshi, Youtoo, Yowler, Yuki, Yukon, Yum Yum, Zazou, Zed, Zeema,

Zeezee, Zelda, Zemwald, Zena, Zephyr, Zeppo, Zero, Zeus, Ziggy,

Zingaro, Zip, Zipes, Zippy, and lastly, The Illustrious Mr. Mittens.

introduction |


Dirac was an interesting character in his own right. The “father of

quantum mechanics” was known, in his lifetime, to own a total over

over fifty cats of varying breeds and dispositions. By all acounts, all of

them lived to a wise old age and were never deprived of any luxury.

Dirac himself was quoted as saying, “Of all the many and varied

accomplishments of my career, my love of science and the wonders

of the natural world has never equaled my love for my little Bootsie.”

A Letter from p.a.m. DiracIn November of 1936, one year after the publishing of the Schrödinger’s Cat Thought Experiment, Schrödinger received a letter from one of his most esteemed colleagues in the world of particle physics.The letter from Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac, Lucasian Chair of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge (a highly respected post that has been held by such scientific greats as Sir Issac Newton and Dr. Stephen Hawking). Dirac has also been hailed as the “Father of Quantum Mechanics” and published numerous prestigious papers on this and many other topics in the physical sciences. While the exact contents of the letter are not known, after receiving it, Schrödinger refused any further contact with Dirac, beginning a scientific feud that lasted until his death in 1961.

The text of the infamous correspondence has never been published,

but was revealed in a yet to be released biography of Dirac. The letter

went as follows:

“Erwin,

Seriously. We’re worried about you.

You’ve gotta lay off the cats. It’s getting creepy.

P.”

introduction |

the life ofschrödinger The wide and varied life of a brilliant scientist who was consumed by an irrational life-long desire to create an immortal feline.


Early yearsIn 1887 Schrödinger was born in Vienna, Austria to Rudolf Schrödinger (cerecloth producer, botanist) and Georgine Emilia Brenda (daughter of Alexander Bauer, Professor of Chemistry, k.u.k. Technische w Vienna). His mother was half Austrian and half English; the English side of her family came from Leamington Spa. Schrödinger learned English and German almost at the same time due to the fact that both were spoken in the family household. His father was a Catholic and his mother was a Lutheran. In 1898 he attended the Akademisches Gymnasium.* Between 1906 and 1910 Schrödinger studied in Vienna under Franz Serafin Exner (1849–1926) and Friedrich Hasenöhrl (1874–1915). He also conducted experimental work with Friedrich Kohlrausch. In 1911, Schrödinger became an assistant to Exner.

During his time in Akademisches, Erwin went by the moniker of

Shrödy the Roadie, as a result of his interest in music, but complete

lack of any musical talent whatsoever. It is believed that his inability

in his early years to enjoy many of the benefits that come with a

career in the music industry may have influenced some of his more

questionable lifestyle choices.

the life of schrödinger |


It has been speculated that much of Schrödinger’s dislike of cats may

have stemmed from his quite diminutive stature. Reportedly referred

to as “my Itsy-Bitsy Widdle Kitten” by both his mother and early

girlfriends, Schrödinger never exceeded a height approximate to that

of four stacked midsize cats throughout his adult life.

Middle yearsIn 1914 Erwin Schrödinger achieved Habilitation* (venia legendi). Between 1914 and 1918 he participated in war work as a commissioned officer in the Austrian fortress artillery (Gorizia, Duino, Sistiana, Prosecco, Vienna). On 6 April 1920, Schrödinger married Annemarie Bertel. The same year, he became the assistant to Max Wien, in Jena, and in September 1920 he attained the position of ao. Prof. (Ausserordentlicher Professor), roughly equivalent to Reader (uk) or associate professor (us), in Stuttgart. In 1921, he became o. Prof. (Ordentlicher Professor, i.e. full professor), in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland).In 1921, he moved to the University of Zürich. In January 1926, Schrödinger published in the Annalen der Physik the paper “Quantisierung als Eigenwertproblem” [tr. Quantisation as an Eigenvalue Problem] on wave

The term Habilitation refers to an archaic Viennese right of

passage for young men at the beginning of their adult lives. In an

elaborate ceremony, they are taught to clean dishes, vacuum, and

the intricacies of lowering toilet seats, in order to be considered as

acceptable candidates for marriage potential.


fig 2.1: The Diminutive Herr Schrödinger


recognized as having great significance by the physics community.In 1927, he succeeded Max Planck at the Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin. In 1933, however, Schrödinger decided to leave Germany; he disliked the Nazis’ anti-semitism. He became a Fellow of Magdalen College at the University of Oxford. Soon after he arrived, he received the Nobel Prize together with Paul Adrien Maurice Dirac. His position at Oxford did not work out; his unconventional personal life (Schrödinger lived with two women)* was not met with acceptance. In 1934, Schrödinger lectured at Princeton University; he was offered a permanent position there, but did not accept it. Again, his wish to set up house with his wife and his mistress may have posed a problem. He had the prospect of a position at the University of Edinburgh but visa delays occurred, and in the end he took up a position at the University of Graz in Austria in 1936.

