New adventures with Schrödinger's cat: The role of statistical uncertainty in stabilizing measurement

Maguire, Phil and Maguire, Rebecca (2017) New adventures with Schrödinger's cat: The role of statistical uncertainty in stabilizing measurement. Physics Essays, 30 (2). pp. 232-237. ISSN 2371-2236

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Abstract

We reopen Erwin Schrödinger's thought experiment involving a cat in an informationally impenetrable box. A common view is that the cat enters a superposition of alive/dead because of a lack of observation, leading to uncertainty about the state of the cat. We, on the other hand, argue that the cat only enters a superposition if everything about the cat is known prior to the box being closed. The superposition results from a lack of uncertainty inside the box. Rather than interpreting this state of affairs as a live and dead cat interacting with each other, we suggest that the more natural interpretation is that of an inability to precisely position events within spacetime due to the lack of uncertainty. We clarify how stable measurement depends on a diversified portfolio of statistical uncertainty, and how the lack of such uncertainty in Schrödinger's box precludes stabilization.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > Psychology H Social Sciences > HA Statistics
Divisions:	School of Business > Staff Research and Publications
Depositing User:	Caoimhe Ní Mhaicín
Date Deposited:	19 Jul 2017 13:13
Last Modified:	19 Jul 2017 13:15
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/2560

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