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“Schrödinger”: forse non ne hai mai sentito parlare prima d’ora, o forse sì.
Un po’come il paradosso del gatto di Schrödinger… Pronto per saperne di più? Ecco come fare:
1. Leggi il testo
2. Impara nuovi vocaboli
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Testo
Erwin Schrödinger was a physicist, a theoretical biologist, and probably more of a dog person.
In the 1920’s, scientists discovered quantum mechanics, which said that some particles are so tiny you can’t even measure them without changing them. But the theory only worked if, before you measured them, the particle was in a super position of every posible state all at the same time.
To tackle that, Schrödinger imagined a cat in a box with a radioactive particle and a Geiger counter attached to a vile of poison. If the particle decays, it triggers the Geiger counter, releases the posion and “Bye bye, Tiddles”. But if the particle is in two states, both decayed and not decayed the cat is also in two states, both dead and not dead. Until someone looks in the box.
In practice, it’s impossible to put a cat into a super position, you’d have the animal rights lobby up in arms. But you can isolate atoms, and they do seem to be in two states at once. Quantum mechanics challenges our whole perception of reality, so maybe its understandable that Schrödinger himself decided he didn’t like it and was sorry he ever started on about cats.
Vocabolario
Dog person – una persona che preferisce i cani ai gatti.
Particle – particella fisica.
State – stato, condizione.
Tackle – affrontare, trattare.
Geiger counter – strumento che serve per misurare le radiazioni di tipo ionizzante.
Vial –fiala, boccetta.
Decays – decomporsi; marcire.
Triggers – something that causes something else to happen.
Releases – scatenare, innescare, dare il via.
Up in arms – indignato, furioso.
