- #1
DoobleD
- 259
- 20
Is the wave function physical ? I've searched for this on the web, and most people seem to agree that it does not represent a physical thing. It'd be just a probability distribution. There is still debate and uncertainty about that question though.
What annoys me then is what about the observed diffraction effect in a double slit experiment ? If we shoot an electron trough slits, the odds of finding it on a screen on the other side correspond to a diffraction pattern right ? As if the electron was somehow interfering with itself. And the diffraction pattern correspond to the wave function I think ? (Please correct me if this is wrong, I'm just starting QM and I am not confortable with its very basic concepts.)
So if there is an observable diffraction pattern that "matches" a wave function, isn't the wave function something physical, as if the electron was "spread" in space ? And how to explain diffraction if the wave function is not a "real physical thing" ?
What annoys me then is what about the observed diffraction effect in a double slit experiment ? If we shoot an electron trough slits, the odds of finding it on a screen on the other side correspond to a diffraction pattern right ? As if the electron was somehow interfering with itself. And the diffraction pattern correspond to the wave function I think ? (Please correct me if this is wrong, I'm just starting QM and I am not confortable with its very basic concepts.)
So if there is an observable diffraction pattern that "matches" a wave function, isn't the wave function something physical, as if the electron was "spread" in space ? And how to explain diffraction if the wave function is not a "real physical thing" ?