However, if you cut a hole to the side of the box smaller than his head, he’s endlessly happy trying grab anything you put near it. So, if the cat can detect outside the box, but you can’t detect him inside the box, is the cat there until you see his paw? Erwin Schrödinger meant the thought experiment to show that quantum effects can’t apply in the macroscopic world in a meaningful way.

@49 Neil Haggath: I’d think there’d be quite a bit of torque being applied to the toast, much like trying to press two magnets together with the same poles facing each other. Since cats are extremely flexible, I’d think this would be a major engineering problem. Perhaps this is why, while the theory is well-known, this apparatus has never been successfully constructed

@41 Nigel: But, topologically, cats are toroidal (as are all mammals).
Reptiles too, for that matter. Snakes are a great example. Hmm… I wonder how you’d describe the topology of an Ouroboros? Would that be similar to a Klein bottle? Or would it just be like dividing by zero?

The experiment might have worked if you had a spherical cat in a vacuum.

But, topologically, cats are toroidal (as are all mammals).

It was a very… eh… an almost real cow made from glass fibre.

You can buy the series on DVD from Amazon.

The books have also been made into a TV series that span seven seasons over 90 episodes. No one makes better TV than BBC and “All Creatures” is no exception.

The original house for his vet practice in Thirsk is now a museum that includes some sets from the TV production.
I got a picture of myself in the first car he drives in the series and another with my arm up a cows bum. Oh yes, live life to the max!

I dunno about that – it seems that my cats always choose their sleeping spots based on how inconvenient they are for me, rather than how comfortable they are. Sure, they’ll sleep on the nice cozy couch we have when I’m not around, but if there’s a hardback textbook I need to read, they’re all over it. Same goes for laptops (even powered down and cold), shoes, guitar cases, anything hard that I leave on the floor, really (yes, I’m a slob).

As for James Herriott, I love his books! I’ve only read 3 or 4, and I understand he wrote over a dozen, but they’re just great.
For those who haven’t heard of him, he was a British country vet (meaning he worked on farm animals: horses and cows, as well as dogs and cats and other pets) who wrote a number of autobiographical stories about his life. The ones I read covered, I believe, the period between about 1930 and 1960, though he was still writing up until his death in 1995. A lot of his writing is quite funny, and worth reading for that alone, but also, anyone who loves animals should definitely look for his books. IMHO, they’re somewhat unique in that they’re interesting and accessible to kids and adults alike. All Creatures Great and Small would probably be the best one to start with, it’s part of sort of a trilogy. Great gift idea for any animal lovers you know who like reading

EDIT: I just checked that wikipedia link – apparently each of the All Creatures Great and Small books were actually compilations of a couple each of his other books. So yeah, read that trilogy and you’ll have read most of his work. Color me disappointed though, I thought I had tons more to read

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XID_W4neJo

Cats are “connoisseurs of comfort” ( to quote James Herriot, English vet & author)

See :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Herriot

For the wikipage on James Herriot.

For one cat that loves an apparently under-sized box and manages to do a half TARDIS see :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=TbiedguhyvM&feature=endscreen

on youtube!

(Is that the one you were meaning, L. #13?)

Of course, strange things might happen when you get scientists, people and cats mixed up together in some ace quantum strangeness :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=GQda9w4f4FU

Okay, that’s not quite quantum physics but certainly some juxta / superpositioning going on!

But you missed :

- the Purr~fect experiment I don’t think so!

- “How many of my nine lives are observed alive and left, mrow, now?”

- Schrödinger is going to be in such trouble when the RSPCA hears about this!

Cats are “connoisseurs of comfort” ( to quote James Herriott, English vet & author) – but that’s not a comfy looking cat.

“On the other hand we really don’t know her momentum at all.”

Pretty close to zero there surely?

Actually the current cat to own me – a black & gold tortosieshell named Zosma after the proper name of Delta Leonis – loves sleeeping in a cardboard box like that, although a slightly better fit it must be said! The same goes for several other felines that have owned me in the past or that I’ve been aquainted with in my time. Also cats seem to love sleeping on or even *in* my backpack.

@28. Mick : The experiment might have worked if you had a spherical cat in a vacuum.

With the cat in spacesuit too I hope!

(I’ve seen cats curl up into just about spheres at times & seen some that could just about fit that description too! )

Yeah. That’s it. I must have skipped right over it. Thanks.

With my knowledge of feline biology I can very well predict that every single sample cat will be dead at the end of that experiment. Your turn in trying to determine what that result would mean for quantum physics.

Alternate captions:

You forgot:
“Apparently, Amazon has not yet acquired Time Lord technology.”
 (It’s not bigger on the inside.)

Mick (#28):

The experiment might have worked if you had a spherical cat in a vacuum.

Good thing I wasn’t drinking anything at the time. Otherwise, you would owe me a new keyboard.

See also xkcd.com/669/

Thank you, Phil Plait, for probably one of the craziest Saturday evenings I ever had.

P.S.: Bored cat is bored.