Author Topic: Erwin Schrodinger's 126th Birthday  (Read 4753 times)

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Offline Hoplite

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Re: Erwin Schrodinger's 126th Birthday
« Reply #15 on: August 13, 2013, 09:31:26 am »
I always felt sorry for the cat.
I have been told that the whole point in the "cat in a box" thought experiment was to point out how ridiculous the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics was when aplied to anything bigger than an atom. After all, a cat -large multicellular life form- can only be alive or dead, no middle ground in this and not seeing the cat does not change it. (particularly since in real world things happen wether or not a human is watching)

But as usual people didn't get the joke.

It is a common mistake that is made today, even with all that has since been learned about quantum mechanics. Laws pertaining to the quantum level tend to be applied to the macroscopic level. Lord knows I have been guilty of making this mistake myself.
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Offline Hoplite

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Re: Erwin Schrodinger's 126th Birthday
« Reply #16 on: August 13, 2013, 09:32:37 am »
Good luck is nothing but being in shape to act with the universe when the universe says, "Now!" - John Gardner, The Sunlight Dialogues

Offline Star Cluster

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Re: Erwin Schrodinger's 126th Birthday
« Reply #17 on: August 13, 2013, 10:09:31 am »
That is a damned cool image!

Yeah, I thought so, too.  Wish I could take credit for it, but it is one someone posted on facebook and I knew it just had to be posted in this thread since it tied in so well.
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Offline SpaceProg

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Re: Erwin Schrodinger's 126th Birthday
« Reply #18 on: August 13, 2013, 12:29:26 pm »
Movie's kinda fun too, if you like gross-out comedy horror... stuff. ;)

Offline Witchyjoshy

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Re: Erwin Schrodinger's 126th Birthday
« Reply #19 on: August 13, 2013, 02:02:44 pm »
Yeah I knew that the Schrodinger's Cat "Thought Experiment" was more or less a joke/criticism.  Kinda like how Alice in Wonderland was a criticism of imaginary numbers in mathematics.  Or something to do with math, at least.

...Yeah I don't get it either.
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Offline Lithp

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Re: Erwin Schrodinger's 126th Birthday
« Reply #20 on: August 13, 2013, 02:05:20 pm »
I've never heard that claim until now.

Offline Sigmaleph

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Re: Erwin Schrodinger's 126th Birthday
« Reply #21 on: August 13, 2013, 03:43:36 pm »
I know Lewis Carrol was a mathematician, but I hadn't heard he hated the imaginary numbers. Googling, this seems a possible interpretation but not quite settled fact. Best source I can find is this.

Funnily enough, we wouldn't even be talking about Schrodinger's cat without imaginary numbers. The wavefunction, that which 'collapses' into either dead or alive cats, is complex.
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Offline Lithp

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Re: Erwin Schrodinger's 126th Birthday
« Reply #22 on: August 13, 2013, 03:55:41 pm »
I was actually talking about the claim that Schroedinger's cat was a joke, if you were responding to me.

Offline Sigmaleph

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Re: Erwin Schrodinger's 126th Birthday
« Reply #23 on: August 13, 2013, 04:04:16 pm »
I was, but works either way as a response to Magus.
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