If an electron is a continuous wave then…

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SUMMARY

An electron is defined as a continuous wave that collapses due to observation or perturbation, rather than being strictly a particle. The discussion highlights the mechanics of high-energy electron wave collisions, which can produce energy and subatomic particles, emphasizing the need to understand conservation of energy and mass in wave interactions. It is established that electrons are quanta of the electron field, exhibiting both wave and particle characteristics depending on the context. The complexities of viewing electrons as wave packets in momentum space are acknowledged, but the particle perspective remains the most practical for understanding collisions in accelerators.

PREREQUISITES
  • Quantum mechanics fundamentals
  • Understanding of wave-particle duality
  • Familiarity with electron field theory
  • Basic principles of particle physics and collisions
NEXT STEPS
  • Explore the mechanics of wave-particle interactions in quantum field theory
  • Study the conservation laws in high-energy physics
  • Investigate the concept of wave packets in momentum space
  • Learn about electron accelerators and their operational principles
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Physicists, students of quantum mechanics, and anyone interested in the fundamental nature of electrons and particle interactions in high-energy physics.

bluestar
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I understand and agree that an electron is only a name for a continuous wave that has collapsed because of an observation or other perturbation. Where observations may be made with electric fields, magnetic fields, or both which cause the collapse the continuous wave.

But what I don’t understand is when two high energy electron waves collide and produce energy and other subatomic particles. Specifically:
1. What is the mechanics of two high energy waves colliding to produce energy?
2. What is the mechanics of two high energy waves degenerating to produce other subatomic particles which themselves are continuous waves?
3. How is there a conservation of energy/mass when you’re dealing with waves?
4. How do you get mass/momentum out of a continuous wave?
 
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bluestar said:
I understand and agree that an electron is only a name for a continuous wave that has collapsed because of an observation or other perturbation.
You need to worry about this conception. An electron is neither a wave nor a particle. It is a quantum of the electron field. As such, it manifest itself sometimes as what we understand as a particle, sometimes as we we understand is a wave. The mathematical rules are crystal clear, the philosophy of what the object is is a matter of epistemology.

When two electrons collide in an accelerator, viewing them in terms of waves is technically possible but rather involved. You can describe them as wave packets in momentum space with a finite momentum spread, and a decent location according to Heisenberg. But the phenomenon is in that case best understood in terms of what we call particles.
 

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