A reader (Helen) has written to me about the expression ‘Schrödinger's Cat’.
That compound expression captures an intriguing idea—but one that many people struggle to understand.
It was coined in 1935 by German physicist Erwin Schrödinger in response to an article on quantum physics written Albert Eistein (and others).
Quantum physics is full of strange ideas that us non-scientists can never quite grasp.
For instance, there is Heisenberg’s ‘indeterminacy principle’ which says that it in sub-atomic physics to is possible to know the position of a sub-atomic particle, or to know the velocity at which it is moving, but not both.
This is because of the ‘measurement problem’—which seems to me (as far as I can work it out) to say that when a scientist starts using instruments to measure sub-atomic particles it changes them—making it impossible to know (to measure) where the particles were, or how fast they were travelling, before the scientists started measuring.
(Are you following me so far? If not, have a cup of coffee, and then come back and pick up the thread later.)
It seems to boil down to the realisation that in dealing with such tiny, little minute things as sub-atomic particles there is stuff that not only we don’t know, but that, given the nature of matter, we can’t know.
Hence ‘indeterminacy.’
Well, Schrödinger tried to expose this as farcical (at least I think that’s what he was up to) by transferring ‘indeterminacy’ from the minute, sub-atomic level, to the substantial physical level.
He created a thought experiment in which a cat was shut in a steel box with a flask of poison, a microscopic amount of nuclear material and a Geiger counter.
If the Geiger counter detects the decay of a single atom it will shatter the flask and kill the cat.
So, there you are, looking at this sealed steel box, so tell me—is the cat dead or alive?
That’s the problem of Schrödinger’s cat.
Schrödinger said that if you opened the box the cat would be either dead or alive; but until the box is opened the cat has a theoretical state of being both dead and alive.
There may be a more scientifically accurate way to summarise his thought experiment in just a few words—but that’s as close as I can get.
And the expression now has a life outside of physics.
If a politician is proposing trying a policy and is asked if it will make life better or worse for people, if he were honest he might say: ‘It’s like Schrödinger’s cat. We can’t know.’
(If there is a scientifically minded reader and can provide a shorter and clearer explanation—please send it in!)
I will be a panellist on "The Media Show" tonight on Sky News.
The latest edition of the podcast 'Word with Kel Richards' is now available (with the dateline 21st August) -- find by scrolling down this page, or from wherever you usually get your podcasts.
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The latest edition of Quadrant magazine is now in the newsagents -- including my article on 'Recognizing Racism".
The May-June issue of Australian Geographic is out now (with the tree frog on the cover) -- inside are my two small columns on 'Placenames' and 'Ozwords'.
If you'd like to see my A-Z list of Aussie slang, you'll find it here in the Australian Geographic website -- A-Z list of Aussie slang. Here’s the link: The A-Z of Aussie slang - Australian Geographic
The liveliest part of this website is usually the Q and A page -- be sure to check it out from time to time.
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