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Would using electrons and a cloud chamber determine pathways followed by particles in the dual slit intereference experiment?

Young’s dual slit experiment shows particles to have a wave-like nature as photons or electrons create an interference pattern when fired through the slits. Even when particles are fired individually through the slits, an interference pattern still builds up implying each particle must go through both slits and interfere with itself - clearly a pathway that is hard to imagine! However wouldn’t performing this experiment in a cloud chamber using electrons (again fired individually) reveal the electrons’ pathway(s)? Also would turning the cloud (or bubble) chamber on and off cause the interference pattern to appear and disappear (I have heard that identifying the slit through which an electron passes removes the interference pattern but would this be the case in the cloud chamber as proposed here?). Many thanks.

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Categories: Our universe.

Tags: waves, Interference, ParticlePhysics.

 

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AWilson says:

You get what you look for. Look for a particle and you see a particle. Look for a wave and you see a wave. The point is that both wave-like and particle-like behaviour exist simultaneously up to the point of observation, at which time the probability wave collapses into either one or the other.

This is the basis of the uncertainty principal. You know - the cat that's both dead and alive until you open the box and take a peek. Its a true and very interesting fact that the interference pattern you mention can still form even when single particles are fired at the slits, but the experiment is set up to look for wavelike behaviour and so finds it.

The cloud chamber experiment would be only be able to show particle interractions, so any results would just be confirming particles.

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Tags: waves, Interference, ParticlePhysics.

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posted on 2009-11-24 16:48:39 | Report abuse


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