Schrödinger's Cat

Dead AND Alive

Greetings, Friends,

In this edition, we'll delve into the intriguing realm of quantum mechanics, with a particular focus on Schrödinger's cat. What drew me to this topic isn't just my fascination with the concept itself, but also the captivating story behind it.

Let’s start by answering the riddle posed in the previous issue: "If 'yes' means 'no' and 'once' means 'never,' how many sides does a triangle have?" The answer to this riddle is 2. Here's the explanation: We can solve this riddle by converting the words into numbers. If we code "yes" or the presence of something as one, and its absence or "no" as zero, we can express "yes means no" as "1 equals 0," and "once means never" as "1 equals 0." Therefore, the riddle can be written as "If 1 equals 0, how many sides does a triangle have?" The answer is 2.

Erwin Schrödinger's thought experiment unfolds like this: Imagine placing a cat inside a sealed box alongside a radioactive substance with a 50% chance of lethality within an hour. Until the box is opened, two possibilities persist—either the cat is alive or the cat is dead. However, according to Schrödinger, until observed, the cat exists in a state known as superposition. In this peculiar state, the cat simultaneously inhabits both the realms of life and death. This intriguing notion illustrates that an object can exist in multiple states until observed or measured. This concept also ties into the observer effect, a topic we'll explore in a future episode.

Interestingly, Erwin Schrödinger originally proposed this scenario as a way to highlight what he considered the absurdity of this concept. Yet, paradoxically, it became one of the most renowned and enduring thought experiments in the realm of quantum mechanics.

Photo by 乐融 高 on Unsplash

Quote of the week:

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.”

We always have to work hard; we have to live life. If you sit down after facing defeat, the balance of life gets disrupted. Difficulties come. Life brings both difficulties and joys. You can't just remain happy, and not just be sad; it's a balance in life. If you don't maintain that balance and try to go only towards happiness or, on the other hand, get too depressed and lean towards sadness, you will have an accident; it will become difficult. That's why, with a balance of happiness and sorrow, keep moving, and keep working hard so that life keeps going, and you stay happy. (Credits to Maha Saeed)

In life, we face different situations and different scenarios. It's not the same everywhere. We go through various changes, and in those changes, we need to ensure that we maintain the balance of our emotions and our attitude. We need to keep moving, adjusting to whatever circumstances we face. That's what life is – in one moment, there's something, and in another, there's something else. Even if it's my worst night, it will end eventually. It's not that time will stop or if it's my happiest night, it will also end. You shouldn't get stuck there because that's where our failing moment occurs. (Credits to Fatima Shahbaz)