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Originally Posted by article
These atoms were each spinning clockwise and counterclockwise at the same time. Moreover, like miniature Rockettes, they were all doing whatever it was they were doing together, in perfect synchrony.
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Funny, "
like miniature Rockettes" is exactly how Donatello visualizes quantum particles.
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Originally Posted by Gwgtrunks
Be warned, it may break your brain.
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Einstein commented, "On quantum theory, I use up more brain grease than on relativity." My brain hurts less if I imagine these particles to be spinning in opposite
mathematical directions rather than physical directions (even if they are).
Good article. Tad confusing.
The "cat state" refers to the famous "
Schrödinger's cat" thought experiment, which was intended to show that, according to the math, all states exist at the same time and also that such a thing is crazy. The cat is equally alive and dead, or in this case it's spinning in both directions. This impossibility may be attributed to the our sketchy understanding of quantum mechanics... which is what the physicists quarrel about in the article. Either these things really ARE happening or we're missing something.
"I don't like it, and I'm sorry I ever had anything to do with it." -- Erwin Schrödinger