Repulsion before the screen in a double-slit experiment

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the interpretation of the double-slit experiment with electrons, specifically addressing the concept of electron behavior, interference patterns, and the implications of charge repulsion. Participants explore theoretical interpretations, misconceptions, and the reliability of learning physics from online sources.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests that in the double-slit experiment, each electron clones itself, passing through both slits and interfering on the screen.
  • Another participant counters that there is only one electron in the experiment, emphasizing that interference patterns emerge from many electrons hitting the screen over time.
  • Concerns are raised about the interpretation of information from a YouTube video by Sabine Hossenfelder, with participants questioning the accuracy of the claims made.
  • Some participants express skepticism about learning physics from YouTube, while others defend the value of certain educational content available online.
  • There is a discussion about the difficulty for laypersons to discern quality information from misleading content in popular science media.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants disagree on the interpretation of the double-slit experiment, particularly regarding the notion of electron cloning and the nature of interference. There is also contention regarding the reliability of learning physics from YouTube, with differing opinions on its value.

Contextual Notes

The discussion highlights misunderstandings about the nature of the double-slit experiment and the role of multiple electrons in forming interference patterns. There is also a recognition of the challenges faced by laypersons in evaluating scientific content from various media sources.

JonAce73
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There could be no interference of electron in double-slit experiment due to electron self-repulsion. Am I right?
Consider a double slit experiment with electrons fired illustrated in the attached figure. One interpretation of this experiment is that each fired electron clones itself, one of the clone passes through one slit and the other through another slit then they reached the screen where they interfere. Now, just before the two electrons reached the screen they must repel each other as they are of similar charge polarity, a repulsion like in electron self interaction inside an atom. By this repulsion they likely would land in different spots on the screen thereby no interference will happen. But obviously there is. Is there anything wrong with my understanding on the repulsion aspect?

InterferenceQuestion.png
 
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JonAce73 said:
Consider a double slit experiment with electrons fired illustrated in the attached figure. One interpretation of this experiment is that each fired electron clones itself, one of the clone passes through one slit and the other through another slit then they reached the screen where they interfere.

There is no cloning in the double-slit experiment. There is only ever one electron.

JonAce73 said:
Now, just before the two electrons reached the screen they must repel each other as they are of similar charge polarity, a repulsion like in electron self interaction inside an atom.

There are not two electrons, there is only one electron.

JonAce73 said:
By this repulsion they likely would land in different spots on the screen thereby no interference will happen. But obviously there is. Is there anything wrong with my understanding on the repulsion aspect?

Only one electron hits the screen. There is no interference pattern for a single electron. Each electron hits the screen at a single point. The intereference pattern is built up from firing a large number of electrons. They hit the sceen at various points and collectively form a wave-like interference pattern.
 
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JonAce73 said:
One interpretation of this experiment is that each fired electron clones itself

It's false, but where did you get that from?
 
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PeroK said:
There is no cloning in the double-slit experiment. There is only ever one electron.
There are not two electrons, there is only one electron.
Only one electron hits the screen. There is no interference pattern for a single electron. Each electron hits the screen at a single point. The intereference pattern is built up from firing a large number of electrons. They hit the sceen at various points and collectively form a wave-like interference pattern.
Thanks a lot.
 
weirdoguy said:
It's false, but where did you get that from?
From Sabine Hossenfelder's YouTube video.
 
JonAce73 said:
From Sabine Hossenfelder's YouTube video.

Please give a link. I strongly suspect you are misinterpreting something in the video.
 
Don't learn physics from YouTube.
 
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Meir Achuz said:
Don't learn physics from YouTube.
There's some great stuff on there!
 
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True, the only trouble for the layman is to decide what's indeed great an which contributions are, well,... Since I'm a layman on almost all scientific subjects, I try to get information on a subject not only from YouTube videos.
 
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Meir Achuz said:
Don't try to learn physics from YouTube.
Fixed it for you
 
  • #11
PeroK said:
There's some great stuff on there!

There might be, but the only way to tell is to already know the material. For someone who doesn't already know the material, they won't be able to tell whether a particular video is actually giving them good information or is misleading them.
 
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PeterDonis said:
There might be, but the only way to tell is to already know the material. For someone who doesn't already know the material, they won't be able to tell whether a particular video is actually giving them good information or is misleading them.
There are bona fide lecture series on there. Not just pop science. There's rubbish in a public library too!
 
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