Why can't large objects be in two places at once? ⚡ экспресс
Superpositions of mass distributions can entangle with spacetime geometry. It is shown that macroscopic mass distributions face a natural resistance to forming such superpositions. The macroscopic superposition is modeled as a Schrödinger's cat state. The resistance appears as a dip in the total energy of this state depending on the distance between the superposition branches. This energy dip creates a counteracting force that hinders the formation of the superposition. A generalization of this phenomenon related to the measurement problem is discussed.
Schrödinger's cat, according to quantum rules, can be both alive and dead at once. But a table can't pull that off. When a massive object tries to be in two places, its mass curves spacetime so drastically that instead of two points, a single deep depression forms—and the object rolls into it. It's like a heavy boulder on a mountain ridge: the faintest breeze, and it falls into a single valley.
For atoms, such curvature is negligible, but for large bodies it's an insurmountable obstacle. Most surprising: the farther apart you try to separate the copies of the object, the deeper the well becomes.
This mechanism is strongest near black holes with their monstrous curvature and somewhat resembles gravitational waves, except here the energy goes into breaking the superposition. Perhaps gravity constantly 'observes' the world, preventing large objects from being in two places—an idea Roger Penrose worked on.
🎯 Even a speck of dust weighing a millionth of a gram loses its ability to be in two places faster than you can sneeze.
🎬 In Greg Egan's novel 'Quarantine', quantum states control consciousness, but gravity sets a hard limit on such fantasies.