(May 26, 2015) ETH
professor Jonathan Home and his colleagues reach deep into their bag of tricks
to create so-called “squeezed Schrödinger cats”. These quantum systems could be
extremely useful for future technologies.
Quantum physics is full of fascinating phenomena. Take, for
instance, the cat from the famous thought experiment by the physicist Erwin
Schrodinger. The cat can be dead and alive at once, since its life depends on
the quantum mechanically determined state of a radioactively decaying atom
which, in turn, releases toxic gas into the cat’s cage. As long as one hasn’t
measured the state of the atom, one knows nothing about the poor cat’s health
either – atom and kitty are intimately “entangled” with each other.