Introducing Schrödinger’s cat in the laboratory

A laboratory session that is designed to introduce students to the conceptual foundations of quantum mechanics is described. In this laboratory session, several experiments are used in order to illustrate the important ideas of superposition, interference, and the ‘‘collapse’’ of the wavefunction. These experiments form the basis for a discussion of four of the most popular interpretations of quantum mechanics that have been proposed over the years: the instrumentalist interpretation, hidden variable theories, the objective view of the wavefunction, and the many‐worlds interpretation. As a finale, students are introduced to the paradox that epitomizes the interpretational problems of quantum mechanics: the paradox of Schrödinger’s cat.