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Schrödinger's Cat In Popular Culture
Schrödinger's cat is a thought experiment, usually described as a paradox, devised by Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger in 1935. It illustrates what he saw as absurdities in the views that other physicists had about quantum mechanics (ideas later labeled the Copenhagen interpretation), by applying them not to microscopic objects but to everyday ones. The thought experiment presents a cat that might be alive or dead, depending on an earlier random event. In the course of developing this experiment, he coined the term ''Verschränkung'' (Quantum entanglement, entanglement). It was not long before Science fiction, science-fiction writers picked up this evocative concept, often using it in a humorous vein. Works of fiction have employed Schrödinger's thought experiment as plot device and as metaphor, in genres from apocalyptic science fiction to young-adult drama, making the cat more prominent in Al Gore, popular culture than in physics itself. Schrödinger's cat has been a motive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Schrödinger's Kitten
"Schrödinger's Kitten" is a 1988 novelette by American writer George Alec Effinger, which won both a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award, as well as the Japanese Seiun Award. The story utilizes a form of the many-worlds hypothesis, and is named after the Schrödinger's cat thought experiment. It first appeared in '' Omni''. Plot summary The story follows a Middle-Eastern woman, Jehan Fatima Ashûfi, through various realities, ranging from one in which she is raped when still a girl, subsequently abandoned by her family and dies alone, to one in which she is sentenced to death for killing her would-be rapist and being unable to pay the "blood price" to his family, and another in which she becomes a physicist and companion to well-known German scientists ranging from Heisenberg to Schrödinger, and subsequently prevents the Nazis from developing nuclear weapons during World War II by simply forwarding "unintelligible scientific papers" to key politicians looking into the idea. She ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Physics In Fiction
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which relates to the order of nature, or, in other words, to the regular succession of events." Physics is one of the most fundamental scientific disciplines, with its main goal being to understand how the universe behaves. "Physics is one of the most fundamental of the sciences. Scientists of all disciplines use the ideas of physics, including chemists who study the structure of molecules, paleontologists who try to reconstruct how dinosaurs walked, and climatologists who study how human activities affect the atmosphere and oceans. Physics is also the foundation of all engineering and technology. No engineer could design a flat-screen TV, an interplanetary spacecraft, or even a better mousetrap without first understanding the basic laws of physics. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Interpretations Of Quantum Mechanics
An interpretation of quantum mechanics is an attempt to explain how the mathematical theory of quantum mechanics might correspond to experienced reality. Although quantum mechanics has held up to rigorous and extremely precise tests in an extraordinarily broad range of experiments, there exist a number of contending schools of thought over their interpretation. These views on interpretation differ on such fundamental questions as whether quantum mechanics is deterministic or stochastic, which elements of quantum mechanics can be considered real, and what the nature of measurement is, among other matters. Despite nearly a century of debate and experiment, no consensus has been reached among physicists and philosophers of physics concerning which interpretation best "represents" reality. History The definition of quantum theorists' terms, such as ''wave function'' and ''matrix mechanics'', progressed through many stages. For instance, Erwin Schrödinger originally viewed the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Schrödinger's Cat Trilogy
The ''Schrödinger's Cat Trilogy'' is a trilogy of novels by American writer Robert Anton Wilson consisting of ''The Universe Next Door'' (1979), ''The Trick Top Hat'' (1980), and ''The Homing Pigeons'' (1981), each illustrating a different interpretation of quantum physics. They were collected into an omnibus edition in 1988. Wilson is also co-author of ''The Illuminatus! Trilogy'' (1975), and ''Schrödinger's Cat'' is a sequel of sorts, re-using several of the same characters and carrying on many of the themes of the earlier work. The name Schrödinger's Cat comes from a thought experiment in quantum mechanics. The first book, ''The Universe Next Door'', takes place in different universes in accord with the many worlds interpretation of quantum physics; in the second, ''The Trick Top Hat'', characters are unknowingly connected through non-locality, i.e., having once crossed paths they are joined in quantum entanglement; and the third book, ''The Homing Pigeons'', places chara ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Anton Wilson
Robert Anton Wilson (born Robert Edward Wilson; January 18, 1932 – January 11, 2007) was an American author, futurist, psychologist, and self-described agnostic mystic. Recognized within Discordianism as an Episkopos, pope and saint, Wilson helped publicize Discordianism through his writings and interviews. Wilson described his work as an "attempt to break down conditioned associations, to look at the world in a new way, with many models recognized as models or maps, and no one model elevated to the truth". His goal was "to try to get people into a state of generalized agnosticism, not agnosticism about God alone but agnosticism about everything." In addition to writing several science-fiction novels, Wilson also wrote non-fiction books on extrasensory perception, mental telepathy, metaphysics, paranormal experiences, conspiracy theory, sex, drugs and what Wilson called " quantum psychology". Following a career in journalism and as an editor, notably for ''Playboy'', Wilso ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rudy Rucker
