![]() ![]() He referred to this unlimited temporo-spatial quality as the sum of all histories theory. As renowned physicist Richard Feynman suggested, it could have traveled to Canada, then the Sahara before exiting through the second slit in the experiment. Since locality (the capacity to move from point A to point B) requires a temporal sequence, a photon can be anywhere it damn well pleases. Moreover, photons do not decay and thus are immune to the process of entropy, which is a function of time lapse. A photon is hopelessly locked in the present - it has no past or future because both concepts imply the passage of time. Thus no matter how long it seems to us they are moving about time does not elapse in the usual sense for the photon. In addition, since photons travel at light speed they do not adhere to temporality. In that sense its movement must be in sync with, dependent on and guided by other elements, and must therefore cooperate with the ordinary laws of physics. That is because the word 'mass' actually means an object can encounter resistance and be influenced by forces and fields as it moves about. In order for any object to be in a specific location and travel in a particular path it must have mass. Because photons have no mass and travel at light speed they are not bound by temporal or spatial restraints. If it was just a question of a photon's behavior, resolution might have come easily. Was is fundamentally a wave or a particle? In the one- slit instance, the photon acted like a bean bag tossed into one of the holes in the children's game, whereas In the multiple slit situation it acted as if a rock was tossed into water with an ensuing ripple effect.Īll of this led to what came to be known as the wave-particle duality and it prompted the critical question as to the essential nature of matter. This result was confirmed by the fact that the gathering board displayed an interference pattern, which is typical of waves but not particles. The result seemed to turn nature upside down In effect, there seemed to be no directionality or sequence governing the photons' behavior. It was as though the photons were somehow ambivalent about which hole they would pass through and kept "changing their mind" with pathway do-overs. Rather than photons passing selectively through one slit or another, as one would expect with any object according to the laws of classical physics, there was a smearing effect. However when photons were fired through multiple slits a funny thing happened. ![]() ![]() More specifically, when passed through a single slit (hole) in the experimental apparatus the photons behaved as though a particle - onstensibly because a single slit left them with only one possible exit point. it wasn't until the 20th century that Albert Einstein developed an inclusive model of light that was made up of particles but also had wave-like qualities.The confounding yet consistent results of that experiment was that light can behave as both a wave and a particle. Over time some scientists, among them Isaac Newton described light as a wave, while others such as Thomas Young and later, James Maxwell believed it consisted of discrete particles that traveled in a straight line path. Photons of course are the sources of light. In this method photons are fired through slits and collected on a gathering board to determine their path. The typical method is the double slit experiment. Experiments in this area have given rise to rather complicated interpretations of the results. Questions about the true nature of matter first arose from a paradox inherent in quantum physics, and more specifically a component called Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. The question is raised as to whether this can be addressed by looking at energy signatures to see if, and to what extent wave influence exists for objects with differential mass. This article discusses the essential nature of matter specifically differing ideas on whether it consists most fundamentally of waves, particles or wave driven particles ( as in pilot wave theory) in an interdependent relationship. Comments and Questions on the Wave/ Particle Duality: ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |