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Shins
Fun guy



Registered: 09/15/04
Posts: 16,337
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Re-Approaching the double slit experiment.
#14583278 - 06/09/11 03:06 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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Alright ss, anyone who's learned physics has probably heard of the double slit experiment.
Here is a link, summary if you are unfamiliar;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-slit_experiment
Quote:
The double-slit experiment or Young's experiment involves particle beams or waves passing through two closely spaced slits, after which in many circumstances they are found to interfere with each other.
I'm not going to try to explain the details of this experiment, as it is easy to find out about on your own.
Now when i say "re-approaching" i mean to put in to question the conclusions of the Copenhagen interpretation which is basically; Quantum Superposition.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_superposition
Quote:
The principle of superposition states that if the world can be in any configuration, any possible arrangement of particles or fields, and if the world could also be in another configuration, then the world can also be in a state which is a superposition of the two, where the amount of each configuration that is in the superposition is specified by a complex number.
This explanation seems to be very counter-intuitive and smells seems like assumption, especially since the existence of superposition is so far, as far as i know, impossible to observe without breaking it.
So! lets hear some alternative theories on why the photons form interference patterns.
One theory that seems to solve the superposition problem states that a vaccum is actually not a vaccum, but a medium along the lines of what has been described as "Aether," and that the photons actually displace this medium. The displacement of the photon combined with it's momentum is said to create waves in this medium which travel through both slits, while the particle goes through only one and "rides" or follows the interference patterns created by the waves in said medium.
When the experiments is done with electrons and you introduce a measuring apparatus, the nature of that apparatus also disturbs said medium and breaks the coherence of the waves.
Intriguing!
I'm eager to hear comments about my example and other alternative theories.
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Seuss
Error: divide byzero



Registered: 04/27/01
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Re: Re-Approaching the double slit experiment. [Re: Shins]
#14583465 - 06/09/11 05:10 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
One theory that seems to solve the superposition problem states that a vaccum is actually not a vaccum, but a medium along the lines of what has been described as "Aether," and that the photons actually displace this medium. The displacement of the photon combined with it's momentum is said to create waves in this medium which travel through both slits, while the particle goes through only one and "rides" or follows the interference patterns created by the waves in said medium.
Interesting theory, but unfortunately the idea of some medium that is displaced by photons doesn't hold true. It is trivial to show that two beams of photons, traveling through a vacuum, do not interact with one another when in close proximity. For example, imagine two beams of photons next to each other, running in parallel. Now, put an opaque plate in front of just one beam. The displaced medium should 'scatter' as the photons plow into the plate. The displaced medium should cause interference with the second beam, which would be easy to measure as the photons follow the interference. Of course, this is not what happens; the second beam of photons continues on as if nothing were out of the ordinary.
-------------------- Just another spore in the wind.
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Baby_Hitler
Errorist




Registered: 03/06/02
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Re: Re-Approaching the double slit experiment. [Re: Seuss]
#14585398 - 06/09/11 12:48 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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This may be relevant to your interests.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-13626587
Quote:
Researchers have bent one of the most basic rules of quantum mechanics, a counterintuitive branch of physics that deals with atomic-scale interactions.
Its "complementarity" rule asserts that it is impossible to observe light behaving as both a wave and a particle, though it is strictly both.
In an experiment reported in Science, researchers have now done exactly that.
They say the feat "pulls back the veil" on quantum reality in a way that was thought to be prohibited by theory.
[...]
Now, Aephraim Steinberg of the University of Toronto and his colleagues have sidestepped this limitation by undertaking "weak measurements" of the photons' momentum.
The team allowed the photons to pass through a thin sliver of the mineral calcite which gave each photon a tiny nudge in its path, with the amount of deviation dependent on which slit it passed through.
By averaging over a great many photons passing through the apparatus, and only measuring the light patterns on a camera, the team was able to infer what paths the photons had taken.
While they were able to easily observe the interference pattern indicative of the wave nature of light, they were able also to see from which slits the photons had come, a sure sign of their particle nature.
The trajectories of the photons within the experiment - forbidden in a sense by the laws of physics - have been laid bare.
On one level, the experiment appears to violate a central rule of quantum mechanics, but Professor Steinberg said this was not the case.
He explained to BBC News that "while the uncertainty principle does indeed forbid one from knowing the position and momentum of a particle exactly at the same time, it turns out that it is possible to ask 'what was the average momentum of the particles which reached this position?'" .
"You can't know the exact value for any single particle, but you can talk about the average."
-------------------- Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ (•_•) <) )~ ANTIFA / \ \(•_•) ( (> SUPER / \ (•_•) <) )> SOLDIERS / \
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DieCommie

Registered: 12/11/03
Posts: 29,258
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Re: Re-Approaching the double slit experiment. [Re: Baby_Hitler]
#14585866 - 06/09/11 02:30 PM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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Quote:
"You can't know the exact value for any single particle, but you can talk about the average."
lol, no shit - that is ehrenfests theorem and it's older than we are.
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Baby_Hitler
Errorist




Registered: 03/06/02
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Re: Re-Approaching the double slit experiment. [Re: DieCommie]
#14588754 - 06/10/11 01:52 AM (12 years, 7 months ago) |
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Yeah, I couldn't really tell if there was anything new in this article, or it was just more LOLSCIENCEJOURNALIZMZ.
-------------------- Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ (•_•) <) )~ ANTIFA / \ \(•_•) ( (> SUPER / \ (•_•) <) )> SOLDIERS / \
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