Quantum Eraser experiment reproduced at home

fizixfan
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I'm just posting the bare bones of this experiment to begin with, as it was quite the task just to attach all the photos in the proper order. But this is about quantum weirdness, and how it can be demonstrated at home with polarized film, a straight piece of thin wire, and a red laser pointer. It's based on an article in Scientific American from April 14, 2007 called "A Do-It-Yourself Quantum Eraser." I think I've done this properly and I'm fairly satisfied with the results.

I will elaborate on this in the near future. For now, I hope the pictures can speak for themselves.

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Figure 1. Apparatus (red laser pointer, single wire only without path labeler, & diffraction pattern on wall)

DSC_1886_Diffraction pattern with single wire.jpg

Figure 2. Close-up of diffraction pattern on wall from laser beam passing through single wire.

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Figure 3. Apparatus with path labeler and collapsed diffraction pattern on wall.

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Figure 4. Close-up of collapsed diffraction pattern on wall after passing through path labeler.

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Figure 5. Apparatus with path labeler and analyzer with restored interference pattern on wall.

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Figure 6. Close-up of restored diffraction pattern on wall after passing through path labeler and analyzer.
 
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For me, the pictures do not speak for themselves ... some elaboration at each step is required.
 
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UltrafastPED said:
For me, the pictures do not speak for themselves ... some elaboration at each step is required.

Yes, you're right. I will soon be editing this post to explain in greater detail what is happening at each step. I hope it's okay to post a "work in progress" in this forum. Bear with me, I'm new here, and I do appreciate your feedback. It keeps me motivated!
 
Here is a photo of the apparatus used in this experiment - a thin wire with orthogonal polarizers on either side ("path labeler"), polarized film ("analyzer") rotated at 45°relative to the path labeler, and a red laser pointer. I would have included this in the first post, but I could only upload six attachments.

DSC_1902_Quantum_eraser_apparatus.jpg
 
Insights auto threads is broken atm, so I'm manually creating these for new Insight articles. Towards the end of the first lecture for the Qiskit Global Summer School 2025, Foundations of Quantum Mechanics, Olivia Lanes (Global Lead, Content and Education IBM) stated... Source: https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/quantum-entanglement-is-a-kinematic-fact-not-a-dynamical-effect/ by @RUTA
If we release an electron around a positively charged sphere, the initial state of electron is a linear combination of Hydrogen-like states. According to quantum mechanics, evolution of time would not change this initial state because the potential is time independent. However, classically we expect the electron to collide with the sphere. So, it seems that the quantum and classics predict different behaviours!
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