This abstract from the 20 Jan 00 edition of Nature suggests there is an
undialectical idealism in the discussion of quantum theory in the form of
stories about "Schr�dinger's cat".
I am quoting it for the first three sentences.
While chaos theory is modelled in closed systems it does not apply only to
them.
The implications of this argument about quantum theory are IMO not clear:
whether it can still apply to non-closed systems i.e. actual reality,
rather than an experiment with an artificially restriced number of variables.
Chris Burford
London
_____________________
Decoherence of quantum superpositions through
coupling to engineered reservoirs
C. J. MYATT, B. E. KING, Q. A. TURCHETTE, C. A. SACKETT, D. KIELPINSKI, W.
M. ITANO,
C. MONROE & D. J. WINELAND
The theory of quantum mechanics applies to closed systems. In such ideal
situations, a single atom can, for example, exist simultaneously in a
superposition of two different spatial locations. In contrast, real systems
always interact with their environment, with the consequence that
macroscopic quantum superpositions (as illustrated by the 'Schr�dinger's
cat' thought-experiment) are not observed.
Moreover, macroscopic superpositions decay so quickly that even the
dynamics of decoherence cannot be observed. However, mesoscopic systems
offer the possibility of observing the decoherence of such quantum
superpositions.
Here we present measurements of the decoherence of superposed motional
states of a single trapped atom. Decoherence is induced by coupling the
atom to engineered reservoirs, in which the coupling and state of the
environment are controllable. We perform three experiments, finding that
the decoherence rate scales with the square of a quantity describing the
amplitude of the superposition state.
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