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highwaystar101 on 19 May 2009
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Soleron said:
highwaystar101 said:

No, but I do know of schrodinger cat and the basic idea I think. It's where he said quantum mechanicals aren't as excluse as they seem and if you put as cat in a box with a device that releases poison when it monitors quantum fluctuations then quantum mechanics has a larger effect than people may think. Is that the right one?

I read Stephen Hawkins universe in a nutshell once, but I'm not sure if I completely understood half of it. More or less my complete understanding of physics has come from (braces self) reading Focus magazine once a month and the occasional issue of new scientist if something interesting is on the cover lol.

Well, the book is about a lot more than just that. And it's very accessible. Maybe your local library has it?

You're sort of right with your understanding. The actual thought experiment (obviously it is not a real experiment) is that the standard interpretation of quantum mechanics says that the cat is both alive and dead at the same time. It is intended to demonstrate how far removed quantum logic is from classical physics logic.

Science magazines are good but tend to either assume a lot (in which case you don't get a full understanding) or nothing (in which case it's dumbed down to the the point of lying).

In any case, having a good understanding of science has a practical use in being able to look at claims on TV or adverts and decide whether they are plausible.

 

Mm, my local library wont have that book (it has a book written by mylene klass and a load about spiritualism in the science section, that gives you an idea of the kind of library it is lol), but Birmingham library will, so I'll check it out when I finish uni (yay, after four LONG years) in two weeks because I plan to do nothing but read for a whole week. It will be good if it's accessable, so I have a plan now.

mmm, magazines aren't 100% accurate I find. I mostly buy it as a reading digest, something I can dip into whenever I feel like and science is good for that kind of stuff.