IDTIMWYTIM: Schrodinger's Cat

"I Don't Think It Means What You Think It Means" examines scientific theories that have taken on a life of their own in popular culture & we help you understand what they really mean in scientific terms. Today we take on Schrodinger's Cat, the famous thought experiment by Austrian physicist Erwin Schrodinger.

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References for this episode can be found in the Google document here:
http://dft.ba/-2DJZ

schrodinger, schrodinger's cat, physics, physicist, austria, einstein, newtonian physics, quantum mechanics, subatomic particles, superposition, thought experiment, observation, zombie, alive, dead, many worlds, alternate universe, universe, science fiction, theory, theoretical, radioactive, radiation, geiger counter

• Category

  Education

[Aegis Nova]

Schrodinger's Cat: Wanted dead and alive! :D



[1995magnus]

Schrodinger's cat wanted dead AND alive

[excel2037]

Don't say the cat isn't subject to quantum mechanics, because it's literally made of them. Say the cat is too large for quantum effects to be easily visible.

[Omar Jain]

I'm always trying to explain these to people, I'll just show them this video now, jajaj. By the way, I laughed when you said that the theory of the multiple universes is your favorite because it makes good science fiction because thats the reason I like it too, jaja.

[ArcesseEum]

The cat is an observer.

[DsyelxicBob]

Multiverses fuck with your head don't they?

[John Lovén]

You say that in the Many Worlds theory, after the experiment, there is one universe in which the cat is alive and one in which the cat is dead.

Shouldn't there be an INFINITE number of universes in which the cat is alive and an INFINITE number in which it is dead?

[Qu35s710n3v3ry741n9]

I am curious, why is the cat never really considered an observer and therefore having it's own affect on quantum reality while inside the box?

[Qu35s710n3v3ry741n9]

If it were in a glass box then we would be able to observe it, which gets rid of the entire point of the possibility of superposition.

[Grant Hillis]

Why do gosts only come out at night

[JustAddMercury]

Wait! Wait! Wait! Why don't we put a cat in a GLASS BOX?!?!?!?1

There! I just solved physics!!! NOBEL PRIZE PLEASE!!!!!

[Jason Meyer]

IDEA FOR IDTIMWYTIM SEMANTICS YOU DECIDE WHAT I'M SAYING! lol