Schrödinger's cat - Quiz
Schrödinger s cat
  • 1. What happens to superpositions in objective collapse theories?
A) They are destroyed spontaneously
B) They persist indefinitely
C) They expand into infinite states
D) They only vanish upon human observation
  • 2. According to objective collapse theories, what causes the cat to settle into a definite state?
A) An objective physical threshold
B) The disappearance of the observer
C) The death of the cat
D) The researcher opening the box
  • 3. Which of these is mentioned as a factor for reaching an objective physical threshold?
A) Mass
B) The cat's desire
C) The color of the box
D) The observer's mood
  • 4. How can the objective collapse theory be loosely phrased regarding the cat?
A) The cat is always alive
B) The cat observes itself
C) The cat is always dead
D) The cat is nonexistent
  • 5. What do objective collapse theories require regarding standard quantum mechanics?
A) Total abandonment
B) Strict adherence
C) A modification
D) No changes
  • 6. What kind of states have been proposed to detect quantum gravity related decoherence?
A) Energy cat states
B) Massive vacuum states
C) Singularity states
D) Thermal equilibrium states
  • 7. Is the Schrödinger's cat machine as described known to have been constructed?
A) Yes
B) No
C) Only a prototype exists
D) It was built in the 1950s
  • 8. What particle has been successfully placed in a 'cat state'?
A) Photons
B) Neutrons
C) Protons
D) Alpha particles
  • 9. Which ion was trapped in a superposed state?
A) Beryllium
B) Helium
C) Lithium
D) Carbon
  • 10. In the SQUID experiment, how do the superconducting electrons flow?
A) Both ways around the loop at once
B) Only counter-clockwise
C) Only clockwise
D) They remain stationary
  • 11. How many atoms comprise the piezoelectric tuning fork mentioned in the text?
A) About 10 trillion
B) About 10 million
C) About 10 billion
D) About 10 quadrillion
  • 12. What biological entity has been proposed for a cat state experiment?
A) A yeast spore
B) A human cell
C) A flu virus
D) A tardigrade
  • 13. What is the GHZ state in quantum computing often referred to as?
A) A superposition trap
B) A qubit collapse
C) A dog state
D) A cat state
  • 14. What is the result of the GHZ state equal superposition?
A) All qubits being 1
B) All qubits being 0 and all qubits being 1
C) A random mixture of 0s and 1s
D) All qubits being 0
  • 15. According to the text, is it potentially possible to determine the cat's state before opening the box?
A) No, it is strictly impossible
B) Only if the cat is dead
C) Only if the observer is human
D) Yes, according to at least one proposal
  • 16. Who devised the Schrödinger's cat thought experiment?
A) Albert Einstein
B) Niels Bohr
C) Erwin Schrödinger
D) Werner Heisenberg
  • 17. In what year was the Schrödinger's cat thought experiment devised?
A) 1935
B) 1925
C) 1950
D) 1945
  • 18. What scientific concept does the Schrödinger's cat thought experiment concern?
A) Classical mechanics
B) Quantum superposition
C) General relativity
D) Thermodynamics
  • 19. What is the cat's fate linked to in the experiment?
A) The observer's thoughts
B) A mechanical timer
C) The temperature of the room
D) A random subatomic event
  • 20. What device detects the decay of an atom in the experiment?
A) A seismograph
B) A barometer
C) A thermal sensor
D) A Geiger counter
  • 21. Mathematically, how is the state of the box described?
A) As a classical probability
B) As a fixed state
C) As a logical contradiction
D) As a quantum superposition
  • 22. What fundamental question does the experiment pose regarding reality?
A) Is the cat truly conscious?
B) Who is responsible for the experiment?
C) When does quantum superposition end?
D) How fast does poison travel?
  • 23. What does the thought experiment illustrate?
A) The biology of felines
B) The accuracy of Geiger counters
C) The danger of poisons
D) The behavior of atoms
  • 24. What specific challenge is mentioned regarding superposing large objects like a cat?
A) It is physically impossible
B) It is against ethical guidelines
C) It requires infinite energy
D) Considerable technical difficulties
  • 25. With whom did Schrödinger discuss his philosophical views?
A) Isaac Newton
B) Charles Darwin
C) Marie Curie
D) Albert Einstein
  • 26. What has the Schrödinger's cat experiment become part of in physics?
A) The history of chemistry
B) The foundation of quantum mechanics
C) The study of animal behavior
D) The theory of relativity
  • 27. What problem is often associated with the Schrödinger's cat thought experiment?
A) The climate problem
B) The gravity problem
C) The measurement problem
D) The energy crisis
  • 28. What have experiments at the atomic scale shown?
