Physicists have conducted an advanced version of the famous double slit experiment, confirming what was already known about photons’ behavior in a more precise manner than ever before. The experiment, which scaled down to atomic levels, demonstrated that photons can behave as either particles or waves depending on observation.
The setup involved shooting photons at a screen with two atomically small slits, creating an ideal scenario for observing wave-like behavior. However, if light were considered a particle, we’d expect two distinct bright spots where the particles pass through the slits and hit the detector. Instead, the experiment showed the same outcome as its historical counterpart: wave-like banding patterns when the photons were observed.
The key to this phenomenon lies in the concept of observation, which is defined as any interaction involving a photon. When physicists kept the photons secluded from external interactions, they behaved like waves. Even firing individual photons resulted in wave-like behavior, with each photon behaving as if it was present at multiple locations simultaneously, interacting with itself.
Einstein’s skepticism about quantum physics led him to predict that observing the disturbance on atoms around the tiny slits could reveal information about photons passing through one slit as a wave. However, this study contradicts Einstein’s expectations by showing that such observations diminish the wave-like pattern rather than revealing it.
The researchers refer to this experiment as a “thought experiment,” demonstrating the power of quantum mechanics in observing and collapsing wave functions. This latest finding further solidifies our understanding of photon behavior and reiterates that observation is crucial to grasping the nature of quantum physics.
Source: https://www.extremetech.com/science/incredible-re-run-of-the-double-slit-experiment-proves-einstein-wrong-again