When observed, the electrons act as matter, but when not observed, they act as waves?
Obviously “observed” doesn’t mean recorded on an iPhone camera, but what does it mean? Is it like if we simply know the location or the velocity of the electrons, they behave differently?
The part I’m most not understanding is why the electrons behave differently. Certainly they aren’t capable of thought and recognizing they’re being observed lol
In: Physics
While it might be a tiny bit confusing, it’s simpler than people think.
The setup is analogous as for light, just with a screen able to detect electron hits and a different physical setup for the “slits”, because the one for light physically wouldn’t work for electrons.
Now, with two unobstructed “slits” the OVERALL IMAGE AFTER THOUSANDS OF EVENTS exhibits an interference pattern just like light. This is important, you won’t see the pattern with just one electron. It’s statistical. But it still exists if you fire them individually one after another, meaning they do interfere with themselves like a wave, before striking a specific place like a particle.
The issue starts if you try to in any way detect (“observe”) which path the electron goes through. This immediately destroys the interference pattern (because the condition for its formation were disrupted), and you’re left with what you’d expect from a pure particle. Again, that’s the same as for light.
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