Comments on: Schrödinger's Caturday

By: Astrophel

Astrophel — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 13:48:44 +0000

My cat (aptly named Schrödinger; he’s 6 years old and still very much in superposition) looks a bit like that when he’s found a box he can’t be dead and alive in at the same time. But he doesn’t like the box to be shut: when you open the box you find an angry cat inside.

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.

By: ggremlin

ggremlin — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 05:11:21 +0000

You’re heard of the pet rock, now here “Pet Theory in a Box” only from Amazon!

By: Joseph G

Joseph G — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 20:49:23 +0000

@39 Thomas Siefert: ou can buy the series on DVD from Amazon.
Unfortunately I’m right between jobs right now (I hope!) so my tastes are decidedly skewed toward anything with the word “free” in it.

@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?

By: Nigel Depledge

Nigel Depledge — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 13:08:53 +0000

Mick (28) said:

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

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

By: Neil Haggath

Neil Haggath — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:27:39 +0000

OK, I can’t resist it…
How to make an anti-gravity device:
As well as quantum mechanics, this utilises two well-known laws – the one which says cats always land on their feet, and the example of Sod’s Law which says a slice of buttered toast always falls sticky side down.
Attach a slice of buttered toast, sticky side up, to a cat’s back. Drop the cat from a height. Instead of falling, it will remain suspended in mid-air, rotating about its axis.
At least, until someone observes it.

By: Thomas Siefert

Thomas Siefert — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 10:28:21 +0000

@Joseph G,

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

You can buy the series on DVD from Amazon.

By: Joseph G

Joseph G — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 22:37:02 +0000

@37 Thomas Siefert: Hah! I have to ask, was this one of those cardboard cut-outs, of the sort you stick your head through to get a picture taken? Or was this a real cow? And if so, please tell me you didn’t pay for the privilege
Seriously, that’s very cool; the museum in particular. I’d heard there was some sort of TV, but had no idea it was such a big series. Unfortunately, I’m in the US, and the only BBC we get (at least on basic cable) is the occasional rerun of stuff like Fawlty Towers and Red Dwarf on PBS (public television).

By: Thomas Siefert

Thomas Siefert — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 21:55:00 +0000

@Joseph G,

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!

By: Joseph G

Joseph G — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 21:05:31 +0000

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

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

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 15:06:42 +0000

Will a cat continue to try to get into a box that is too small? Maru does the experiment.

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