DC Tom Posted November 8, 2010 Share Posted November 8, 2010 I'm unable to determine the exact day, 75 years ago this month Erwin Schrodinger published "The Present Situation in Quantum Mechanics" in Naturwissenschaften, in which he wrote A cat is penned up in a steel chamber, along with the following device (which must be secured against direct interference by the cat): in a Geiger counter there is a tiny bit of radioactive substance, so small, that perhaps in the course of the hour one of the atoms decays, but also, with equal probability, perhaps none; if it happens, the counter tube discharges and through a relay releases a hammer which shatters a small flask of hydrocyanic acid. If one has left this entire system to itself for an hour, one would say that the cat still lives if meanwhile no atom has decayed. The psi-function of the entire system would express this by having in it the living and dead cat (pardon the expression) mixed or smeared out in equal parts. Yes, Schrodinger's cat may or may not be 75 years old this month, depending on whether or not the thing is still alive. (Yes, most of you don't care. /dev/null, this is mostly for you.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted November 8, 2010 Share Posted November 8, 2010 I'm unable to determine the exact day, 75 years ago this month Erwin Schrodinger published "The Present Situation in Quantum Mechanics" in Naturwissenschaften, in which he wrote Yes, Schrodinger's cat may or may not be 75 years old this month, depending on whether or not the thing is still alive. (Yes, most of you don't care. /dev/null, this is mostly for you.) In the classic game of Nethack (maybe as far back as Hack), you can occasionally find a box in the dungeon and when you open it, there's a 50/50 chance of finding a dead cat... http://nethack.wikia.com/wiki/Housecat "The famous "Schrödinger's Cat" can sometimes be found in a quantum mechanic's large box - either dead or alive. Just as in quantum physics, its state is determined only the moment you observe it. " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted November 8, 2010 Share Posted November 8, 2010 (Yes, most of you don't care. /dev/null, this is mostly for you.) Good find Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nanker Posted November 8, 2010 Share Posted November 8, 2010 So, in football parlance, The Bills have an equal chance of having a perfect 16-0 season and simultaneously having a perfect 0-16 season, as long as they play all their games within the S orbital. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted November 9, 2010 Author Share Posted November 9, 2010 So, in football parlance, The Bills have an equal chance of having a perfect 16-0 season and simultaneously having a perfect 0-16 season, as long as they play all their games within the S orbital. You're forgetting the principle of "Schrodinger's Linebacker": lining Kelsay up at outside linebacker collapses the probability function of every game to a loss... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
/dev/null Posted November 9, 2010 Share Posted November 9, 2010 You're forgetting the principle of "Schrodinger's Linebacker": lining Kelsay up at outside linebacker collapses the probability function of every game to a loss... And lest we forget the Maybin coefficient. He's there at the game but at the same time he's not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC Tom Posted November 9, 2010 Author Share Posted November 9, 2010 And lest we forget the Maybin coefficient. He's there at the game but at the same time he's not At least we've solved the Edwards Uncertainty Principle: a WR and a football may not occupy the same space at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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