Erwin Schrödinger

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Tertiary character
Erwin Schrödinger
Erwin Schrödinger.png
Facing URL after a car crash (6ACV16).
Age1137
Date of birth12 August, 1887
GenderMale
SpeciesHuman
Planet of originEarth, Europe, Austria, Vienna
ProfessionPhysicist
First appearance"Law and Oracle" (6ACV16)
Episode
Voiced byMaurice LaMarche
Wikipedia has information unrelated to Futurama

Erwin Schrödinger is a physicist considered one of the fathers of quantum mechanics. While widely believed to have been born in August 1887 and was believed to have died in January 1961, Schrödinger was seen in New New York in July 3011 (6ACV16), so it is possible that he never actually died, but was rather frozen at (for example) Applied Cryogenics.

Description

Schrödinger wears his hair slicked back, a pair of glasses, a black bow tie, a brown jacket, a white shirt, brown pants, and red shoes; speaks with a German accent; and has a malevolent-looking expression. His likeness of today is similar to that of the 1940s. He is described as being "a major violator of the laws of Physics" by Chief O'Mannahan, who claims that "guys like [him] really bust [her] uterus".

Biography

19th and 20th centuries

According to mainstream belief, Erwin Rudolf Josef Alexander Schrödinger was born on 12 August, 1887, in Vienna and died of tuberculosis on 4 January, 1961, also in Vienna. He received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1933 for the Schrödinger equation and proposed the thought experiment Schrödinger's cat in 1935, among many other conquests.

31st century

Schrödinger, in July 3011, broke speed limit, possibly in an attempt to secure his box, and it got the attention of two NNYPD officers.

Chase

After detecting that Schrödinger's car was going at fifteen miles per hour over the speed of light, policemen Fry and URL engaged in pursuit of the physicist, following him to Circuit City in their motorcycles. Schrödinger did not stop the vehicle and a Tron-like race took place. Although he managed to evade them for a while, Schrödinger was tricked into entering the Fresnel Circle. With the City's light, the Circle created a rainbow of duplicates of Schrödinger's car and of Schrödinger himself, which ultimately caused the car to crash.

Capture

Upon crawling out of his car, Schrödinger was approached by the policemen, who learned his identity by examining his DNA and career chip. Schrödinger was then asked what was in the box that he had in the car and responded that it was "a cat, some poison, and a cesium atom", going on to say that the cat was in a superposition of both states. Doubting his words, Fry opened the box and was attacked by the cat, the status of which was therefore confirmed. URL found the poison immediately afterwards.

Aftermath

Fry and URL later took Schrödinger to the NNYPD and Chief O'Mannahan rewarded them with a promotion to the Future Crimes Division.

Image gallery

Additional Info

Trivia

  • Prior to appearing in "Law and Oracle", Schrödinger's cat was parodied in "Mars University" as "Witten's Dog" and he was also referenced in "A Clone of My Own", where a club called Schrödinger's Kit-Kat Club is seen. The name of the club also references his thought experiment.
  • URL pronounced his first name incorrectly. It is actually pronounced "Er-VIN", and not "Er-WIN".

Quotes

    [Circuit City. Fry and URL are pointing guns at Schrödinger.]
    Fry: DNA and career chip, please.
    [Schrödinger offers his hand and Fry pierces it with a gun that projects a hologram reading NNY DMV, ERWIN SCHRÖDINGER and showing Schrödinger's profile photograph.]
    URL: Erwin Schrödinger, huh? What's in the box, Schrödinger?
    Erwin Schrödinger: Um... A cat, some poison, und a cesium atom.
    Fry: The cat! Is it alive or dead? [Schrödinger is not given the time to reply.] Alive or dead?!
    [URL pushes Schrödinger against his car's door, alarming him.]
    URL: Answer him, fool.
    Erwin Schrödinger: It's a superposition of both states until you open it and collapse the wave function.
    [Fry enters the car.]
    Fry: Says you.
    [Fry opens the box and a cat jumps out of it, attacking him. Fry screams. URL takes a close look at the box.]
    URL: There's also a lotta drugs in there.

    [Chief O'Mannahan's office. Chief O'Mannahan is shaving above a drawing of Schrödinger, whom Fry and URL have brought to the NNYPD.]
    Chief O'Mannahan: You boys did good. Nailed a major violator of the laws of Physics.
    URL: He's goin' down. [URL lifts up Schrödinger's cat.] Cat's gonna testify.
    [Chief O'Mannahan lifts up the drawing of Schrödinger, revealing it to read WANTED.]
    Chief O'Mannahan: Guys like this really bust my uterus. You're both getting a promotion! Ever heard of the Future Crimes Division?

Appearances