Honestly

Two.

No fooling.

mechanics and what is now known as the Schrödinger equation. In this paper he gave a “derivation” of the wave equation for time independent systems, and showed that it gave the correct energy eigenvalues for the hydrogen-like atom. This paper has been universally celebrated as one of the most important achievements of the twentieth century*, and created a revolution in quantum mechanics, and indeed of all physics and chemistry. A second paper was submitted just four weeks later that solved the quantum harmonic oscillator, the rigid rotor and the diatomic molecule, and gives a new derivation of the Schrödinger equation. A third paper in May showed the equivalence of his approach to that of Heisenberg and gave the treatment of the Stark effect. A fourth paper in this most remarkable series showed how to treat problems in which the system changes with time, as in scattering problems. These papers were the central achievement of his career and were at once

It has been estimated that on a scale of general acceptance that it falls

after the toaster, pez dispensers, the atomic bomb, the touch tone

phone, and ahead of the flowbee, digital watches, and chia pets.



Later yearsIn 1938, after the Anschluss, Schrödinger had problems because of his flight from Germany in 1933 and his known opposition to Nazism. He issued a statement recanting this opposition (he later regretted doing so, and he personally apologized to Einstein). However, this did not fully appease the new dispensation and the university dismissed him from his job for political unreliability. He suffered harassment and received instructions not to leave the country, but he and his wife fled to Italy. From there he went to visiting positions in Oxford and Ghent Universities.In 1940 he received an invitation to help establish an Institute for Advanced Studies in Dublin, Ireland. He moved to Clontarf, Dublin and became the Director of the School for Theoretical Physics and remained there for 17 years, during which time he became a naturalized Irish citizen. He wrote about 50 further publications on various topics, including his explorations of unified field theory.

Seriously.

Every word of that was true.

In the midst of these tenure issues in 1935, after extensive correspondence with personal friend Albert Einstein, he proposed the Schrödinger’s cat thought experiment.

No, seriously.

Late in 1933 when he was considering leaving Germany for England,

Shrödinger, when offered a position, asked for his colleague Arthur

March to join him as an assistant. His reason for doing so was that he

was in love with March’s wife Hilde. March was presumably agreeable

to Schrödinger and his wife’s involvement, and she eventually bore

his child, living comfortably with him and his wife.

He and his wife Anny maintained good relations throughout their

marriage despite his numerous extra-marital affairs. She also had

a lover of her own for many years, a friend of Schrödinger’s in fact,

Hermann Weyl.

In early 1934 Schrödinger was invited to lecture at Princeton

University and while there he was made an offer of a permanent

position. On his return to Oxford he negotiated about salary and

pension conditions at Princeton but in the end he did not accept. It

is thought that the fact that he wished to live at Princeton with Anny

and Hilde both sharing the upbringing of his child was not found

acceptable. The fact that Schrödinger openly had two wives, even

if one of them was married to another man, was not well received

in Oxford either. Nevertheless, his daughter Ruth Georgie Erica was

born there on 30 May 1934.



Conference he refused to speak on nuclear energy because of his scepticism about it and gave a philosophical lecture instead. During this period Schrödinger turned from mainstream quantum mechanics’ definition of wave-particle duality and promoted the wave idea alone causing much controversy.

Death and LegacyOn 4 January 1961, Schrödinger died in Vienna of tuberculosis at the age of 73. He left a widow, Anny (born Annemarie Bertel on 3 December 1896, died 3 October 1965), and was buried in Alpbach (Austria).The philosophical issues raised by Schrödinger’s cat are still debated today and remains his most enduring legacy in popular science, while Schrödinger’s equation is his most enduring legacy at a more technical level. The huge Schrödinger crater on the far side of the Moon was posthumously named after him by the iau. The Erwin Schrödinger International Institute for Mathematical Physics was established in Vienna in 1993.

In 1944, he wrote What is Life?, which contains a discussion of Negentropy and the concept of a complex molecule with the genetic code for living organisms. According to James D. Watson’s memoir, dna, The Secret of Life, Schrödinger’s book gave Watson the inspiration to research the gene, which led to the discovery of the dna double helix structure. Similarly, Francis Crick, in his autobiographical book What Mad Pursuit, described how he was influenced by Schrödinger’s speculations about how genetic information might be stored in molecules. Schrödinger stayed in Dublin until retiring in 1955. During this time he remained committed to his particular passion; scandalous involvements with students occurred and he fathered two children by two different Irish women. He had a life-long interest in the Vedanta philosophy of Hinduism, which influenced his speculations at the close of What is Life? about the possibility that individual consciousness is only a manifestation of a unitary consciousness pervading the universe.In 1956, he returned to Vienna (chair ad personam). At an important lecture during the World Energy


the experimentThe mechanics of the devious and methodical elimination (possibly) of innocent felines in the pursuit of scientific knowledge. This chapter will explore the various diabolical facets of the experiment will be reviewed.

