Double-Slit Detector: How Physicists Detect Particles

[chris2112]

How exactly do physicists detect if a particle goes through one slit or the other in the double-slit experiment? Every book and article I read seems to elude this part.

 

[raymo39]

Electrons are probably the most widely used particle, what you can do is put something around either slit like a circuit, that will react to the moving charge by having a current flow. that way you can tell whether or not it went through a particular slit.

 

[chris2112]

OK, so you can detect if a charged particle goes through one slit or the other by changes in current flows placed at each slit. What about particles with no charge like photons? Are there other methods or are certain particles like photons just omitted for the double slit experiment with detection?

 

[Drakkith]

OK, so you can detect if a charged particle goes through one slit or the other by changes in current flows placed at each slit. What about particles with no charge like photons? Are there other methods or are certain particles like photons just omitted for the double slit experiment with detection?

You can set up your experiment so that a photon that goes through one slit or path is changed to a certain polarization. You can then have another polarizer that you can change that will let the photon through or block it depending on it's polarization. If it makes it to the detector you will know which slit it went through.