1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 603: Come out! The fourth beast of physics! Bruce's cat! Alive and dead! Shocking everyone!
In the conference room.

Everyone was surprised.

Lord Kelvin's "Two Clouds" speech has almost become a landmark event in the field of physics.

It was not only the famous battle of the contemporary scientific legend, but also the opening ceremony of modern physics.

The story of the bet between Lord Kelvin and Professor Bruce has been widely circulated.

Professor Bruce Lee single-handedly tore apart two dark clouds and let the light of truth shine in the sky of science.

The two dark clouds gave birth to two great theories, relativity and quantum mechanics.

And now, the other party actually saw a dark cloud above quantum mechanics.

The bigwigs present suddenly felt a sense of karma and reincarnation, and that fate was playing tricks on people.

“Is there going to be another Bruce Lee?”

"Will quantum mechanics give rise to higher-level theories?"

The younger generation, including Dirac, Heisenberg, and Fermi, received the most attention.

If there really is the next Bruce Lee, he will probably be one of these young geniuses.

However, I am very curious, are there any remaining problems in quantum mechanics?

"What we just discussed shouldn't be considered a dark cloud."

After being stunned for a moment, Lorenz quickly reacted.

He said humorously:

"Bruce, then hurry up and share."

"I hope your dark cloud can change physics again."

"I'm still waiting for a young man to appear who can defeat you, just like when you challenged Lord Kelvin."

Everyone smiled knowingly, and then their faces were filled with anticipation.

What kind of surprise will Professor Bruce bring at the end of the meeting?
Li Qiwei looked around with deep eyes and said:

“The dark clouds I’m talking about can be summed up in three key words.”

“Micro, macro, consciousness.”

Wow!
Everyone didn't know how serious it was.

Just three words tell you that this dark cloud is definitely not simple.

"As we all know, quantum mechanics is a theory applied in the microscopic field."

“Electrons, photons, atomic nuclei, and even atoms and molecules are all microscopic particles.”

"The behavior of these microscopic particles can be described by quantum mechanics."

“But here comes the problem.”

"How small is microscopic? How large is macroscopic?"

“What is the dividing line between micro and macro?”

"One atom is definitely a microscopic system, but is a system composed of a thousand atoms also a microscopic system?"

"If a thousand atoms are not macroscopic, what about ten thousand atoms?"

“It’s hard to say what the answer is.”

“But it’s also very important.”

"Because this is about the scope of application of quantum mechanics."

Wow!
Everyone exclaimed!

They never considered this "simple question".

When physicists discuss issues on the micro and macro scales, they almost subconsciously assume that there is a clear distinction between the two.

Atoms and molecules are definitely microscopic; celestial bodies such as apples are definitely macroscopic.

But if we really want to give a strict definition, it seems impossible when we think about it carefully.

This is a bit like a philosophical proposition: "How many grains of sand must be gathered together to be considered a desert?"

Can't answer!

But some people don't care.

At this time, Heisenberg said:

"Professor, I think the boundary between micro and macro does not affect the use of quantum mechanics."

“Macroscopic matter itself is composed of microscopic particles, and their properties are the superposition of countless microscopic quantum properties.”

"It's like the relationship between the vibration of a single atom and temperature."

"For systems that cannot be handled by quantum mechanics, they can be handled by macroscopic concepts, which does not mean that there is a problem with quantum mechanics."

Many people nodded after listening.

Heisenberg's point of view makes sense.

Newtonian mechanics is an approximation of relativity at low speeds.

So is it possible that Newtonian mechanics is also an approximation of quantum mechanics in macroscopic conditions?

Or, Newtonian mechanics deals with the motion of individual particles very accurately, but it cannot handle the irregular motion of large numbers of particles.

At this time, the problem can be solved by introducing probability and state equation.

The distinction between quantum mechanics at the microscopic and macroscopic levels may be similar.

But could it be that Professor Bruce doesn't understand such a simple truth?

impossible!
Li Qiwei smiled slightly and said:

"Until yesterday, I thought the same as Heisenberg."

