Pariah Posted September 3, 2015 Report Share Posted September 3, 2015 54 in base-10 or base-18? My students have no idea what base-18 is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkdguy Posted September 3, 2015 Report Share Posted September 3, 2015 Have them write down the answer in both base 10 and base 6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazza Posted September 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2015 Now you're into the soul-trading business. Cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted September 4, 2015 Report Share Posted September 4, 2015 Conversion problem for my students: The intelligent life forms found on the planet Blorak have six fingers and three arms, so they count by sixes and eighteens. In their currency, there are eighteen Blorak pence in a Blorak shilling, and six Blorak shillings in a Blorak pound. How many Blorak pence are there in a Blorak 54-pound note? (3 points) "Irrelevant, because unlike the British they did the sensible thing and converted to the Euro in 2002." Pariah 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazza Posted September 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2015 Schrodinger's Frankenstein Monster. Is he alive or dead? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazza Posted September 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2015 Conversion problem for my students: The intelligent life forms found on the planet Blorak have six fingers and three arms, so they count by sixes and eighteens. In their currency, there are eighteen Blorak pence in a Blorak shilling, and six Blorak shillings in a Blorak pound. How many Blorak pence are there in a Blorak 54-pound note? (3 points) 42. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted September 4, 2015 Report Share Posted September 4, 2015 Schrodinger's Frankenstein Monster. Is he alive or dead? Yes. Pedantically in a different way, he is most conveniently described in terms of a pair in a set of quantum states which, when you force the issue of projecting them suddenly into the different quantum basis set of alive or dead, the probability of his resolving into (e.g.) the alive state is a function of time, and one could in principle force that resolution at the moment when that probability is 50%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted September 4, 2015 Report Share Posted September 4, 2015 My students have no idea what base-18 is. Well then, 5832. Silly students. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazza Posted September 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2015 Yes. Pedantically in a different way, he is most conveniently described in terms of a pair in a set of quantum states which, when you force the issue of projecting them suddenly into the different quantum basis set of alive or dead, the probability of his resolving into (e.g.) the alive state is a function of time, and one could in principle force that resolution at the moment when that probability is 50%. So it is a matter when we look i.e. focus on it which determines the state? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted September 4, 2015 Report Share Posted September 4, 2015 We don't have to look -- an observer can be simply something that can interact with the observed, like the wall in the cat's box. As I Understand It. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted September 4, 2015 Report Share Posted September 4, 2015 So it is a matter when we look i.e. focus on it which determines the state? Schrodinger's original (intended to be dismissive) argument, involving the cat, is that when you seal the box, the cat's status is most conveniently expressed as a mixture of dead and alive states, whose relative proportions change with time. What you get when you open the box is still probabilistic, and you know nothing until you open the box. His focus on choosing the time when the amplitudes of alive and dead to be equal was made as an argumentation tactic, to highlight what he considered to be absurd. tkdguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazza Posted September 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2015 Cheers. So there is still the issue we don't know the state of the cat, until we open the box (when the probabilities are 50-50). Is that correct? In other words, we focus on the cat and open the box? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted September 5, 2015 Report Share Posted September 5, 2015 The point would be that Schrödinger thought the cat would be either alive or dead, not both a once. It's to illustrate that macro objects do not follow the quantum rules of atomic and subatomic particles. There are experiments under way that try to find the cut-off level, but I haven't heard of any results yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazza Posted September 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2015 YEs I can understand that. My question is does focus on the quantum state determine the state of uncertainty? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cancer Posted September 7, 2015 Report Share Posted September 7, 2015 No, but the experiment as framed puts very harsh requirements on the box; no peeking, no listening, no vibration sensors, no thermography, etc. Observing a mix of states in any way pushes it into one state or other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted September 7, 2015 Report Share Posted September 7, 2015 *now has salt'n'peppa song lodged in cranium* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazza Posted September 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2015 which Salt'n'Pepa song? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted September 8, 2015 Report Share Posted September 8, 2015 Push It. Oh great -- now it's back! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazza Posted September 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2015 Did you push it real good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted September 8, 2015 Report Share Posted September 8, 2015 No pushing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazza Posted September 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2015 Push over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted September 9, 2015 Report Share Posted September 9, 2015 Playground behavior ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazza Posted September 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2015 Who me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L. Marcus Posted September 9, 2015 Report Share Posted September 9, 2015 Not with Salt'N'Peppa, no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazza Posted September 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2015 Ha, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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