Part one. Seed Waves.
Part Two. Wave/particle duality.
Part three. Entangled probability waves.
The Thomas Young double slit experiment shows light existing as waves when diffracted. But how and when does light select its existence as a wave or a particle? Why does light change from a wave into a particle when we observe it? Why and how does a particle manifest as a wave when we’re not watching it?
The answers are just a book away.
An image can speak many words, and the picture above shows light waves being diffracted as they pass through slits. The waves that pass through the right-hand slit are not observed, so they continue their journey from slit to back-screen without interference. The waves that pass through the left-hand slit are observed and briefly get realised as particles, which then continue their journey towards the back-screen as waves.
Single particle interference
How can single particles of light fired through a single slit create a pattern that is different to the shape of the slit? What dictates where the individual pinpoints of light hit the back-screen, and how does each light particle know where the previous light particles have landed?
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