The Schrodinger's paradox : The AVB interpretation

Schrödinger's cat is a thought experiment, sometimes described as a paradox, devised by Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger in 1935, It illustrates what he saw as the problem of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics applied to everyday objects. The scenario presents a cat which may be simultaneously both alive and dead, a state known as a quantum superposition, as a result of being linked to a random subatomic event that may or may not occur. The thought experiment is also often featured in theoretical discussions of theinterpretations of quantum mechanics. Schrödinger coined the term Verschränkung in the course of developing the thought experiment.

Copenhagen interpretation

The most commonly held interpretation of quantum mechanics is the Copenhagen interpretation. In the Copenhagen interpretation, a system stops being a superposition of states and becomes either one or the other when an observation takes place. This thought experiment makes apparent the fact that the nature of measurement, or observation, is not well-defined in this interpretation. The experiment can be interpreted to mean that while the box is closed, the system simultaneously exists in a superposition of the states "decayed nucleus/dead cat" and "undecayed nucleus/living cat", and that only when the box is opened and an observation performed does the wave function collapse into one of the two states.

However, one of the main scientists associated with the Copenhagen interpretation, Niels Bohr, never had in mind the observer-induced collapse of the wave function, so that Schrödinger's cat did not pose any riddle to him. The cat would be either dead or alive long before the box is opened by a conscious observer. Analysis of an actual experiment found that measurement alone (for example by a Geiger counter) is sufficient to collapse a quantum wave function before there is any conscious observation of the measurement. The view that the "observation" is taken when a particle from the nucleus hits the detector can be developed into objective collapse theories. The thought experiment requires an "unconscious observation" by the detector in order for magnification to occur. In contrast, the many worlds approach denies that collapse ever occurs.

The modified AVB interpretation: 

The modified AVB interpretation is a simple yet satisfying explanation to the paradox which points out to the dependency of the results of the experiment on a commonly ignored but complex and indeterminable variable, the lifespan of the cat.

 "The Schrodinger's cat paradox is dependent on another indeterminable complex variable i.e. the natural lifespan of the cat. The cat within the enclosed box could die of natural causes ( death by aging  ) within the period of the experiment making it impossible to determine if the cat is alive or dead until the box is opened and the inference is observed."