"But then something Schrödinger said inspired me and made me think more deeply."

ha?
Schrödinger was stunned for a moment.

"Is it related to me?"

"What did I say yesterday?"

"I do not know how?"

Not only him, everyone didn't understand what it meant.

Li Qiwei said:
“Let’s not talk about Schrödinger for now.”

"According to the current interpretation of quantum mechanics, the essence of the world is probability, and quantum systems are in a superposition state before they are measured."

"Once observed and measured, the quantum system undergoes wave function collapse and becomes a definite eigenstate."

"In the microscopic field, there is nothing wrong with these theories and they are well applied."

"However, if these concepts are introduced into the macroscopic world, a logical paradox will arise."

“I want to illustrate my point with a thought experiment.”

Wow!
People's curiosity grew stronger and stronger.

This dark cloud is definitely no small matter.

Professor Bruce has laid so much groundwork, but it hasn't been formally mentioned yet.

While drawing the schematic diagram, Li Qiwei continued:
"Suppose there is a box now, and put the following things into the box one by one."

"First, you put in a radioactive atom whose decay time fits the probabilistic explanation."

"That is, at any moment the radioactive atom could decay and emit a particle."

"According to the principles of quantum mechanics, when we are not observing this radioactive atom, it is in a superposition state of emitting and not emitting."

"Then put in a Geiger counter, which can detect particles and tell whether the radioactive atom has decayed."

"Then, there was a mechanism attached to the end of the Geiger counter that controlled a hammer with a bottle of poison gas underneath it."

"If the Geiger counter detected the decay of the atom, it would activate the mechanism, causing the hammer to drop and break the gas bottle."

"Once the poison gas in the gas bottle leaks out, it is enough to kill any living thing."

"Finally, put a lively cat in the box and close the box."

“As shown in the picture.”

“The preparations for the thought experiment are complete.”

Wow!
Most people were completely confused.

There are atoms, hammers, poison gas, and even a kitten.

“This doesn’t feel like a physics experiment, does it?”

"What on earth is Professor Bruce going to do?"

“What does this have to do with quantum mechanics?”

However, Einstein, Bohr and others looked solemn, as they knew that things were becoming complicated.

Schrödinger looked shocked, and a flash of inspiration came to his mind. He always felt that this thought experiment was very familiar.

It was as if it had appeared in his dreams before.

Then he smiled bitterly again.

"What am I thinking about?"

"It seems that I am too tired from the meetings these days." "After the meeting, I have to go talk to my kitten."

Ridgeway continued:
"The moment the box was closed, something incredible happened."

"Until we open the box and observe, we don't know whether the atoms have decayed."

“It’s in a superposition of decay and not decay.”

"Similarly, the Geiger counter is in a superposition of detecting a particle and not detecting a particle."

"The mechanical device is in a superposition state of being activated and not activated."

"The hammer is in a superposition of falling and not falling."

"The gas bottle is in a superposition state of being broken and unbroken."

Suddenly, Li Qiwei raised his voice and said exaggeratedly:
"Then the cat at this moment is in a superposition state of life and death!"

“Life and death in the macroscopic world are a contradictory state with absolutely clear boundaries.”

"Either life or death."

"But now the cat has entered a state of both life and death."

"All of these are problems that arise when quantum mechanics is applied to the macroscopic world."

Wow!
After hearing this, everyone was shocked.

They finally understood what Professor Bruce meant.

This is simply incredible!

Life and death actually form a superposition state?
"impossible!"

"Absolutely impossible!"

Schrödinger suddenly realized, and he subconsciously explained:

"The superposition of microscopic particles such as electrons and atoms is barely acceptable."

"Because we can't see or perceive it anyway, even if we can't imagine what the superposition state looks like, it won't affect the application of quantum mechanics."

“But the concept of the macroscopic world is different.”

"Life and death cannot be combined."

"A cat is either alive or dead, it will never be in a state of both alive and dead."

"There must be something wrong here."

At this moment, everyone understood why Professor Bruce said that there was a dark cloud in quantum mechanics.

