“Schrödinger’s cat”的概念、定义、翻译、参考文献-科学参考

Schrödinger’s cat

Physics

A thought experiment introduced by Erwin Schrödinger in 1935 to illustrate the paradox in quantum mechanics regarding the probability of finding, say, a subatomic particle at a specific point in space. According to Niels Bohr, the position of such a particle remains indeterminate until it has been observed. Schrödinger postulated a sealed vessel containing a live cat and a device triggered by a quantum event, such as the radioactive decay of a nucleus. If the quantum event occurs, cyanide is released and the cat dies; if the event does not occur the cat lives. Schrödinger argued that Bohr’s interpretation of events in quantum mechanics means that the cat could only be said to be alive or dead when the vessel has been opened and the situation inside it had been observed. This paradox has been extensively discussed since its introduction. It is currently thought that the concept of decoherence might resolve this paradox in a satisfactory way.

Wigner’s friend is a variation of the Schrödinger’s cat paradox in which a friend of the physicist Eugene Wigner (1902–95) is the first to look inside the vessel. The friend will either find a live or dead cat. However, if Professor Wigner has both the vessel with the cat and the friend in a closed room, the state of mind of the friend (happy if there is a live cat but sad if there is a dead cat) cannot be determined in Bohr’s interpretation of quantum mechanics until the professor has looked into the room although the friend has already looked at the cat. These paradoxes indicate the absurdity of the overstated roles of measurement and observation in Bohr’s interpretation of quantum mechanics.

Mathematics

A thought experiment devised by Schrödinger to highlight implications of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum theory. According to that interpretation, a wave function describes the superposition of states a particle is in until the particle is measured, which collapses the wave function. The experiment involves a cat in a box whose life or death is connected to the radioactive decay of a single atom. By the Copenhagen interpretation, the cat is simultaneously alive and dead until the box is opened, which Schrödinger considered absurd.

Philosophy

Celebrated animal introduced by the Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger (1887–1961) in 1935, in a thought experiment showing the strange nature of the world of quantum mechanics. The cat is thought of as locked in a box with a capsule of cyanide, which will break if a Geiger counter triggers. This will happen if an atom in a radioactive substance in the box decays, and there is a chance of 50% of such an event within an hour. Otherwise the cat is alive. The problem is that the system is in an indeterminate state. The wave function of the entire system is a ‘superposition’ of states, fully described by the probabilities of events occurring when it is eventually measured, and therefore ‘contains equal parts of the living and dead cat’. When we look and see we will find either an alive cat or a dead cat, but if it is only as we look that the wave packet collapses, quantum mechanics forces us to say that before we looked it was not true that the cat was dead and also not true that it was alive. The thought experiment makes vivid the difficulty of conceiving of quantum indeterminacies when these are translated to the familiar world of everyday objects.

单词	Schrödinger’s cat
释义	Schrödinger’s cat Physics A thought experiment introduced by Erwin Schrödinger in 1935 to illustrate the paradox in quantum mechanics regarding the probability of finding, say, a subatomic particle at a specific point in space. According to Niels Bohr, the position of such a particle remains indeterminate until it has been observed. Schrödinger postulated a sealed vessel containing a live cat and a device triggered by a quantum event, such as the radioactive decay of a nucleus. If the quantum event occurs, cyanide is released and the cat dies; if the event does not occur the cat lives. Schrödinger argued that Bohr’s interpretation of events in quantum mechanics means that the cat could only be said to be alive or dead when the vessel has been opened and the situation inside it had been observed. This paradox has been extensively discussed since its introduction. It is currently thought that the concept of decoherence might resolve this paradox in a satisfactory way. Wigner’s friend is a variation of the Schrödinger’s cat paradox in which a friend of the physicist Eugene Wigner (1902–95) is the first to look inside the vessel. The friend will either find a live or dead cat. However, if Professor Wigner has both the vessel with the cat and the friend in a closed room, the state of mind of the friend (happy if there is a live cat but sad if there is a dead cat) cannot be determined in Bohr’s interpretation of quantum mechanics until the professor has looked into the room although the friend has already looked at the cat. These paradoxes indicate the absurdity of the overstated roles of measurement and observation in Bohr’s interpretation of quantum mechanics. Mathematics A thought experiment devised by Schrödinger to highlight implications of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum theory. According to that interpretation, a wave function describes the superposition of states a particle is in until the particle is measured, which collapses the wave function. The experiment involves a cat in a box whose life or death is connected to the radioactive decay of a single atom. By the Copenhagen interpretation, the cat is simultaneously alive and dead until the box is opened, which Schrödinger considered absurd. Philosophy Celebrated animal introduced by the Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger (1887–1961) in 1935, in a thought experiment showing the strange nature of the world of quantum mechanics. The cat is thought of as locked in a box with a capsule of cyanide, which will break if a Geiger counter triggers. This will happen if an atom in a radioactive substance in the box decays, and there is a chance of 50% of such an event within an hour. Otherwise the cat is alive. The problem is that the system is in an indeterminate state. The wave function of the entire system is a ‘superposition’ of states, fully described by the probabilities of events occurring when it is eventually measured, and therefore ‘contains equal parts of the living and dead cat’. When we look and see we will find either an alive cat or a dead cat, but if it is only as we look that the wave packet collapses, quantum mechanics forces us to say that before we looked it was not true that the cat was dead and also not true that it was alive. The thought experiment makes vivid the difficulty of conceiving of quantum indeterminacies when these are translated to the familiar world of everyday objects.
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