Editing Schrodingers Cat (section)

== Why This Works ==

The Schrodinger's Cat Paradox is a classic thought puzzle in Quantum Mechanics. Suppose we put a cat inside of a box which contains a special detector. This detector has a 50% chance of being triggered over the course of an hour. If the detector is triggered, it will open a vial of poison inside the box, instantly killing the cat. If it is not triggered, then the cat will be unharmed. After waiting an hour, before opening the box, is the cat alive or dead? The answer is that the cat would be in both states, alive and dead simultaneously, while the box is still closed.

This thought puzzle may sound silly when applied to living things, but on the atomic scale this theory of being in multiple states is well proven. ''Multi-State Theory'' is the tendency for atomic particles to be in multiple energy states simultaneously, without gaining or losing energy. When a particle, such as an electron, is in multiple states, it is said to be in a ''Superposition'' between states. This superposition lasts until the particle is observed or measured, since the act of measuring the state of the particle adds energy to the system. This causes the superposition to collapse, and the particle locks into a single state.

When our volunteer is in the covered box, we can pretend that they are in an unobserved state. This means that while they are in there, before we try to observe or measure their state of having a cat or a hat on their head, they would have both the cat and the hat on their head. Our volunteer represents an atomic particle in this respect, since they are unobserved and therefore should be in both states at the same time. However, once we take the cover off and open the lid, we are then observing the system. This collapses the superposition of our volunteer, and so they will end up with either a cat or a hat on their head.