Is Schrödinger's Cat Dead Or Alive? (science)

Yes.











Well, theoretically the cat can still observe it being alive so technically it is one or the other, but for non-observed things it's in a superposition only splitting into one once observed.
Quantum physics, man.

 

If a Felis catus is observing itself, as you have proposed, above, then it is apparent that the F. catus is alive, as no observation can be made by a dead organism. If, on the other hand an F. catus is no longer capable of observing itself, there are a great many possible reasons for this, among which the state of being dead is only one.

 

True, but the point of the thing is between two superpositions only. There are more than one reason F. Catus is not able to observe it's existence, however the point of the thing is between the two.
I just realized that I made the same problem by saying that the cat could observe itself when the point of the thing is just the superposition.
Oh

 

Yes, yes you did, which is why superposition is really interesting when there is an outside observer. Otherwise, if the observered is a living entity, it's medically interesting to the observer and potentially of survival interest to the observed.

 

Totes dead.

 

In addition to yourself, I also use sesquipedalian diction to enhance my intelligence from the perspective of the assumed reader.

 

What if schrödingers cat is a robot cat, then it is alive, from a certain point of view, but it is also dead, because it is not a living organism.

 

Unlike yourself, I don't use "sesquipedalian diction to enhance my intelligence from the perspective of the assumed reader." In fact, I can find no instance in my reply in which I used any, whatsoever. Perhaps you would be so kind as to be more specific in reference to that which you claim that I have done? If, on the other hand, you meant the use of the scientific name for the common house cat, that is merely an instance of precision.
Peace

 

Kanye killed it

 

When Schrödinger first proposed his thought experiment as a demonstration of superposition, he was, indeed, referring to the observation of a living/non-living biological cat. Your proposal would require the postulated existence of not only a robotic cat, but further, the existence of one with sufficient AI to be capable of self-determinant behavior. Overall, a complication that would necessitate the exploration of many separate possibilities.

Just for @memes! : That's a complication that I don't want to look at at 3:30am.

 

Yes



Okay but we don't know except the cat. I think. We have no way of knowing

 

I think you're forgetting that this forum is comprised almost solely of 11-15 year olds. You won't find a very interesting debate on quantum physics here.

 

Don't know too much about Schrödinger's Cat, but I think the cat could be either dead or alive but the psychopathic cat murderers won't find out unless the actually open the box and check.

 

You are right. As far as we can know, the cat is both dead and alive at the same time, because we have no way of observing which state it is in, until we open the box. Whether the cat is dead or alive depends only on whether or not an atom has broken down through nuclear decay, and that depends on quantum probability. So, Schrödinger constructed his thought experiment (he didn't really do it to any cat or any other living animal). When we open the box, we observe whether the cat is alive or dead. That observation tells us what the past history of the box must have been, whether an atom decayed or not, and that history cannot change. If the cat is dead, then an atom must have decayed, because that decay is what set into motion the events that killed the cat. If the cat is alive, than an atom cannot have decayed, because if it did, then the cat would not be alive. Either way, the history of the atom is no longer uncertain, even though, up to that very moment, we could only speak of it s history as a probability. So, if something is not observed, it can be in any of its probability states, but once we observe it, its past history is fixed.

Oh, puhleeze. First, it's not even a debate, it's a discussion, and a fun one at that. Second, you are giving far too little credit to 11-15 year olds, many of whom have grown up with quantum physics being discussed in their science classes. It's an integral part of understanding atomic structure, temperature, material physics, and astronomy, and it has an integral part in understanding life. Schrödinger's Cat is one of the first things that is discussed, once the kids get some background in physics, because, without it, the wave-particle duality of light and the two-slit experiment appear to be either just interesting observations or just anomalies.

 

I'm 13 my self but despite that I don't know too much about this topic but I'm very interested in physics and this general field of science

 

Thank you for that. In general, this thought experiment was mostly proposed to show how the wave function could apply to other things that we can observe (or in this case not observe I suppose) on a real world scale. Anyhow, this does make for an interesting discussion topic.

 

My interpretation is that it's neither alive nor dead until you open the box. It's in a quantum superposition of both states.

 

But...
I'm 13.

 

I almost forgot something, and it's been rolling around in my mind, trying to get my attention. As long as any number of valid quantum states can be added together, the result is a valid quantum state. Simply put, if a quantum system has two or more valid possible states, they can all be superposed at the same time. Schrödinger chose a simple two-state demonstration, just to make it easier to discuss and understand. This gives us the "spooky" idea that an electron, which is both a wave and particle at the same time, can be smeared out everywhere in its "orbital" at the same time. For hydrogen, with one p+ and one e-, the electron is everywhere around the proton, all of the time. There are other "spooky" examples, too, besides e-s.

 

Quantum computing uses this property of superpositions to perform multiple calculations at once, however when "the box is opened" , the superposition collapses and we only get one outcome. :