Scientists have confirmed a long-standing debate on light’s nature, demonstrating its dual wave-particle properties using an atomic structure. A team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology conducted an experiment with individual ultracold atoms, arranging them in a precise lattice to mimic the classic two-slit setup.
The experiment, led by Professor Wolfgang Ketterle, aimed to study how single atoms interact with neighboring atoms when exposed to light. By adjusting laser beams, the researchers fine-tuned the “blurring” of these atomic slits, which affected the amount of information about a photon’s trajectory.
The results, published in Physical Review Letters, are consistent with quantum theory and confirm Niels Bohr’s point that measuring a photon’s trajectory disrupts its wave-like properties. The study found that when the atom was exposed to a passing photon, the wave interference pattern weakened. This observation supports the principle of quantum mechanics, where light exists as both waves and particles but can only be observed in one state at a time.
The MIT experiment brings an idealized version of the two-slit setup to life, providing new insights into the nature of light. By leveraging individual atoms, the researchers created a miniature analog of the classic experiment, shedding light on this long-standing debate.
Source: https://itc.ua/en/news/niels-bohr-defeated-einstein-scientists-created-a-diffraction-grating-of-frozen-atoms-that-scatter-photons-one-by-one