What the bleep do we know? - serious or not?

[kasse]

"What the bleep do we know?" - serious or not?

I just saw the documantary "What the bleep do we know?", and wonder if what is being said there is trustworthy, or just some popular science ******** mixed with new age propaganda.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrKvzPXULME&feature=related

 

[jtbell]

This has been discussed here a lot in the past.

 

[kasse]

OK, I'll read through some threads. Just one quick question: Is this a correct presentation of the double split experiment with electrons?

 

[atyy]

OK, I'll read through some threads. Just one quick question: Is this a correct presentation of the double split experiment with electrons?

Yes, it is, although some details are perhaps overly cartoonized. If you'd like to study it, Feynman's presentation in his Lectures on Physics (vol. 3) is classic. These guys also do a nice presentation that is more introductory:
http://www.upscale.utoronto.ca/GeneralInterest/Harrison/DoubleSlit/DoubleSlit.html
http://www.upscale.utoronto.ca/GeneralInterest/QM.html

 

[kasse]

So the electron actually DOES exist at two different places at the same time, but only when it's it's not being observed??

This is crazy, lol. If we observe each electron, will we then get a normal pattern instead of an interference pattern?

Thanks for a great link, btw

 

[atyy]

So the electron actually DOES exist at two different places at the same time, but only when it's it's not being observed??

This is crazy, lol. If we observe each electron, will we then get a normal pattern instead of an interference pattern?

Thanks for a great link, btw

Yes, that's it. Of course, there are nuances about what "exists" means. Sometimes it is explained that observing the path "kicked" the electron, which is why there is no interference pattern. But if you observe the path without "kicking" the electron, you still destroy the interference pattern.

Origin of quantum-mechanical complementarity probed by a `which-way' experiment in an atom interferometer
S. Dürr, T. Nonn, and G. Rempe
http://www.mpq.mpg.de/qdynamics/members/S.Duerr.html

After getting the path information and destroying the inteference pattern, you can even "erase" your knowledge of which path it took, and recover the interference pattern.

Quantum Erasure: Quantum Interference Revisited
Stephen P. Walborn, Marcelo O. Terra Cunha, Sebastião Pádua, Carlos H. Monken
http://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0503073
[This is an introductory article.]

A double-slit quantum eraser
S. P. Walborn, M. O. Terra Cunha, S. Padua, C. H. Monken
http://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0106078

 

[kasse]

Are there anyone who actually understands this phenomenon? How the heck does the electron know that it's being observed?

 

[Evo]

The movie is so full of crackpot misinformation that it is on our banned list, which is why this thread was locked earlier.