A) Atoms are too large for superpositions
B) Atoms never exist as superpositions
C) Very small objects may exist as superpositions
D) Superpositions only happen in boxes
  • 29. How is the experiment described in terms of its logic?
A) As a simple fact
B) As a proven theory
C) As a common misconception
D) As a paradox
  • 30. What 1935 article did Schrödinger's thought experiment aim to discuss?
A) The Radioactive Decay paper
B) The Theory of Relativity
C) The Bohr-Heisenberg manifesto
D) The EPR article
  • 31. What Latin term is used to describe Schrödinger's method of argument?
A) Tabula rasa
B) Ipso facto
C) Reductio ad absurdum
D) Modus operandi
  • 32. Where is the cat placed in the thought experiment?
A) An open field
B) A closed steel chamber
C) A glass observation box
D) A vacuum chamber
  • 33. What is used to shatter the flask of hydrocyanic acid?
A) A mechanical lever
B) A radioactive atom
C) A hammer
D) A relay switch
  • 34. What substance is inside the flask that kills the cat?
A) Gunpowder
B) Radioactive gas
C) A lethal neurotoxin
D) Hydrocyanic acid
  • 35. What does the Geiger counter detect?
A) The cat's movement
B) Temperature change
C) Light intensity
D) Atomic decay
  • 36. What does Schrödinger use the thought experiment to illustrate?
A) That the wave function cannot represent reality
B) That reality depends on the observer
C) That cats have multiple lives
D) That radiation is harmless
  • 37. According to the text, what did Einstein mention that Schrödinger did not?
A) A Geiger counter
B) Hydrocyanic acid
C) Gunpowder
D) A hammer
  • 38. How does Schrödinger describe the cat scenario?
A) Scientific law
B) A logical necessity
C) A proven fact
D) Completely burlesque
  • 39. Who was the other physicist mentioned by Einstein as sharing a similar view?
A) Maxwell
B) Schrödinger
C) Newton
D) Laue
  • 40. Who wrote the book 'Mathematical Foundations of Quantum Mechanics'?
A) John von Neumann
B) Roger Carpenter
C) Eugene Wigner
D) Erwin Schrödinger
  • 41. What is the name of the thought experiment discussed by Eugene Wigner involving a friend?
A) The cat's dilemma
B) The observer's paradox
C) The radioactive chain
D) Wigner's friend
  • 42. According to Niels Bohr, what was the state of the cat before the box is opened?
A) Both dead and alive simultaneously
B) Indeterminate
C) Definitely alive
D) Definitely dead
  • 43. Who formulated the many-worlds interpretation in 1957?
A) Erwin Schrödinger
B) Niels Bohr
C) Hugh Everett
D) Max Tegmark
  • 44. Who proposed the quantum suicide machine variant?
A) Max Tegmark
B) Erwin Schrödinger
C) Hugh Everett
D) Niels Bohr
  • 45. What does Bohr emphasize regarding measurement results?
A) Their quantum nature
B) Their classical nature
C) Their statistical nature
D) Their subjective nature
  • 46. How is the collapse of the wavefunction described in the transactional interpretation?
A) Delayed by the experimenter
B) Sequential
C) Dependent on biological consciousness
D) Atemporal
  • 47. In the relational interpretation, what is the cat observing?
A) The apparatus
B) The vacuum state
C) The future
D) The experimenter
  • 48. According to Robert P. Crease, when did the thought experiment become widely known?
A) The 1990s
B) The 1930s
C) The 1950s
D) The 1970s
  • 49. Who learned about the thought experiment while researching for 'The Dispossessed'?
A) Robert P. Crease
B) Robert Anton Wilson
C) Greg Bear
D) Ursula K. Le Guin
  • 50. What tone do science-fiction writers often use when employing the thought experiment?
A) Serious
B) Scientific
C) Solemn
D) Humorous
  • 51. According to the text, in which field is the cat more prominent?
A) Physics
B) Popular culture
C) Mathematics
D) Philosophy
  • 52. Who wrote the story 'Schrödinger's Plague' published in 1982?
A) Greg Bear
B) George Alec Effinger
C) Rudy Rucker
D) Robert Anton Wilson
  • 53. In which magazine was 'Schrödinger's Kitten' by George Alec Effinger published?
A) Omni
B) Scientific American
C) Nature
D) Analog
  • 54. Who authored the Schrödinger's Cat Trilogy published in 1988?
A) Greg Bear
B) Robert Anton Wilson
C) F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre
D) Ursula K. Le Guin
  • 55. Which of the following is NOT a medium mentioned where the cat has appeared?
A) Music
B) Theatre
C) Webcomics
D) Academic textbooks
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