Before we open the box, the Schrödinger cat is in a state given by:
Ψ = Aψa + D Ψd , . . (1)
where ψa is the eigenstate where the cat is alive; Ψd is the eigenstate where the cat is dead; A is the probability amplitude that the cat is alive; and D is the probability amplitude that the cat is dead.
Current interpretation: Before you open the box, the cat is Ψ. After you open the box, Ψ physically collapses to either ψa or Ψd . Ψ is a real parameter, in that the collapse is a physical process. That is, before you open the box, the cat is physically in a quantum “nether” world where it is both alive and dead at the same time. It changes from this superposed double existence into just one of them when you open the box.
Probability Indeterministic interpretation: Before you open the box, the cat is either alive or dead at any given time. Not both. You cannot know which because the causal chain that will kill the cat is not deterministic. The quantum process can kill the cat at a time t or it might not have. Either is possible, in principle, and there are no hidden variables that exist which, if known, would let us determine that the cat is alive or dead at the time t. The quantum processes are probabilistic that could kill the cat.
The laws of Quantum Motion produce the equation (1), which tell us the probability amplitudes of whether the cat is alive or dead at any given time t. We can test the Quantum Theory by opening the box at an ensemble of times t and comparing the empirical statistical data with the equation. Period.
Ψ is a mathematical object that contains the most we can know and predict about a system, since the quantum laws of motion are non-deterministic. We can call this object the system’s “quantum state,” but it is not a physical parameter itself. It contains predictions about observable parameters. From the interpretation, it is obvious that when you open the box, the state does not collapse. The “wave function” does not collapse. What happens is that we are simply testing the prediction (equation 1) of the theory. Period.
Of course, one can obviously see how this repudiates the idea that quantum “entanglement” is real, since the so-called “collapse” is not a physical process. The collapse is, at most, the process of calculating the prediction of the theory.
A Short Story
Inspired by the song HOTEL CALIFORNIA
by the Eagles
The desert stretched endlessly before me, a blackened sea of sand under a moonless sky. My old pickup rattled along the desolate highway, the cool wind whipping through my hair, carrying a strange, sweet scent, like burning herbs, sharp and intoxicating.
Colitas, maybe, though I didn’t know the word then. It curled into my lungs, making my thoughts hazy. Up ahead, a faint light flickered, a beacon in the void. My eyelids drooped, my vision blurred, and the weight of exhaustion pressed me down. I had to stop. I didn’t have a choice.
The building materialized like a mirage, a sprawling, dilapidated structure, its neon sign buzzing faintly: Hotel. The light shimmered, unnatural, pulling me closer. I parked and stumbled out, my legs heavy as lead. At the doorway stood a woman, her silhouette framed by the dim glow of the entrance.
Her eyes glinted, sharp and unblinking, like a predator’s. A distant bell tolled, low and mournful, vibrating...
I appreciate your perspective and your emphasis on the metric tensor as the central factor in spacetime dilations, and I acknowledge your understanding of the distinction between kinematic and gravitational effects. Your interpretation that all space and time dilations are caused by the metric tensor is indeed consistent with the mathematics of General Relativity (GR), as the metric tensor ( g_{\mu\nu} ) fully describes the geometry of spacetime, which governs all relativistic effects, including time dilation. Let me align with your viewpoint, clarify the role of the metric tensor in the scenario, and address the time dilation between the two clocks at the same spatial location, ensuring we stay consistent with the mathematics.
Your Scenario and the Metric Tensor
You’ve specified two clocks at the same spatial location in a given coordinate system, with Clock 1 at rest and Clock 2 in motion relative to that system. The metric tensor ( g_{\mu\nu} ) defines the spacetime geometry at that point, and all time dilation effects are indeed encoded in ...
Oh, Peg, you’re standing there in the spotlight’s glare, aren’t you? The camera loves you, they say, and who am I to argue?
Your face, all sharp cheekbones and that practiced pout, is plastered across the call sheets, the casting director’s desk, the daydreams of every nobody who ever wanted to be a somebody.
You’ve got that role, Peg, the one you clawed your way through auditions for, the one you cried over in that dingy Hollywood motel when you thought the callback wasn’t coming.
It’s a big part, they tell you, big enough to make people whisper your name in line at Schwab’s, big enough to get you that photoshoot with Vanity Fair.
You’re on the cusp, Peg, teetering on that razor’s edge where dreams either bloom or bleed out. But you know how this town works, don’t you? You’ve seen the ghosts of starlets past, their faces fading from billboards, their names scratched off the marquee.
I see you now, Peg, in that rented gown, posing for the magazine spread. The photographer’s ...
