When we want to observe the wavelike nature of electrons, so we use a double-slit alchemical apparatus for the experiment, we find that it exhibits obvious wave characteristics—interference fringes. And when we try to observe the particulate nature of electrons, placing a recorder near each of the two slits, the interference fringes disappear, and pure particulate nature manifests…
Is this the truth of reality? Electrons show whatever we wish to observe? Observation changes the world?
Countless arcanists found their minds thrown into utter chaos—even more confused than when deciphering the arcane significance of bizarre magical phenomena. This touched upon their understanding of the entire world, and of themselves! They had once believed that only with the aid of magic would the world produce all manner of inconceivable and seemingly impossible phenomena. Who would have thought that the underlying foundation of the real world—the microscopic domain—would be a place stranger than magic, more fantastical than imagination!
"Is this the complementarity principle as manifested in wave-particle duality? Waviness and particlity cannot coexist—when one is determined, the other vanishes instantly, thus manifesting the uncertainty principle?" Larry restrained his feelings of shock, astonishment, excitement, and elation, and began contemplating the arcane principles revealed by Lucian's electron double-slit interference experiment.
He cautioned himself that at this moment he absolutely must not connect the microscopic domain with the macroscopic world, or he would confuse his cognition, creating contradictions with the myriad real things in the material world, leaving him at a loss—even contradicting himself.
"When transitioning from the microscopic domain to the macroscopic world, there must be other factors at play that cause the wave function to collapse—making the waviness disappear and the particlity definite…" Annick, Sprint, Dieppe, Timothy, and the other arcanists kept reminding themselves of the same, lest their understanding be shaken by Lucian's electron double-slit interference experiment!
Only by firmly holding to such thoughts could they accept the various experimental results of the microscopic domain.
This was perhaps the most subversive and unbelievable field in the entire history of arcane magic!
Although the lower- and mid-tier arcanists were still beginners in the microscopic domain, having not yet built their cognitive worlds upon it, the bizarre results and inferences of this field contradicted the common sense of the macroscopic world—and that common sense was the foundation of their outlook on life, their worldview, and their fundamental values. So each of them wore expressions of either bewilderment or pain, tasting the helplessness of having all three pillars of their understanding utterly shattered.
"No wonder they call him the Three-View Destroyer…" Countless arcanists cursed fearfully in their hearts.
After the intense shock of the electron double-slit interference experiment slowly subsided, the outstanding micro-domain arcanists—Larry, Dieppe, Annick, Sprint, and the others—showed traces of excitement on their faces. This experiment had given them a far deeper understanding of the wave-particle duality and complementarity principle of electrons. It filled them with passionate enthusiasm for exploring the microscopic domain!
"I have a question." Suddenly, Oliver, his expression slightly twisted, stepped forward. The dimmed light around him returned to normal—he had nearly allowed his cognitive world to waver, harming himself.
Lucian gave a slight nod. "Please, go ahead."
Larry and Dieppe looked over curiously. "What further doubts does Lord Oliver have?"
Oliver drew a quiet breath. "Observation changes the result. What, precisely, is the definition of 'observation'? This concerns the transition from the microscopic domain to the macroscopic world."
"Observation refers to our use of various means to observe the electron," Lucian answered calmly, his eyelids lowered, concealing the emotions in his pupils.
Oliver had calmed down, a smile lingering at the corner of his lips. With a tone almost like a poet's, he said, "The core is us? Then I have a thought experiment. I'm sure everyone is familiar with atomic nucleus decay?"
Samantha, Rachel, Heidi, and the others quietly nodded. Elemental decay was one of the major branches of the microscopic domain. The Storm Dominator and the Elemental Dominator had just won the Evans Arcane Award for their research on it. Moreover, it represented a new energy direction and a formidable offensive legendary spell. There was no arcanist who wasn't paying attention to this field!
Oliver continued, "Suppose this atomic nucleus has a fifty percent chance of undergoing decay. Then we design an experimental apparatus like this…"
He described an ingenious experimental design: when the atomic nucleus decays and releases a neutron, it triggers a chain reaction that ultimately shatters a glass vial containing a deadly curse.
"If we place a poor cat inside this experimental apparatus, under normal circumstances we could describe it as follows: this cat has a fifty percent chance of being killed by the curse." As Oliver explained this apparatus, Annick and Sprint's faces turned deathly pale—they seemed to have thought of something terrifying.
Dieppe, Larry, Juliusan, and the other outstanding micro-domain arcanists could not help but tremble slightly, their faces turning ashen, because they had roughly guessed what Lord Oliver intended to convey. He was going to use a simple yet clever experimental apparatus to link the microscopic domain with the macroscopic world! And this was the very question they had been desperately trying to avoid!
Under the curious gazes of most of the arcanists, Oliver's voice rose slightly: "If we seal this experimental apparatus and perform no observation, then according to Lucian's interpretation, the atomic nucleus—belonging to the microscopic domain—would exhibit a quantum superposition state, existing in a mixed superposition of decayed and not-decayed. This miraculous state would persist until we observe it, at which point it randomly collapses into a definite outcome."
"What I want to ask everyone is: what about that poor cat? If decay occurs, it dies; if no decay occurs, it lives. Then the quantum superposition of the atom would be equivalent to the cat's own state? This would mean the cat exists in a quantum superposition of life and death within the apparatus?"
"Is that possible?"
"Or would the cat's own observation also cause the wave function to collapse, determining the outcome?"
Thump—Larry, Dieppe, and the others' faces drained of color, turning deathly white. A superposition of life and death? A cat that was simultaneously alive and dead? No magic in existence could produce such a state! Lord Oliver had used an elegant, ingenious experiment to magnify the strangeness of the microscopic domain to the scale of the macroscopic world!
This left them no way to continue ignoring the problem. It forced them to confront the enormous contradiction between the microscopic domain and the macroscopic world, to grapple with the mystery of the transition. If it hadn't been a great arcanist who proposed this experiment, Sprint would have wanted to blurt out: I'm going to strangle that cat—then there'd be no contradiction!
Those who had just accepted Lucian's interpretation because of the electron double-slit interference experiment now felt a burning sting on their faces, as though someone had slapped them hard.
Oliver turned his gaze toward the lectern where Lucian stood in silence. "What state is this cat actually in?"
Because of the Immortal Passage and the state transitions Lucian had personally experienced, he did not reject the concept of quantum superposition. What puzzled him was: at what scale could quantum superposition actually hold? Electrons, protons, atoms, and other microscopic particles? Or could it extend to molecules? To cells? To ordinary organisms? To intelligent life? Only by clarifying this boundary could he find the cause of quantum superposition's disappearance, thereby laying the arcane foundation for a safe path to godhood free of hidden dangers!
Therefore, he was unsatisfied with Lucian's rough interpretation that observation causes quantum superposition to vanish. Human observation causes collapse—then what about other intelligent beings? An ordinary cat without magic? Inanimate matter without life? Molecules at even smaller scales?
As Oliver posed his questions, all eyes converged upon Lucian, awaiting his answer.
Lucian's eyelids remained slightly lowered as he said, "Yes. The cat is in a quantum superposition of life and death."
"What?" Countless voices erupted. A superposition of life and death? If a cat could be in such a state, then what about humans? Why had they never experienced it?