'Quantum cats' make molecular physics adorable


Quantum physics is one of the most fascinating sciences for a lot of reasons, including its adorable (and occasionally morbid) reliance on cats.
The cats, of course, are hypothetical — Schrödinger's cat is both alive and dead at the same time until it is observed. But when physicists replicated the "cat state" in their laboratory in 2005 — six atoms simultaneously "spinning up" and "spinning down" (or to keep with the metaphor, "alive" and "dead") — we began to learn a lot more about the inner workings of molecules.
Recently, Stanford scientists had a breakthrough by shooting a two-atom molecule of iodine with a laser, cleaving it in two. That energy makes the molecule both excited and not excited, simultaneously — the so-called "cat state." Then the researchers shot a second X-ray laser at the molecule in order to "create what was essentially an X-ray hologram of concentric rings," Gizmodo writes. "It took a bit of additional clever processing to refine the details, but they ended up with a series of snapshots of the molecule at various points in time. And they were able to string those snapshots together to create a stop-motion movie."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But all that science talk is admittedly lacking in the aforementioned feline cuteness. Get an adorable dose of cat quantum physics in the explainer video, below. Jeva Lange
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Book reviews: ‘Red Scare: Blacklists, McCarthyism, and the Making of Modern America’ and ‘How to End a Story: Collected Diaries, 1978–1998’
Feature A political ‘witch hunt’ and Helen Garner’s journal entries
By The Week US Published
-
The backlash against ChatGPT's Studio Ghibli filter
The Explainer The studio's charming style has become part of a nebulous social media trend
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Why are student loan borrowers falling behind on payments?
Today's Big Question Delinquencies surge as the Trump administration upends the program
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditions
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billion
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on record
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homes
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creature
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published