Is Schrödinger's Cat Alive?

Erwin Schrödinger is famous for presenting his wave equation of motion that jump-started quantum mechanics. His disenchantment with the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics led him to unveil the Schrödinger's cat paradox, which did not get much attention for nearly half a century. In...

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Main Author: Mani L. Bhaumik
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Quanta 2017-12-01
Series:Quanta
Online Access:http://quanta.ws/ojs/index.php/quanta/article/view/68
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author Mani L. Bhaumik
author_facet Mani L. Bhaumik
author_sort Mani L. Bhaumik
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description Erwin Schrödinger is famous for presenting his wave equation of motion that jump-started quantum mechanics. His disenchantment with the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics led him to unveil the Schrödinger's cat paradox, which did not get much attention for nearly half a century. In the meantime, disappointment with quantum mechanics turned his interest to biology facilitating, albeit in a peripheral way, the revelation of the structure of DNA. Interest in Schrödinger's cat has recently come roaring back making its appearance conspicuously in numerous scientific articles. From the arguments presented here, it would appear that the legendary Schrödinger's cat is here to stay, symbolizing a profound truth that quantum reality exists at all scales; but we do not observe it in our daily macroscopic world as it is masked for all practical purposes, most likely by environmental decoherence with irreversible thermal effects. Quanta 2017; 6: 70–80.
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spelling doaj.art-e614665221bb45879e2d2e270955aa332022-12-22T01:31:08ZengQuantaQuanta1314-73742017-12-0161708010.12743/quanta.v6i1.6836Is Schrödinger's Cat Alive?Mani L. Bhaumik0University of California Los AngelesErwin Schrödinger is famous for presenting his wave equation of motion that jump-started quantum mechanics. His disenchantment with the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics led him to unveil the Schrödinger's cat paradox, which did not get much attention for nearly half a century. In the meantime, disappointment with quantum mechanics turned his interest to biology facilitating, albeit in a peripheral way, the revelation of the structure of DNA. Interest in Schrödinger's cat has recently come roaring back making its appearance conspicuously in numerous scientific articles. From the arguments presented here, it would appear that the legendary Schrödinger's cat is here to stay, symbolizing a profound truth that quantum reality exists at all scales; but we do not observe it in our daily macroscopic world as it is masked for all practical purposes, most likely by environmental decoherence with irreversible thermal effects. Quanta 2017; 6: 70–80.http://quanta.ws/ojs/index.php/quanta/article/view/68
spellingShingle Mani L. Bhaumik
Is Schrödinger's Cat Alive?
Quanta
title Is Schrödinger's Cat Alive?
title_full Is Schrödinger's Cat Alive?
title_fullStr Is Schrödinger's Cat Alive?
title_full_unstemmed Is Schrödinger's Cat Alive?
title_short Is Schrödinger's Cat Alive?
title_sort is schrodinger s cat alive
url http://quanta.ws/ojs/index.php/quanta/article/view/68
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