/sci/ - Science & Math

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>>1980020
Well hell, I can do that.

Schrödinger came up with the cat in the box thing not to explain anything to his peers, but instead to show to the general public that quantum mechanics as it is and was is fundamentally different from the macroscopic world people are use to. In the macroscopic world, things happen regardless of whether or not something or someone is around to witness it. In the quantum world, nothing happens until there is a "witness". That isn't to say that a conscious observer is needed for something on the quantum scale to happen (a lot of philosophical nut jobs try and argue that). An observer can be anything including another particle. It's as if the collision of two particles is not predetermined, it simply happens if and when it happens. Before the actual collision any number of paths were possible. This indeterminacy still exists with molecules too. Two molecules colliding have the same indeterminacy. However, as you scale up, including more and more particles, the distribution of the possible paths the colliding molecules can take (also known as the wave function) shrinks. Because the macroscopic world involves so many particles there is practically no possibility of a baseball deviating from its predicted course to any great degree.

So, on a quantum scale, the cat is both alive and dead until it is "observed" the same way colliding particles are can be taking any number of paths until they actually collide. Keep in mind though that an actual cat in a box involves a LOT of particles, so there is relatively no indeterminacy, just in case you were under the assumption that the cat in the box experiment was a real experiment. It, as I said, was simply created to show the contrast between the quantum world and the macroscopic world as people see it.

Dresden Codak is pretty good to. The drawing style is top notch for a web comic, or by any standards. The few true SCIENCE! comics were good. I started reading late so I didn't have to wait for months at a time for the Hob arc, which apparently turned a lot of people off the comic. I started reading in the sweet spot right after Hob, when Diaz's drawing style, having been stuck to the early Hob style for the entire arc, started getting really creative again.

The comics still take months to be posted, which is a REAL BIG problem for a webcomic. However, given the quality of what is released I can't help but stick around. It wouldn't even be that bad if he stuck to a regular monthly schedule. Not knowing is the worst part... which is another reason why I like xkcd, clockwork comic releases.

We'll see how the Dark Science arc turns out.

It's time for me to get work done /sci/. I need a ban, and I need it tonight. The longer the ban the better. So, what is the most efficient way to get banned? Preferably a way that doesn't involve CP.

Give me ideas. If I don't post back about your idea, then it worked.