Schrodinger's Cat

Erwin Schrödinger,  is a qunatum physicst, most commonly known for his thought experiment involving a cat. While many have heard about 'Schrodinger's Cat', very few understand the relevence of his thought experiment to quantum physics.

Schrodinger Cat is an thought experiment to explain the quantum nature of particle, in particle, the ability of a quantum particle to be in superposition as well as the current limitation of the 'Copenhagen interpretation'. In the 20th century, the 'Copenhagen interpretation' of quantum mechanics was most commonly accepted by physicists. The 'Copenhagen interpretation' states that a particle exists in all states until observed.

In the Schrodinger Cat thought experiment, a cat is put into a sealed box with a vial of poison contained inside a machine. There is a 50% chance that the machine will break the vial and the poison is released, killing the cat, and a 50% chance that the machine will not break the vial. According to the 'Copenhagen interpretation', the cat is both alive and dead, as a particle (the cat), exists in all states (alive and dead) until observed. The cat is considered to be in a superposition of alive and dead.

While the Schrodinger Cat may provide a physical analogy for quantum superposition, the thought experiement analysis according to the 'Copenhagen interpretation' does not coinside with common sense. Whether or not the cat is observed, the cat is either alive or dead. Schrodinger strived to show the limitations of the 'Copenhagen interpretation' when applied to physical situations. Schrodinger wrote that the 'Schrodinger Cat' thought experiment “prevents us from so naively accepting [the Copenhagen interpretation] as valid a "blurred model" for representing reality".