Saturday, March 29, 2008

Schrodinger's Cat: a reflection on faith




Sorry if this is way off or that it might not make sense. Schrodinger's Cat is the idea that if you took a cat and a box, and place some atomic material like Uranium and a vial of poison with a hammer poised ready to fall and break the vial if an atom of the uranium decays, the hammer smashes the vial and kills the cat.


A tenet of quantum mechanics, uranium atoms, cannot be said to be in a definite state they are neither decayed or undecayed until they are observed. Until then, atoms hover in a quantum limbo, stuck in both possible states at the same time. Schrodinger proposed that until we open the lid and observe we also cannot assume the cat be alive or dead. In fact he proposed that the cat is both at the same time.


Now, Schrodinger supposedly used this as an illustration to mock his more mystical minded colleges who believed that observation created reality.


Yet, in this we have great stories of science fiction where we can meander a bit in the possibilities of this if true.


What if in the quantum realm we have both death and life intermixed. In fact if we read Genesis we see that Adam and Eve at the time of the curse suffer such a fate. Though they are "alive" they somehow "died" that very day they partook of the forbidden fruit.


Man exists in this sort of limbo such as the fate of Schodinger's cat.


Scripture teaches we must have life and the Life is in the Son.


Can you imagine a world where there is no death mixed in life? No decay at all. In some ways that may be sad as I love the color of the leaves in fall... or the color of old barn wood. Yet, imagine no death and no decay?


I imagine that God in a sense lifted the lid at the Cross and the atoms made their decision... for He made them and they will obey.


Do you think this is too far fetched? Then explain how Jesus in a physical body like yours and mine walked through a closed door and stood before His disciples. Jesus being God, knew the molecular structure of that door thus He could pass through it. He made all things so He knows the physics and quantum physics involved to do such things. Not to mention being dead for three days and then out and about walking through doors.


So, I see again, it is not the atoms who decide the fate of the cat, but that the God of the Atom decides the fate of the cat... and in that tells the atom to not only let the cat live, but give it life with no death at all!


Again, I may be off a bit. I have no education in physics let alone quantum physics, yet it makes me wonder what is in store for us in the New Creation.


Be blessed,

iggy

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have studied Quantum physics in the past, and getting ready to do a refresher course. I have no idea what you are talking about! :)

Unknown said...

nator,

I am a bit hesitant to state I understand it all myself.

= )

iggy

Doorman-Priest said...

Hey, Iggy, so now I have to be an interlekchewal?

Damn!

Joe C said...

Ig,

I see where you're going with this. How about, how can God exist as both man and God, without changing His nature? That's along the same line of thoughts for me. God just makes things happen, regardless of our observation, the lot is cast and the Lord decides the outcome.

Oh and by the way, scientifically speaking, leaves and plants don't technically 'die' like humans and animals. I don't consider simple cellular decay as death, and probably not part of the curse either. What if God designed plants and leaves that way? I look forward to 'fall "season"' on the New Earth. Ha ha.

Joe