Rudolf von Bitter Rucker (; born March 22, 1946) is an American mathematician, computer scientist, science fiction author, and one of the founders of the cyberpunk literary movement. The author of both fiction and non-fiction, he is best known for the novels in the Ware Tetralogy, the first two of which (''Software'' and '' Wetware'') both won Philip K. Dick Awards. Until its closure in 2014 he edited the science fiction webzine '' Flurb''. Early life Rucker was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, son of Embry Cobb Rucker Sr (October 1, 1914 - August 1, 1994), who ran a small furniture-manufacture company and later became an Episcopal priest and community activist, and Marianne (née von Bitter). The Rucker family were of Huguenot descent. Through his mother, he is a great-great-great-grandson of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Rucker attended St. Xavier High School before earning a BA in mathematics from Swarthmore College (1967) and MS (1969) and PhD (1973) degrees ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Universe 5
''Universe 5'' is an anthology of original science fiction short stories edited by Terry Carr, the fifth volume in the seventeen-volume Universe anthology series. It was first published in hardcover by Random House in November 1974, with a Science Fiction Book Club edition following from the same publisher in April 1975, a paperback edition from Popular Library in March 1976, and a British hardcover edition from Dennis Dobson in September 1978. The book collects twelve novelettes and short stories by various science fiction authors. Contents * " If This Is Winnetka, You Must Be Judy" (F. M. Busby) * "Schrödinger's Cat" (Ursula K. Le Guin) * " How It Felt" ( Geo. Alec Effinger) * " The Night Is Cold, the Stars Are Far Away" (Mildred Downey Broxon) * " Mysterious Doings in the Metropolitan Museum" (Fritz Leiber) * " M Is for the Many" ( J. J. Russ) * "The Night Wind" (Edgar Pangborn) * " Survival Problems" (Kris Neville) * " Passion Play" ( J. Michael Reaves) * " The Rubber Bend" ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ursula K
Ursula may refer to: * Ursula (name), feminine name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * ''Ursula'' (album), an album by American jazz pianist Mal Waldron *Ursula (crater), a crater on Titania, a moon of Uranus *Ursula (detention center), processing facility for unaccompanied minors in McAllen, Texas *Ursula (The Little Mermaid), a fictional character who appears in ''The Little Mermaid'' (1989) *Ursula Channel, body of water in British Columbia, Canada * 375 Ursula, a large main-belt asteroid * HMS ''Ursula'', a destroyer and two submarines that served with the Royal Navy *Tropical Storm Ursula (other), a typhoon, two cyclones, and a tropical depression, all in the Pacific Ocean * Ursula, signals intelligence system used by the Finnish Defence Intelligence Agency See also *Saint Ursula *Urszula Urszula may refer to: * Franciszka Urszula Radziwiłłowa (1705–1753), Polish-Lithuania-Belarusian noble dramatist and writer * Urszula Augustyn (born 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Omni (magazine)
''Omni'' was a science and science fiction magazine published in its domestic American market as well as the UK. It contained articles on science, parapsychology, and short works of science fiction and fantasy. It was published as a print version between October 1978 and 1995. The first ''Omni'' e-magazine was published on CompuServe in 1986 and the magazine switched to a purely online presence in 1996. It ceased publication abruptly in late 1997, following the death of co-founder Kathy Keeton; activity on the magazine's website ended the following April. History Concept ''Omni'' was founded by Kathy Keeton and her long-time collaborator and future husband Bob Guccione, the publisher of ''Penthouse'' magazine. The initial concept came from Keeton, who wanted a magazine "that explored all realms of science and the paranormal, that delved into all corners of the unknown and projected some of those discoveries into fiction". Dick Teresi, an author and former ''Good Housekeeping'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Alec Effinger
George Alec Effinger (January 10, 1947 – April 27, 2002) was an American list of science fiction authors, science fiction author, born in Cleveland, Ohio. Writing career Effinger was a part of the Clarion Workshop, Clarion class of 1970 and had three stories in the first Clarion anthology. His first published story was "The Eight-Thirty to Nine Slot" in ''Fantastic (magazine), Fantastic'' in 1971. During his early period, he also published under a variety of pseudonyms. His first novel, ''What Entropy Means to Me'' (1972), was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel, Nebula Award. He achieved his greatest success with the trilogy of Marîd Audran novels set in a 22nd-century Middle East, with cybernetic implants and modules allowing individuals to change their personalities or bodies. The novels are in fact set in a thinly veiled version of the French Quarter of New Orleans. The three published novels were ''When Gravity Fails'' (1987), ''A Fire in the Sun'' (1989), a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Schrödinger's Cat
In quantum mechanics, Schrödinger's cat is a thought experiment that illustrates a paradox of quantum superposition. In the thought experiment, a hypothetical cat may be considered simultaneously both alive and dead, while it is unobserved in a closed box, as a result of its fate being linked to a random subatomic event that may or may not occur. This thought experiment was devised by physicist Erwin Schrödinger in 1935, in a discussion with Albert Einstein, to illustrate what Schrödinger saw as the problems of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics. The scenario is often featured in theoretical discussions of the interpretations of quantum mechanics, particularly in situations involving the measurement problem. Origin and motivation Schrödinger intended his thought experiment as a discussion of the EPR article—named after its authors Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen—in 1935. The EPR article highlighted the counterintuitive nature of quantum superposition ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
