Title: Observing The Universe Really Does Change The Outcome, And This Experiment Shows How
Headings: Observing The Universe Really Does Change The Outcome, And This Experiment Shows How
Observing The Universe Really Does Change The Outcome, And This Experiment Shows How
Content: Observing The Universe Really Does Change The Outcome, And This Experiment Shows How
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Editors' Pick | May 26, 2020,02:00am EDT | 139,650 views
Observing The Universe Really Does Change The Outcome, And This Experiment Shows How
Ethan Siegel
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Starts With A Bang
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The wave pattern for electrons passing through a double slit, one-at-a-time. If you measure “which ... [+]
slit” the electron goes through, you destroy the quantum interference pattern shown here. However, the wave-like behavior remains so long as the electrons have a de Broglie wavelength that's smaller than the size of the slit they're passing through. Dr. Tonomura and Belsazar of Wikimedia Commons
When we divide up matter into the smallest possible chunks that it's made of — into the stuff that can be divided or split no further — those indivisible things we arrive at are known as quanta. But it's a complicated story each time we ask the question: how does each individual quantum behave? Do they behave like particles? Or do they behave like waves?