Have physicists found a way to save Schrödinger's cat? | Science

In Schrödinger's classical thought experiment, the life of a cat in a closed box depends on the outcome of a quantum reaction in which a piece of radioactive material disintegrates or does not disintegrate to trigger the release of a poison. The problem, of course, is that until the box is opened and the experiment is observed, the cat remains in a state of uncertainty where it is both dead and alive. simultaneously. However, in a new study in Nature, the researchers used a supercooled electrical circuit to model an atom with several energy levels, to show that the quantum leap in life or death is not quite instantaneous; it even comes with warning signs that occur slightly ahead of the jump, allowing the researchers to reverse the process. Good news for the Schrödinger cat, certainly, but also for physicists working on quantum computers in which unintentional quantum state changes can lead to errors, The Guardian reports.