- #1
birulami
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One of the biggest conundrums is the wave/particle duality of quantum systems as it is observed in two-slit experiments.
The interference pattern seen in a two-slit experiment suggests that the quantum system is a wave. But what exactly makes us say that the quantum system also behaves like a particle? My partial answer is:
The interference pattern seen in a two-slit experiment suggests that the quantum system is a wave. But what exactly makes us say that the quantum system also behaves like a particle? My partial answer is:
- On the screen behind the two slits we see individual, point-like marks very much like we would expect from a particle (imagine a little ball) hitting the screen, and certainly not from a wave front hitting the screen.
- With sufficiently capable detectors it can be shown that the energy transmitted/released while creating the mark is quantized, i.e. it cannot continuously made arbitrarily small, like could be expected from a wave amplitude.