It seems new results contradict Danish physicist Niels Bohr’s established view — the quantum jumps are neither abrupt nor as random as previously thought.
Yale physicists have published a paper in Nature
“To catch and reverse a quantum jump mid-flight”.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1287-z
Authors say “In quantum physics, measurements can fundamentally yield discrete and random results. Emblematic of this feature is Bohr’s 1913 proposal of quantum jumps between two discrete energy levels of an atom1. Experimentally, quantum jumps were first observed in an atomic ion driven by a weak deterministic force while under strong continuous energy measurement. The times at which the discontinuous jump transitions occur are reputed to be fundamentally unpredictable. Despite the non-deterministic character of quantum physics, is it possible to know if a quantum jump is about to occur? Here we answer this question affirmatively: ....”.
Yale News reports the findings, noting that since the quantum happenings can be controlled the Schrödinger’s cat can be saved after all.
Physicists can predict the jumps of Schrödinger’s cat (and finally save it)
(My note: Actually it is not the cat that jumps though. Report writer takes a little Liberty).
The report says: Schrödinger’s cat is a well-known paradox used to illustrate the concept of superposition — the ability for two opposite states to exist simultaneously — and unpredictability in quantum physics. The idea is that a cat is placed in a sealed box with a radioactive source and a poison that will be triggered if an atom of the radioactive substance decays. The superposition theory of quantum physics suggests that until someone opens the box, the cat is both alive and dead, a superposition of states. Opening the box to observe the cat causes it to abruptly change its quantum state randomly, forcing it to be either dead or alive.
The experiment, performed in the lab of Yale professor Michel Devoret and proposed by lead author Zlatko Minev, peers into the actual workings of a quantum jump for the first time. The results reveal a surprising finding that contradicts Danish physicist Niels Bohr’s established view — the jumps are neither abrupt nor as random as previously thought.
...
We can thus control the fate of the cat after all. Did we not know it?
Yale physicists have published a paper in Nature
“To catch and reverse a quantum jump mid-flight”.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1287-z
Authors say “In quantum physics, measurements can fundamentally yield discrete and random results. Emblematic of this feature is Bohr’s 1913 proposal of quantum jumps between two discrete energy levels of an atom1. Experimentally, quantum jumps were first observed in an atomic ion driven by a weak deterministic force while under strong continuous energy measurement. The times at which the discontinuous jump transitions occur are reputed to be fundamentally unpredictable. Despite the non-deterministic character of quantum physics, is it possible to know if a quantum jump is about to occur? Here we answer this question affirmatively: ....”.
Yale News reports the findings, noting that since the quantum happenings can be controlled the Schrödinger’s cat can be saved after all.
Physicists can predict the jumps of Schrödinger’s cat (and finally save it)
(My note: Actually it is not the cat that jumps though. Report writer takes a little Liberty).
The report says: Schrödinger’s cat is a well-known paradox used to illustrate the concept of superposition — the ability for two opposite states to exist simultaneously — and unpredictability in quantum physics. The idea is that a cat is placed in a sealed box with a radioactive source and a poison that will be triggered if an atom of the radioactive substance decays. The superposition theory of quantum physics suggests that until someone opens the box, the cat is both alive and dead, a superposition of states. Opening the box to observe the cat causes it to abruptly change its quantum state randomly, forcing it to be either dead or alive.
The experiment, performed in the lab of Yale professor Michel Devoret and proposed by lead author Zlatko Minev, peers into the actual workings of a quantum jump for the first time. The results reveal a surprising finding that contradicts Danish physicist Niels Bohr’s established view — the jumps are neither abrupt nor as random as previously thought.
...
We can thus control the fate of the cat after all. Did we not know it?
