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Famousphysicscatnowalive,deadandintwoboxesatonce|ScienceNewsforStudents

PHYSICS LIGHT&RADIATION

Famousphysicscatnow
alive,deadandintwo
boxesatonce
Splittingthefelinebetweenboxesisasteptowardbuilding
microwavebasedquantumcomputers
BY EMILY CONOVER JUN 14, 2016 7:00 AM EST

The infamous (and fictious) Schrdingers cat, is always both alive and dead inside a box until
the box is opened. Then the truth comes out.
YVONNE GAO, YALE UNIVERSITY

PhysicistErwinSchrdingerscatcantseemtocatchabreak.Thefictitious
felineisfamousforbeingaliveanddeadatthesametime,aslongasit
remainshiddeninsideabox.ScientiststhinkaboutSchrdingerscatinthis
waysothattheycanstudyquantummechanics.Thisisthescienceofthe
verysmallandthewaythatmatterbehavesandinteractswithenergy.
Now,inanewstudy,scientistshavesplitSchrdingerscatbetweentwo
boxes.
Animalloverscanrelaxtherearenoactualcatsinvolvedinthe
experiments.Instead,physicistsusedmicrowavestomimicthecatsquantum
behavior.ThenewadvancewasreportedMay26inScience.Itbrings
scientistsonestepclosertobuildingquantumcomputersoutofmicrowaves.
Schrdingerdreamtuphisfamouscatin1935.Hemadeittheunfortunate
participantinahypotheticalexperiment.Itswhatscientistscallathought
experiment.Init,Schrdingerimaginedacatinaclosedboxwithadeadly
poison.Thepoisonwouldbereleasedifsomeradioactiveatomsdecayed.This
decayoccursnaturallywhenaphysicallyunstableformofanelement(such
asuranium)shedsenergyandsubatomicparticles.Themathofquantum
mechanicscancalculatetheoddsthatthematerialhasdecayedandinthis
case,releasedthepoison.Butitcannotidentify,forcertain,whenthatwill
happen.
Sofromthequantumperspective,thecatcanbeassumedtobebothdead
andstillaliveatthesametime.Scientistscalledthisdualstatea
superposition.Andthecatremainsinlimbountiltheboxisopened.Onlythen
willwelearnifitsapurringkittyoralifelesscorpse.
Explainer: Understanding light and electromagnetic radiation

Scientistshavenowcreatedareallaboratoryversionoftheexperiment.They
createdaboxtwoactuallyoutofsuperconductingaluminum.A
superconductingmaterialisonethatoffersnoresistancetotheflowof
electricity.Takingtheplaceofthecataremicrowaves,atypeof
electromagneticradiation.
Theelectricfieldsassociatedwiththemicrowavescanpointintwoopposite
directionsatthesametimejustasSchrdingerscatcanbealiveanddead
atthesametime.Thesestatesareknownascatstates.Inthenew
experiment,physicistshavecreatedsuchcatstatesintwolinkedboxes,or
cavities.Ineffect,theyhavesplitthemicrowavecatintothetwoboxesat
once.
Theideaofputtingonecatintotwoboxesiskindofwhimsical,saysChen
Wang.Acoauthorofthepaper,heworksatYaleUniversity,inNewHaven,
Conn.Heargues,however,thatitsnotthatfarofffromtherealworld

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Famousphysicscatnowalive,deadandintwoboxesatonce|ScienceNewsforStudents

Conn.Heargues,however,thatitsnotthatfarofffromtherealworld
situationwiththesemicrowaves.Thecatstateisnotonlyinoneboxorthe
other,butstretchesouttooccupyboth.(Iknow,thatsweird.Buteven
physicistsacknowledgethatquantumphysicstendstobeweird.Veryweird.)
Whatsevenweirderisthatthestatesofthetwoboxesarelinked,orin
quantumterms,entangled.Thatmeansifthecatturnsouttobealiveinone
box,itsalsoaliveintheother.Chencomparesittoacatwithtwosymptoms
oflife:anopeneyeinthefirstboxandaheartbeatinthesecondbox.
Measurementsfromthetwoboxeswillalwaysagreeonthecatsstatus.For
microwaves,thismeanstheelectricfieldwillalwaysbeinsyncinboth
cavities.

Scientists have wrangled microwaves

into bizarre quantum states that mimic
the ability of the famous Schrdinger cat
(seen in this animation) to be dead and
alive at the same time. In a new
experiment, scientists have split this
phantom cat into two boxes.
YVONNE GAO, YALE UNIVERSITY

Thescientistsmeasuredhowclosethecatstatesweretotheidealcatstate
theywantedtoproduce.Andthemeasuredstatescamewithinroughly20
percentofthatidealstate.Thisisaboutwhattheywouldexpect,givenhow
complicatedthesystemis,theresearcherssay.
Thenewfindingisasteptowardusingmicrowavesforquantumcomputing.A
quantumcomputermakesuseofthequantumstatesofsubatomicparticlesto
storeinformation.Thetwocavitiescouldservethepurposeoftwoquantum
bits,orqubits.Qubitsarethebasicunitsofinformationinaquantum
computer.
Onestumblingblockforquantumcomputershasbeenthaterrorswill
inevitablyslipintocalculations.Theyslipinbecauseofinteractionswiththe
outsideenvironmentthatmuckupthequbitsquantumproperties.Thecat
statesaremoreresistanttoerrorsthanothertypesofqubits,theresearchers
say.Theirsystemshouldeventuallyleadtomorefaulttolerantquantum
computers,theysay.
Ithinktheyvemadesomereallygreatadvances,saysGerhardKirchmair.
HeisaphysicistattheInstituteforQuantumOpticsandQuantum
InformationoftheAustrianAcademyofSciencesinInnsbruck.Theyvecome
upwithaverynicearchitecturetorealizequantumcomputation.
SergeyPolyakovsaysthisdemonstrationofentanglementinthetwocavity
systemisveryimportant.PolyakovisaphysicistattheNationalInstituteof
StandardsandTechnologyinGaithersburg,Md.Thenextstep,hesays,
wouldbetodemonstratethatthisapproachisactuallyscalable.Bythis,he
meansthatitwouldstillworkiftheyaddedmorecavitiestothemixtobuild
abiggerquantumcomputer.
Power Words

