PHYSICS Schrödinger's Cat

1. Double-slit experiment

2. Question

2.1. When does quantum superposition end and reality collapse into one possibility or the other?

3. The Experiment

3.1. General facts

3.1.1. Thought experiment / Paradox

3.1.1.1. He didn't actually kill a cat!

3.1.2. Devised in 1935

3.2. Motivation

3.2.1. Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics

3.2.1.1. Problem when applied to everyday objects

3.2.1.2. Contradiction with common sense

3.3. Set up

3.3.1. A cat, a flask of poison, and a radioactive source

3.3.1.1. Placed in a sealed box

3.3.2. Random event

3.3.2.1. If radioactivity is detected > poison is released

3.3.2.2. Cat can be BOTH alive and dead

3.3.3. Look inside the box

3.3.3.1. Cat is either alive OR dead

4. Quantum Superposition

4.1. Quantum particles appear to exist in all states simultaneously

4.2. Act of observation removes the object from superposition

4.3. Observable effect

5. Erwin Schrödinger

5.1. Austrian Physicist

5.2. 1887 - 1961

5.3. Field: Quantum Theory

5.4. Formulated the wave equation

5.5. Developed the formalism and matrix mechanics

5.6. Criticized the conventional Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics

5.7. Coined the term Verschränkung (entanglement)

6. Verschränkung (entanglement)

6.1. "Quantum states of two or more objects have to be described with reference to each other, even though the individual objects may be spatially separated"