Re: OT: Perl is good for Conlang :)

On Sat, 5 Jan 2002, John-Emmanuel wrote:

> Clint Jackson Baker ghItlh:
>
> > --I've heard of Schroedinger's Cat in philosophical
> > reference but don't know what that's all about.
> > Please fill me in.
>
> Well, put a cat and vial of poison into a box and close it.  Is the cat dead
> or alive?  You won't know till you open the box, so the cat is actually both
> dead and alive while in the box.  Hence the joke :)
> I tend to think of it more from a quantum mechanics perspective.....
The original S.'s cat involves quantum mechanics.  Certain principles of
quantum mechanics state that a subatomic particle is in all possible
states until it is observed, at which time it collapses into one state.
There are experiments (the so-called "double slit experiment") that prove
this.

So S. said, "Okay, fine, wise guy.  I take a cat.  I put him in a box with
a phial of poison.  I hook up a sample of uranium to a detector.  If the
uranium emits a photon (a quantum event) in a certain period of time, a
hammer falls and breaks the phial.  Is the cat dead or alive?"

According to quantum mechanics, the answer is yes.  Until you open the
box, the cat exists as both dead and alive.  But also according to quantum
mechanics, quantum laws never apply to anything larger than subatomic.

Or at least, so I understnad it.

--Pat


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Prurio modo viri qui in arbore pilosa est.
                        ~~Elvis

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Reply