A cat in a wheelie bin can help us ponder how the universe works

"Yes, it was an unfortunate and stupid incident, but there's a positive side to feline persecution: it lets people like me bang on about quantum physics. Physics doesn't get the front-page splashes it deserves, unless a sandwich is dropped into a particle accelerator, or someone invents a new bomb, so we interested parties will seize on anything we can that allows us to dwell on sub-atomic particles or dark matter.
According to this principle, the cat-in-a-bin incident was the perfect springboard to start a discussion about the most famous feline in science, Schrdinger's cat. This cat was placed in a sealed box, with a hammer, some hydrocyanic acid and a piece of radioactive substance. If one atom decayed, the hammer would hit the bottle of acid, the bottle would smash and the cat would die. However, until the box was opened, the cat was both alive and dead – or, according to Professor Brian Cox, my partner-in-crime on Radio 4's science series The Infinite Monkey Cage, 'in a linear superposition of alive and dead'."
via  Telegraph read more