Posted Nov 14, 2000 by Rev. mojo, The Ineffable
Interstingly, the heisenberg uncertainty principle was only supposed to be noticable on a subatomic level, but was later evidenced to have definite effects on a macroatomic level.
This was first postulated by Schrodinger, whose infamous cat got off to an uncertain start. Schrodinger hypothesized that if you were to seal a cat off in a box, with a vial containing some radioactive substance, and set it up so that after an hour, one molecule of the substance were to have a fifty percent chance of decay. Molecular decay is uncertain on a subatomic level. Because of this, A cat, clearly macromolecular, could die from subatomic interactions.
The implications are not yet fully understood, but Einstein posed the concept of the hidden variable, meaning that the subatomic interactions were guided by some variable that we are as of yet unaware, but that would eliminate randomness.
The main issue is that the equations and their practical applications are not in dispute, but their interpretations. All quantum equations in the cat situation are in dispute, and can be seen to mean that there are two cats, no cats, one real cat and one extraneous cat, two universes, a cat in some suspended state until the box is opened at so forth.
Interesting Non-fiction on this: Searching for Scrodinger's Cat
Interesting Fiction loosely based on this: The Schrodinger's Cat Trilogy, by Robert Anton Wilson
Reverend mojo, The Ineffable
|
 
|  | |
|
|
|
|
Key |  |  |
A: An older reply to the parent Posting
B: The parent Posting, to which this is a reply
C: A newer reply to the parent posting
D: The first reply to this Posting
| | |
Click on this icon to make a complaint about a specific Posting | |
Home
Reply
