An international team of physicists has devised a method to test alternatives to standard quantum theory, proposing a possible explanation for why quantum effects don’t appear in larger objects like cats.
Their findings explore why objects only display quantum properties at microscopic levels, involving sophisticated experiments with spontaneous radiation that could validate these new models.
The apparent weirdness of the quantum world is often exemplified by the paradox of Schrödinger’s imaginary cat that exists in a limbo state of being both alive and dead until looked upon by an observer. But in the real world, we never encounter such zombie felines. Quantum effects do not seem to extend to very large objects–like cats, people, or houses–and physicists do not agree on exactly why not.
Now, an international team of scientists, funded by the Foundational Questions Institute, FQxI, has proposed a new and refined way to test the validity of some proposed alternative models to standard quantum theory, which offer a possible explanation. Their work was recently reported in the journal Physical Review Letters.
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