<P> On the other hand, the anti-Zeno effect accelerates the changes . For example, if you peek a look into the cat box frequently you may either cause delays to the fateful choice or, conversely, accelerate it . Both the Zeno effect and the anti-Zeno effect are real and known to happen to real atoms . The quantum system being measured must be strongly coupled to the surrounding environment (in this case to the apparatus, the experiment room...etc) in order to obtain more accurate information . But while there are no information passed to the outside world it is considered to be a quasi-measurement, but as soon as the information about the cat's well - being is passed on to the outside world (by peeking into the box) quasi-measurement turns into measurement . Quasimeasurements, like measurements, cause the Zeno effects . Zeno effects teach us that even without peeking into the box, the death of the cat would have been delayed or accelerated anyway due to its environment . </P> <P> According to objective collapse theories, superpositions are destroyed spontaneously (irrespective of external observation) when some objective physical threshold (of time, mass, temperature, irreversibility, etc .) is reached . Thus, the cat would be expected to have settled into a definite state long before the box is opened . This could loosely be phrased as "the cat observes itself", or "the environment observes the cat". </P> <P> Objective collapse theories require a modification of standard quantum mechanics to allow superpositions to be destroyed by the process of time evolution . </P> <P> The experiment as described is a purely theoretical one, and the machine proposed is not known to have been constructed . However, successful experiments involving similar principles, e.g. superpositions of relatively large (by the standards of quantum physics) objects have been performed . These experiments do not show that a cat - sized object can be superposed, but the known upper limit on "cat states" has been pushed upwards by them . In many cases the state is short - lived, even when cooled to near absolute zero . </P>

I had a cat his name was bill