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Path: utzoo!watmath!looking!brad
From: brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton)
Newsgroups: net.physics
Subject: Quantum superposition of states and reality
Message-ID: <191@looking.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 6-Oct-84 00:00:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: looking.191
Posted: Sat Oct  6 00:00:00 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 7-Oct-84 02:39:15 EDT
References: <12630@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Organization: Looking Glass Software, Waterloo, Ont
Lines: 18

I was wondering if anybody could enlighten me a bit more on the
concept of superposition of states, particularly as it relates to the
famous gedankenexperiment of Schroedinger's Cat.

I have heard it claimed that the superposition of states (ie. 50% live cat
vs. 50% poisoned cat) actually has physical reality, and in particular that
there is experimental evidence to show it (although not with the cat,
of course)

Obviously the metaphysical implications of these theories are remarkable.
I've accepted for some time the notion of considering subatomic wavicles
like electrons as infinite fourier series of discrete states when they
are contained, but I've never been sure whether this was just a useful
mathematical idea or an actual representation of reality.

Does anybody know of some results or have further comments?
-- 
Brad Templeton, Looking Glass Software Ltd. - Waterloo, Ontario 519/884-7473