Toward Quantum Superposition of Living Organisms

Details Toward Quantum Superposition of Living Organisms Toward Quantum Superposition of Living Organisms

2009-09-08

arxiv.org/abs/0909.1469v3

New J. Phys. 12:033015,2010

Physics

Quantum Physics

9 pages, 4 figures, published version

Scientific paper

10.1088/1367-2630/12/3/033015

The most striking feature of quantum mechanics is the existence of superposition states, where an object appears to be in different situations at the same time. The existence of such states has been tested with small objects, like atoms, ions, electrons and photons, and even with molecules. More recently, it has been possible to create superpositions of collections of photons, atoms, or Cooper pairs. Current progress in optomechanical systems may soon allow us to create superpositions of even larger objects, like micro-sized mirrors or cantilevers, and thus to test quantum mechanical phenomena at larger scales. Here we propose a method to cool down and create quantum superpositions of the motion of sub-wavelength, arbitrarily shaped dielectric objects trapped inside a high--finesse cavity at a very low pressure. Our method is ideally suited for the smallest living organisms, such as viruses, which survive under low vacuum pressures, and optically behave as dielectric objects. This opens up the possibility of testing the quantum nature of living organisms by creating quantum superposition states in very much the same spirit as the original Schr\"odinger's cat "gedanken" paradigm. We anticipate our essay to be a starting point to experimentally address fundamental questions, such as the role of life and consciousness in quantum mechanics.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Toward Quantum Superposition of Living Organisms does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Toward Quantum Superposition of Living Organisms, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Toward Quantum Superposition of Living Organisms will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-108361