Friday Night Physics

As part of my science fiction writing course, I've had to do some research about real science. I think a basic component of any form of fiction is learning the rules and facts first, then figuring out how to plausibly break or expand upon them. If I were to write a story about alternate universes, it wouldn't be enough to simply state the situation; I'd have to offer some explanation at some point. Through a very unexpected source this week, I came across Schrödinger's cat.

Before I elaborate on this, I should make it clear that the following is a hypothetical example, that no animals were harmed by any physicists(that I know of) back in the ‘30s. What Erwin Schrödinger merely proposed was a metaphor to explain superposition in quantum theory, basically that the very act of observing any object changes it and defines it. In his example, a cat is sealed in a box with a macabre device that under the right circumstances will kill it. We don't know if the cat is dead or alive. While in the box, it has an equal chance of being one or the other. It isn't until we open the box that we know for certain whether or not the cat survived. Until we observe its state as being one or the other, it is both dead and alive according to Schrödinger. It's a lot like that light in your refrigerator. Is it on? When you open the door to observe it, it's on, and even though we might know that it's a switch in the door causing it to illuminate, in opening the door we caused it to go on. That's the fascinating and challenging thing about quantum physics. When scientists study things at the atomic and subatomic levels, they actually exist in multiple states until observed. The very act of observing locks them in to one probability.

Even put in simple terms, Superposition is a heavy concept. How can something be both dead and alive, on and off, black and white, until we look at it? For average people like myself, such ideas need to be put into a form I can relate to. Throughout the week I've been reading through The Physics of Superheroes by James Kakalios. The author, a physics professor, is also an MCF-level comic book geek, citing origins and issue numbers with ease. His book examines physics through comic book stories from Marvel and DC, explaining how various powers could actually work, once you suspend your disbelief regarding their origins. For the most part, comic creators get their physics right, with a few exceptions. If someone like Superman picked up a building, for example, and flew with it, the building would not stay in one piece. Its center of gravity would be off and it would crumble, even as the forces of flight acted upon it as well. Conversely, Kakalios points out how Marvel addresses the problem in an issue of Fantastic Four in which Gladiator lifts up their headquarters, the Baxter Building. Reed Richards is quick to realize Gladiator must be holding the structure together with some kind of “tactile kinesis” power. Even though this power is completely made-up, Kakalios gives them credit for offering an explanation. John Byrne, who wrote and drew the issue, apparently knew what he was doing.

It's such a good book, I forget I'm reading about science, which I think was the point. The author really discovered the perfect way to reach his students. I'm fascinated to find out that Kitty Pryde could pass through walls via tunneling, or how The Flash catches bullets unharmed by simply matching their velocity. I was glad to read that last one since I've been rewatching the series on DVD and one episode included a scene where the Flash catches a bullet before it hits someone.

Schrödinger's cat leads to some interesting theories, including support for the existence of multiple worlds. Kakalios goes on to explain how Hugh Everett III built upon the notion that both possibilities, alive and dead, exist while the cat is still in the box. He posited that since both realities are true up until we observe it, our observation simply defines which reality we're in. It's just as likely that I could have a counterpart elsewhere who finds the cat in quite a different state than I do. I often wonder if dreams are glimpses into my life. Before I woke up this morning, I was frantic as I tried to get ready for my wedding and the priest sent me up the block while he and my dad started the parade. The crowd was big and I never saw more than the top of the bride's head. After waiting on the corner a while, the parade never came so I walked back to the church where a bagpipe group was marching out of the parking lot. It wasn't my group, and this led to a lot of trekking through neighborhoods, basements, and spooky abandoned hospitals before I woke up in a much saner reality.

From Schrödinger and Everett, Kakalios moves on to Superman and a classic story in which he flies back in time to save Atlantis at the behest of his mermaid friend Lori Lemaris. He succeeds and, for some reason, decides to really muck with history, saving Abraham Lincoln, Nathan Hale, Custer, and ultimately his own parents. However, his parents leave Krypton with him as an infant, and if he was never sent to Earth to become Superman, how could he save them? When he returns to the present, nothing is changed which baffles him. Traveling back once more, he soon realizes that all he's done is create alternate realities. For each choice, each decision we make there are multiple possibilities. If I chose chicken for lunch somewhere else I chose pizza instead. It's impossible to change history, and doing so only creates another divergent reality. For time travel to work, it has to take in to account the existence of multiple worlds. Wow.

I guess the eight years I spent as a serious comic collector wasn't entirely wasted, given this heavy stuff now made light enough for someone like me to carry in my brain.