28 29

fig 3.1: Box

The inside of the box (fig 3.1) is totally impenetrable to any kind of

observation whatsoever. Schrödinger’s initial test using standard

cardboard boxes (to cut costs) were failures of a very large

magnitude and prompted decades of box-related research .

the experiment |

Setting Up The ExperimentA cat is penned up in a steel chamber, along with the following device (which must be secured against direct interference by the cat): in a Geiger counter there is a tiny bit of radioactive substance, so small, that perhaps in the course of the hour one of the atoms decays, but also, with equal probability, perhaps none; if it happens, the counter tube discharges and through a relay releases a hammer which shatters a small flask of hydrocyanic acid. If one has left this entire system to itself for an hour, one would say that the cat still lives if meanwhile no atom has decayed. The psi-function of the entire system would express this by having in it the living and dead cat (pardon the expression) mixed or smeared out in equal parts.

So there’s this box.

There’s no way to know what happens inside the box.

A cat goes in the box. This may be hard or easy, depending on the cat.

Chances are fifty-fifty that poison gets released into the box.

If it does, the cat dies. Potentially making quite a mess.

If it doesn’t, the cat lives on, completely oblivious to his existence.

Until you open the box, there’s no way to tell if the cat is alive or dead.

So it’s both.

| the schrödinger’s cat thought experiment

31

fig 3.3: Cat in Box

As most evolutionary biologists and cat psychologists are already

aware, cats have a natural inclination towards being in boxes. This

stems from their primitive ancestors, who dwelled predominantly in

very tiny caves. They are thought to be the cutest of the early felines.

TNT

TNT

TNT

!the experiment |

TNT

TNT

TNT

!

The principle element is the cat (fig 3.2). It’s eventually indeterminate

status is the defining quality of the experiment. The first cat ever

submitted to this experiment was named Mr. Mittens. Whilst the

outcome of this initial experiment was never recorded, Mr. Mittens

was reported “lost” shortly afterwards, and never found.

fig 3.2: Cat

| the schrödinger’s cat thought experiment30

33

A Geiger-Counter is used to determine whether the cat will be

poisoned or not. It’s use is rather ironic, as Francois Geiger, inventor

and namesake of the device, was tragically mauled to death by a pack

of rabid alley cats at the height of his professional career.

the experiment |

fig 3.5: Geiger-Counter

The atom. A fundamental building block of life itself. Everything

we know to exist on Earth is composed of untold millions of these

infinitessimally tiny particles.

Illustration not to scale.


fig 3.4: Atom

35the experiment |

If the atom decays it will set off the geiger-counter. This helps the

geiger-counter to avoid any moral responsibility for its role in the

tragedy which may follow. Alas, it still cries itself to sleep each night.


fig 3.6: Atomic Decay

Schrödinger was reputedly quite a fan of casino gambling, until

the late 1950’s, at which time he was imprisoned for a period of six

months after a week long bender in Las Vegas

37

Poison mean to hammer!

Hammer no like poison!

Hammer make poison go smash!

the experiment |

fig 3.8: Hammer

Schrödinger specifies the use of hydrocyanic acid, a notoriously

lethal chemical agent. In small doses it is commonly used a garnish in

high-end mojitos for its delicate, nutty aroma.


fig 3.7: Poison

39

Or not.

the experiment |

fig 3.10: Poison Release System in Neutral State

If the atom decays, the geiger-counter will go off, release a hammer,

which smashes a vial, releasing the poison, which kills the cat.

This will result in a very unhappy feline.


fig 3.9: Atomic Decay in Poison Release System

41

?

This is, quite understandably, a rather precarious and distressing

situation for the cat in question. Assuming that it is fortunate to

survive, extensive therapy will be required to recover emotionally.

the experiment |

fig 3.11: Complete Experiment System

The real brain bender happens when we consider that since there

is an exact fifty-fifty chance of the poison getting released, there is

nothing to say whether the cat will be alive or dead.


43

In a bizarre and creepy turn of fate, the cat, since it can be neither

alive nor dead, now occupies two “superpositions” where it is both

simultaneously. Not to be confused with zombie-cats.

In a rather sinister turn of events, Schrödinger, nearing the end of his

career, did conduct trial experiments on cat-zombification.

the experiment |

fig 3.13: Cat in Multiple Simultaneous Superpositions

?