(for more about Power Words, click here)

atom The basic unit of a chemical element. Atoms are made up of a dense nucleus that
contains positively charged protons and neutrally charged neutrons. The nucleus is orbited by
a cloud of negatively charged electrons.
electric field A region around a charged particle or object within which a force would be
exerted on other charged particles or objects.
electromagnetic radiation Energy that travels as a wave, including forms of light.
Electromagnetic radiation is typically classified by its wavelength. The spectrum of
electromagnetic radiation ranges from radio waves to gamma rays. It also includes microwaves
and visible light.
element (in chemistry)Each of more than one hundred substances for which the smallest
unit of each is a single atom. Examples include hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, lithium and
uranium.
decay (in physics) The process whereby a radioactive isotope which means a physically
unstable form of some element sheds energy and subatomic particles. In time, this
shedding will transform the unstable element into a slightly different but stable element. For
instance, uranium238 (which is a radioactive, or unstable, isotope) decays to radium222
(also a radioactive isotope), which decays to radon222 (also radioactive), which decays to
polonium210 (also radioactive), which decays to lead206 which is stable. No further decay
occurs. The rates of decay from one isotope to another can range from timeframes of less
than a second to billions of years.
hypothetical An adjective used to describe a proposal or idea based upon a hypothesis (which is itself
a proposed explanation for something).
microwaves An electromagnetic wave with a wavelength shorter than that of normal radio
waves but longer than those of infrared radiation (heat) and of visible light.
physics The scientific study of the nature and properties of matter and energy. Classical
physics is an explanation of the nature and properties of matter and energy that relies on
descriptions such as Newtons laws of motion. Quantum physics, a field of study which
emerged later, is a more accurate way of explaining the motions and behavior of matter. A
scientist who works in that field is known as a physicist.
quantum (pl. quanta) A term that refers to the smallest amount of anything, especially of
energy or subatomic mass.
quantum computer A computer that makes use of the quantum states of subatomic
particles to store information.
quantum entanglement A physical phenomenon that occurs when groups of particles
(typically pairs) interact in ways such that all the particles have the same quantum state.

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(typically pairs) interact in ways such that all the particles have the same quantum state.
quantum mechanics A branch of physics dealing with the behavior of matter on the scale
of atoms or subatomic particles.
quantum state Any of the possible states of a system described by quantum theory.
quantum theory A way to describe the operation of matter and energy at the level of
atoms. It is based on an interpretation that at this scale, energy and matter can be thought
to behave as both particles and waves. The idea is that on this very tiny scale, matter and
energy are made up of what scientists refer to as quanta miniscule amounts of
electromagnetic energy.
quantum physics A branch of physics that uses quantum theory to explain or predict how
a physical system will operate on the scale of atoms or subatomic particles.
quantum superposition The condition in which a quantum system is in a few different
states at the same time.
qubit Short for quantum bit. It is the basic unit of information that would be stored in a
quantum computer. Such computers use of the quantum states of subatomic particles to store
information.
radioactive An adjective that describes unstable elements, such as certain forms
(isotopes) of uranium and plutonium. Such elements are said to be unstable because their
nucleus sheds energy that is carried away by photons and/or and often one or more subatomic
particles. This emission of energy is by a process known as radioactive decay.
Schrdingers cat In 1935, Erwin Schrdinger came up with the idea for a cat that is
both alive and dead at the same time. It was meant to suggest the duality of conditions that
can coexist in quantum physics. Schrdinger imagined a cat in a closed box with a deadly
poison. Eventually, but not immediately, the poison would kill the cat. But no one knows
whether that has happened yet until the box is opened. Until then, the cat is equally likely
to be alive and dead, and indeed is treated as if it is both at the same time.
subatomic Anything smaller than an atom, which is the smallest bit of matter that has all
the properties of whatever chemical element it is (like hydrogen, iron or calcium).

superconductor Materials that have no resistance to the flow of electricity, typically only
when they are cooled below a certain temperature. Superconductors also repel all magnetic
fields, which allows them to float in the air when they are placed inside a strong magnetic
field.
uranium The largest naturally occurring element known. Its called element 92, which refers
to the number of protons in its nucleus. One form (isotope) is radioactive, which means it
decays into smaller particles. The other form is stable.

Readability Score:
8.4

NGSS:
MSPS42
MSETS12
HSPS32
HSPS43

Citation
C. Wang. A Schrdinger cat living in two
boxes (http://science.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi/10.1126/science.aaf2941). Science. Vol 352,
May 27, 2016, p. 1087. doi: 10.1126/science.aaf2941.

FurtherReading
L. Sanders. Everyday entanglement. Science News. Vol. 178, November 20, 2010, p. 22.
T. Siegfried. Clash of the quantum titans. Science News. Vol. 178, November 20, 2010, p.
15.
S. Ornes. Worlds tiniest fridge. Science News for Students. September 20, 2010.
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