Minnowbrook Symposium
Roger Penrose
Quantum State Reduction as a Gravitational Phenomenon: Theory and Experiment

The problem of quantum state-vector reduction is addressed in many different ways by the various schools of thought in quantum mechanics. To support my own particular viewpoint that reduction is an actual fundamental conflict between the basic principles of general relativity and those of quantum mechanics. This leads to the conclusion that a quantum superposition - i.e. a "Schrodinger's cat" - is unstable and will decay into one or the other of the two states in quantum superposition in a period of time that can be calculated from the gravitational energies involved. For a real cat, this time would be a tiny fraction of a second, which is why we do not actually see quantum-superposed Schrodinger's cats. But for a small enough object, like a very small crystal, this predicted effect should be measurable. A specific space-based experiment to detect this effect (now being actively investigated) will be described. Some recent theoretical developments will also be presented.


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