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LATEST DIALOGUES Measuring Quantum Cats and Their Smiles. by SAND, August 13, 2014in Nature of Perception, Philosophy, Quantum Physics3 Comments creatticacatIt’s been a strange summer for quantum physics, but when it comes to this unusual branch of science, strange is actually a sign of progress. In a study published July 31 in Nature, researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, carried out an experiment involving a quantum circuit. Using special techniques, they were able to monitor the shift of this system from a quantum to a classical state in order to determine the most likely path that it would follow. Quantum systems are those that exist in multiple states at one time—until the system is measured. This is based on Schrodinger’s cat, a thought experiment in which a cat inside a closed box with a vial of poison exists in two states at the same time—alive and dead—until the box is opened (aka measured). The researchers found that by gently monitoring a quantum sys...