Louis de Broglie 1923 electron experiment showing waves

[jammieg]

I was just wondering why they act like waves if the electrons are only fired one at a time and can't influence one another yet they do, is this why some physicist supported the ether theory, that there must be some medium without mass that allows transmission of light and such or maybe just influences the electrons by keeping tabs in a way?

 

[jcsd]

I assume by 'act like waves' you mean that there distribution is the same as a diffraction pattern. Why they interfere with themselves, is simply down to wave-particle duality, a deeper explantion would be dependent on the QM interpretation that was choosen.

No physicist holds to the ether theory as was, this died out with advent of special relativity before the advent of QM.

 

[pelastration]

Originally posted by jammieg
I was just wondering why they act like waves if the electrons are only fired one at a time and can't influence one another yet they do, is this why some physicist supported the ether theory, that there must be some medium without mass that allows transmission of light and such or maybe just influences the electrons by keeping tabs in a way?

Maybe because they are bound by gravity. That's a more logic explanation than particle.wave duality (which is pure QM magic!). Aspect's particles are emitted at the same moment. EPR tests show that groups of particles emitted at 'different' moments can have different spin, but each group emiited at the same moment has the same spin.

 

[jammieg]

I wonder if a single electron was fired and the the apparatus was passed over with a magnet like deguassing then would the next fired electron not be so effected but travel more as a particle instead of wave. Like on my computer monitor if a get a magnet close enough it severely distorts the colours and bends the paths of the electrons, even after taking the magnet away the colour distortion remains, although I don't recommend anyone do this because I have a degaussing button any could otherwise harm the monitor, but I wonder if the materials of the housing of the monitor are retaining some of the magnetic influence and so influencing the next electrons in this way, and if so then might a single electrons fired in the apparatus influence the material of the apparatus like the magnet to influence the next electron or could it be in the vacuum itself? If it's in the vacuum then there ought to be something in the vacuum that retains the influence, is this the general idea of the choosen QM interpretation?
Thanks for bringing up the other thread jc.
Another thing is what if it where the proximity of the electron emitter to the electron itself or the space directly in front of the emitter that was being affected as a magnetic affects a monitor that was affecting the flight paths of the subsequent particles, I mean if the charge retainment is extremely close then it wouldn't have to be very strong to affect the flight path.
I'm fairly sure the the remaining slight colour distortion of the plastic and glass and wires of the monitor is a very sensitive indicator of the influences of magnetism on materials long after the magnet is moved away.