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etamorphmagus
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Hello, I have some questions, but I'm not posting on quantum mechanics because as written in the FAQ, wave-particle duality is not really the realm of quantum mechanics, but is only a way for us to imagine what's going on.
Thanks a bunch.
- Is it true that the uncertainty on the location [tex]\Delta[/tex]x, is in fact the wavelength of the particle?
- Continuing from previous question, a wavelet, is when several wavelengths interfere? If this is the case, the amount by which the average wavelength deviates from a constant wavelength is the uncertainty on the momentum [tex]\Delta[/tex]p? I'm trying to understand http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/uncer.html" entry from HyperPhysics.
- Another one about wavelets: If we have a wavelet, it means we can pin-point more easily the location of the particle, with the most probability at the peak of the magnitude. Does this imply that a particle which is more "material", less quantum mechanical, is actually several interfering wavelengths that create a wavelet? Sorry if this is not properly phrased.
- The next question is of the term 'decoherence'. In the double slit experiment with, say, electrons, the pattern of interference is destroyed when measuring the electron's location (with a light source close to the slits, an example from The Feynman Lectures on Physics). When this happens, the electrons are no longer coherent as their momentum has been slightly changed. This destroys the interference fringes and gives classical diffraction distribution. Is this called 'decoherence'? Because this a very beautiful way of explaining it, however I know that there are ways of "measuring" that don't change an electron's momentum, but by the uncertainty principle still kill the interference image. However, how can this be if the electrons are still coherent? They should interfere.
Thanks a bunch.
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