Related papers: Schr\"odinger's Man
The superposition principle is at the heart of quantum mechanics and at the root of many paradoxes arising when trying to extend its predictions to our everyday world. Schroedinger's cat is the prototype of such paradoxes and here, in…
In this lecture, intended for a general audience, I describe Schr\"odinger's thought experiment which was designed to show the strange results of extending the formalism of quantum theory, particularly the idea of superposition, beyond the…
The question whether quantum mechanics is complete and the nature of the transition between quantum mechanics and classical mechanics have intrigued physicists for decades. There have been many experimental breakthroughs in creating larger…
We discuss the idea that superpositions in quantum mechanics may involve contradictions or contradictory properties. A state of superposition such as the one comprised in the famous Schr\"odinger's cat, for instance, is sometimes said to…
In the absence of a fully-fledged theory of quantum gravity, we propose a "bottom-up" framework for exploring quantum-gravitational physics by pairing two of the most fundamental concepts of quantum theory and general relativity, namely…
Parallel worlds are imaginative ideas in quantum mechanics and cosmology. The superpositions of parallel worlds are novel states of quantum gravity and have no classical correspondences generally. In this letter, we investigate the…
The most striking feature of quantum mechanics is the existence of superposition states, where an object appears to be in different situations at the same time. The existence of such states has been tested with small objects, like atoms,…
Schr\"odinger's cat is an iconic example for the problem of the transition from the microscopic quantum world to the macroscopic, classical one. It opened many interesting questions such as, could a macroscopic superposition like a dead and…
This essay considers a model quantum universe consisting of a very large box containing a screen with two slits and an observer (us) that can pass though the slits. We apply the modern quantum mechanics of closed systems to calculate the…
Quantum superpositions of distinct coherent states in a single-mode harmonic oscillator, known as "cat states", have been an elegant demonstration of Schrodinger's famous cat paradox. Here, we realize a two-mode cat state of electromagnetic…
We introduce the `Complete Wave Function' and deduce that all living beings, not just Schroedinger's cat, are actually described by a superposition of `alive' and `dead' quantum states; otherwise they would never die. Therefore this…
Schr\"odinger's cat originates from the famous thought experiment querying the counterintuitive quantum superposition of macroscopic objects. As a natural extension, several "cats" (quasi-classical objects) can be prepared into coherent…
The quantum superposition principle is a cornerstone of physics and at the heart of many quantum technologies. Yet, it is still often regarded counterintuitive because we do not observe its key features on the macroscopic scales of our…
Human beings do not observe the world from the outside, but rather are fully embedded in it. The sciences, however, often give the observer both a "god's eye" perspective and substantial a~priori knowledge. Motivated by W. Ross Ashby's…
The iconic Schr\"odinger's cat state describes a system that may be in a superposition of two macroscopically distinct states, for example two clearly separated oscillator coherent states. Quite apart from their role in understanding the…
The superposition principle is one of the most fundamental principles of quantum mechanics. According to the Schr\"odinger equation, a physical system can be in any linear combination of its possible states. While the validity of this…
It has been argued that when black holes are treated as quantum systems there are implications at the horizon and not just the singularity. Infalling observers will meet a firewall of high energy quanta. We argue that the question of…
Superpositions of macroscopically distinct quantum states, introduced in Schroedinger's famous Gedankenexperiment, are an epitome of quantum "strangeness" and a natural tool for determining the validity limits of quantum physics. The…
What if we delegated so much to autonomous AI and intelligent machines that They passed a law that forbids humans to carry out a number of professions? We conceive the plot of a new episode of Black Mirror to reflect on what might await us…
Schr\"odinger's famous Gedankenexperiment has inspired multiple generations of physicists to think about apparent paradoxes that arise when the logic of quantum physics is applied to macroscopic objects. The development of quantum…