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Hydr0matic
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I propose a setup to distinguish between the quantum interpretation and the wave interpretation of the double slit experiment.
Briefly, they are:
Quantum
The photon gun fires a photon that travels through either slit A or slit B, then hits a detector cell registering a spot in the detector pattern. All photons follow the same procedure, and with the help of quantum mechanics, the result is a nice interference pattern.
Wave
The photon gun fires a photon that travels through both slit A and slit B, then hits a detector cell with either destructive or constructive interference, depending on the location of the detector cell. If the superposition is "too destructive", no spot will register in the detector pattern. All photons interfere destructively or constructively and the result is a nice interference pattern.
So how do we distinguish between these interpretations? We do it by counting detections.
If the photon gun fires 1000 photons per minute, quantum mechanics predict that, during a minute, a 1000 detections will be registered (ideally). The wave theory on the other hand, predict that during a minute, only photons that are not interfering destructively will register at the detector.
So the setup is simple. First fire the photon gun without the double slit to determine the photon firing rate, then add the double slit and count the detections.
Since I adhere to the wave interpretation, I predict that there will be a significant difference between firing rate and detection rate. However, if this was the case, you could still argue that the non-detections "got lost" somewhere at the slits. But even if this was the case, you could still distinguish the theories from each other. Because, if the quantum interpretation is correct, the "lost photons" are lost, just random mishaps at the slits. On the other hand, in the wave interpretation all "lost photons" are destructive interference. This means that, if we alter the detector so that the destructive areas (dark bands) become constructive instead of destructive, there should be a significant increase in detections which cannot be explained by quantum mechanics.
An illustration of the setup:
http://physics.soderholms.com/doubleslit_setup.jpg
Any thoughts?
Briefly, they are:
Quantum
The photon gun fires a photon that travels through either slit A or slit B, then hits a detector cell registering a spot in the detector pattern. All photons follow the same procedure, and with the help of quantum mechanics, the result is a nice interference pattern.
Wave
The photon gun fires a photon that travels through both slit A and slit B, then hits a detector cell with either destructive or constructive interference, depending on the location of the detector cell. If the superposition is "too destructive", no spot will register in the detector pattern. All photons interfere destructively or constructively and the result is a nice interference pattern.
So how do we distinguish between these interpretations? We do it by counting detections.
If the photon gun fires 1000 photons per minute, quantum mechanics predict that, during a minute, a 1000 detections will be registered (ideally). The wave theory on the other hand, predict that during a minute, only photons that are not interfering destructively will register at the detector.
So the setup is simple. First fire the photon gun without the double slit to determine the photon firing rate, then add the double slit and count the detections.
Since I adhere to the wave interpretation, I predict that there will be a significant difference between firing rate and detection rate. However, if this was the case, you could still argue that the non-detections "got lost" somewhere at the slits. But even if this was the case, you could still distinguish the theories from each other. Because, if the quantum interpretation is correct, the "lost photons" are lost, just random mishaps at the slits. On the other hand, in the wave interpretation all "lost photons" are destructive interference. This means that, if we alter the detector so that the destructive areas (dark bands) become constructive instead of destructive, there should be a significant increase in detections which cannot be explained by quantum mechanics.
An illustration of the setup:
http://physics.soderholms.com/doubleslit_setup.jpg
Any thoughts?
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