Erwin Schrödinger was an Austrian physicist and philosopher known for his important contributions to the fields of quantum mechanics, which studies how to describe nature at small spatial scales , and in thermodynamics, the branch of physics that studies equilibrium states. thermodynamic at the macroscopic level . He received the Nobel Prize in Physics for having developed the equation that bears his name. In addition, after having exchanged views in letter with Albert Einstein for a time, he devised an imaginary experiment known as Schröringer’s cat paradox .
The famous experiment was conceived to illustrate the paradoxes and contradictions towards which quantum physics was derived. In it, there is a system consisting of a closed opaque box that contains a cat, a poisonous vial and a device that contains a radioactive particle with a 50% probability of disintegrating . If this happened, the disintegrated particle would cause the venom to be released and the cat to die. The probability that the cat is alive or dead is 50% in both cases and the only way to find out what has happened is to open the box. Schrödinger claimed that until the moment the box was opened, the cat would be “alive and dead at the same time .”
This statement, difficult to understand at first glance, expresses a basic concept in quantum physics: wave-particle duality , which explains the behavior of the electron as a particle and a wave, producing a superposition of states until it is observed. Over time, new interpretations have emerged for Schrödinger’s experiment and even theories that stand on its very principles. One of the lines of scientific thought that the Austrian paradox has affected is the interpretation of the many worlds , in which there are two parallel realities in which the cat is dead in one and alive in the other. Both realities are occurring at the same time and therefore both are real but there is no possibility that they will interact with each other or interfere with each other.
Schrödinger’s experiment is probably one of the best known and most widespread scientific exemplifications in the world, although it is difficult to understand due to the nonsense that the superposition of ‘alive’ and ‘dead’ supposes in itself. The series ‘The Big Bang Theory ‘ has contributed enormously to this popularization, in which numerous mentions and references are made more easily. The character of Sheldon Cooper , played by actor Jim Parsons, poses everyday situations in which Schrödinger’s experiment could be applied. The well-known animated series ‘ Rick and Morty ‘ is based on the interpretation of the many worlds as the main plot of a story full of alternate realities that unfold simultaneously.