At this point, things get very confusing. Since there’s no way that

the cat could be either alive or dead without opening the box

and checking, which would disrupt the experiment, (observation

influences outcomes on a quantum level because of very

complicated reasons) the cat is now in a very odd state.


fig 3.12: Cat in Indeterminate Quantum State

For those seeking to emulate the bizarre cruelty to animals evinced by Schrödinger, a guide is presented for the purposes of advancing this rather dubious field of scientific exploration.

making your own experiment

| the schrödinger’s cat thought experiment46 the uncertainty principle | 47

Making Your Own ExperimentWhile the experiment that Schrödinger describes does not include any potential variables, the basic equation that lies at the base of the experiment can be modified to include a near infinite amount of variations. The system described can be considered as modular, consisting of three independent elements. The first is a living entity that cannot be considered to be capable of observation for the purpose not interfering with the result. The second element is the incorporation of a determining factor of random chance which will be the catalyst for the action or inaction of the third element. The third and final element is what Schrödinger termed, “a diabolical mechanism”. This can be anything which is able to terminate the life of the creature, and thus close the loop of the experiment.*

Einstein, in a letter to Schrödinger states “Their interpretation is,

however, refuted most elegantly by your system of radioactive

atom + amplifier + charge of gun powder + cat in a box, in which the

psi-function of the system contains both the cat alive and blown to

bits. Nobody really doubts that the presence or absence of the cat is

something independent of the act of observation.”


fig 4.1: Einstein’s Interpretation

making your own experiment |

Einstein’s significant contribution to the creation of the atomic bomb

has been attributed by many historians to a borderline obsessive

desire to blow up cats on a much grander scale.

TNT

TNT

TNT

!

TNT

TNT

TNT

!

While Schrödinger makes no mention of gunpowder, or indeed

explosives of any kind, Einstein specifically references gunpowder as

the “diabolical measure” to be used.


fig 4.3: Random Event

fig 4.4: Diabolical Mechanism

+

One’s ability to recreate the experiment relies solely on the users

capability of obtaining the necessary elements of the equation:

Animal (preferably cute) + Random Chance Event + Diabolical

Mechanism = Science.


fig 4.2: Animal

+

The experiment can, but probably shouldn’t be, recreated using the

three principle elements (fig 3.1–3.3, which are variable, and not tied

to those outlined in the original description. The use of new and

humorous variations can significantly increase the scienceness level.

53

Accessibility is one of the main deciders in selecting animals for

the experiment. It is interesting to note that some of Schrödinger’s

smaller lab assistants went missing in the early tests of the theory.

fig 4.6: Duck fig 4.7: Camel fig 4.8: Llama

fig 4.9: Moose fig 4.10: Turtle fig 4.11: Dog


The animal is the principle element of the equation. The choice in

creature is only limited by the scientist’s imagination, budget, and the

size of available box. Cute animals are favoured, for reasons unknown.

fig 4.5: Animal



♠A♦A♣

A♥

♥

A

♥A

1

3

2

41 1

2

34

fig 4.13: Coin Toss fig 4.14: Card Draw fig 4.15: Dice Roll

fig 4.16: Random Number Generator

fig 4.17: Magic 8 Ball fig 4.18: Cootie-Catcher


Quite a variety of much less expensive options exist for a researcher

on a tight budget. For the price of a single sheet of bond paper, any

scientist can generate random results.

fig 4.12: Random Event

In the original description of the experiment, as outlined by

Schrödinger, the determining element of random chance is a rather

convoluted setup involving highly specialized equipment.


fig 4.20: Dynamite fig 4.21:Hammer fig 4.22: Anvil

fig 4.23: Chainsaw fig 4.24: Candlestick fig 4.25: Anthrax


Various other methods all available to the resourceful and well-

funded researcher, all of which have their own pros and cons. While a

chainsaw is relatively efficient and cost effective for the scientist on a

tight budget, the cleanup involved is quite extensive.

fig 4.19: Diabolical Mechanism

Poison is the logical choice for achieving a painless and expedient for

the creature in question. Speculation is however, that as opposed to

feeling sympathy for the poor creatures, this was used mainly for it

relatively ease in post-experiment cleaning.

The cat is alive.

conclusion

ColophonThis book is typeset in Freight Sans 9 and 7 point, designed by Joshua Darden. The historical content is principally drawn from Wikipedia.org. The illustrations, book design, and creative content was designed and written by Mark Stokoe. The images used are public domain and drawn from the Wikimedia commons and the Prelinger Archives.For more books and other materials that mock the principles that govern the natural world, please visit www.markstokoe.ca.

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the schrödinger’s cat thought experiment cat’s life or death was dependent on the state of a subatomic particle. According to Schrödinger, the Copenhagen interpretation implies