The superposition of life and death completely exceeds the limits of everyone's imagination.

However, Heisenberg still did not give up and wanted to win Professor Bruce back.

Because he was worried that Professor Bruce would explode and directly overturn quantum mechanics.

Heisenberg didn't even have time to cry.

So, he said:

"Professor Bruce, I don't think the superposition of life and death is a problem."

"Since we cannot imagine the picture of wave-particle duality, we cannot imagine the picture of the superposition of life and death."

“You don’t need to understand the state of being both alive and dead, just know that the cat is in this state at the moment.”

"Because it's a natural consequence of quantum mechanics."

Heisenberg's point of view made many people nod.

The other party was indeed a genius, and his rebuttal was well-reasoned and well-founded.

Since we can’t understand microscopic phenomena, we can’t understand macroscopic phenomena either. It’s only natural.

Thus, an interesting spectacle appeared.

Professor Bruce, the most important figure in quantum mechanics, was trying to revolutionize quantum mechanics, while Heisenberg tried hard to dissuade him.

I'm afraid no one would believe it if I told you.

At this time, Li Qiwei smiled slightly and said:

“Heisenberg’s ideas are indeed worth pondering.”

“But here comes the problem.”

"Suppose the cat can talk. When the box is opened, the wave function of the system collapses, and we find that the cat is still alive."

"So would the cat think that he had just been in a state of both life and death?"

"Will it feel like it has turned into a wave of probability until the box is opened, and then it instantly turns back into a cat?"

"Certainly not!"

"Cats will firmly believe that they are always alive, so why would they say they are dead?"

"Someone might object."

"You just assume that the cat can talk, but the cat can't talk, and it can't describe in logical language what it experienced in the box."

"Maybe it is in a state of both life and death?"

"It's just that the cat can't express how it feels about that situation."

"it is good!"

"Then I will upgrade the experiment and give you another extreme example."

"What if the cat is replaced by a human?"

"I just said that Schrödinger's words inspired me, and it was here."

"Schrödinger asked yesterday whether quantum teleportation could teleport people."

“And then I mentioned consciousness in my answer.”

“Human beings are the most special macroscopic substance in the universe because of the existence of consciousness.”

"If you replace the cat in the box experiment with a human, it's like introducing consciousness into quantum mechanics."

"After the box is closed, people are in a superposition state of life and death."

"But people are conscious and can clearly describe what they have gone through."

"When we opened the box, we found the person was still alive."

"He couldn't possibly think that he would become a wave of probability."

"This person absolutely believes that he is always alive."

"Nothing happens in the box, no superposition, no change."

"The atom never decayed, the hammer never fell, and the poison gas never spread."

"The world is certain again!"

"If this experiment could really be done, the result would definitely be like this."

"Unless a person is poisoned to death, he can't utter a word."

At this time, Li Qiwei shook his head gently and said with emotion:

“Although I proposed a probabilistic explanation and the principle of complementarity.”

"But unfortunately, these theories cannot perfectly explain the state of being both alive and dead in the box experiment."

“When the demon of consciousness enters science, things become weird.”

"The above is what I call the dark cloud of quantum mechanics."

The words just fell!

Everyone gasped and their scalp felt tingling!

Then, silence!

Deathly silence!

Everyone's eyes widened, their faces filled with shock.

Professor Bruce's thought experiment brought them endless horror!
Subjective consciousness actually affects objective science!

"How can this be!"

No one can explain what role human consciousness plays in the experimental results.

If there was only one atom in the box, everything would make sense.

The superposition state of decay and non-decay, just open it and you will know which result it is.

But if we replace atoms with humans, the superposition state of life and death is really incomprehensible and too terrifying.

Lang Zhiwan, who had been doing nothing for several days, looked dazed and recalled the speech in Paris.

He murmured to himself:

“I don’t know how to explain this experiment though.”

"But I know."

"The fourth divine beast of physics has been born!"

"Life and death stack up, Bruce's cat!"

boom!
The whole audience was shocked!
(End of this chapter)