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Interference Phenomena: Exploring the Essential Mystery

Frank S. Levin

Published Sep 21, 2017• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract Chapter 11 introduces the essential mystery of quantum mechanics, shows how it is resolved, and then goes on to examine related phenomena. The mystery is how individual photons, not electromagnetic waves, can give rise to the interference pattern seen in the two-slit experiment. They are shown to do so because the relevant quantum amplitude is a linear combination of two terms, leading to the pattern when neither slit is identified as the one the photon went through, but collapsing to one term and no pattern if the slit is identified. Similar results are shown to occur when individual electrons are incident on the two slits, and when large molecules, which have de Broglie wavelengths, are scattered by diffraction gratings. Many other interference experiments are described, including those where a photon was shown to be in two places simultaneously and one where a photon displayed both wave and particle features.

DOI
10.1093/oso/9780198808275.003.0012

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Abstract Chapter 11 introduces the essential mystery of quantum mechanics, shows how it is resolved, and then goes on to examine related phenomena. The mystery is how individual photons, not electromagnetic waves, can give rise to the interference pattern seen in the two-slit experiment. They are shown to do so because the relevant quantum amplitude is a linear combination of two terms, leading to the pattern when neither slit is identified as the one the photon went through, but collapsing to one term and no pattern if the slit is identified. Similar results are shown to occur when individual electrons are incident on the two slits, and when large molecules, which have de Broglie wavelengths, are scattered by diffraction gratings. Many other interference experiments are described, including those where a photon was shown to be in two places simultaneously and one where a photon displayed both wave and particle features.
Abstract In Chapter 21, we turn to interference and diffraction. We start by describing the interference pattern in Young’s classic two-slit experiment, whose analysis is subsequently generalised to determine the interference pattern behind a multi-slit grating. The diffraction pattern for a single slit is then estimated using Huygens’ principle, and this is combined with the interference pattern for a multi-slit grating to get the entire wave pattern generated by a diffraction grating. Next, we turn to the diffraction of electrons. This starts with a brief introduction to quantum mechanics, focussed on Schrodinger’s wave equation, de Broglie waves, and the collapse of the wavefunction following measurements. Finally, we use these elementary quantum concepts to describe the diffraction of electrons.
The classical interpretation of Young’s double slit experiment is that, before and after passing through the diaphragm of the double slit, the light behaves as waves. Feynman called the double slit experiment “the only mystery [of quantum mechanics]. We have shown for the first time in the classical wave experiments: (1) Particle patterns (non-interference patterns) indicating the particle nature of light are near the diaphragm, and Interference patterns are near the screen; (2) Particle patterns evolve to Transition patterns (non-interference patterns) and finally, evolve to Interference patterns. We proposed Postulates of lens for utilizing lens in wave experiments. In this article, we experimentally suggest that Particle patterns, Transition patterns and Interference patterns simultaneously emerging on the screen in the double slit experiments show that the light beams are photons. The photon chamber shows that the photons distribute as waves in the wave experiments. We suggest that these phenomena and the physical mechanism of them are new mystery.
We construct proper microscopic propositions to consistently capture and explain the interference patterns obtained for electrons and photons, detected individually or otherwise, in one- and two-slit experiments. We propose that for single-photon detections (after time integration), no interference pattern is obtained if one uses non-transparent slit material with slit holes (not diffraction slits). The non-transparent slit material does not permit photons to transmit, reflect internally nor refract. However, the same slit holes can produce the usual interference pattern with electromagnetic waves due to interfering in-phase and out-of-phase light waves. As for the electrons, detected individually or not, partial interference patterns can always be obtained from the two-slit experiment when one of the slits is closed (one at a time), which then can be manually overlapped to produce the complete interference pattern of a double-slit experiment. These new theoretically constructed experimental results for photons and electrons can be readily verified with our current technology using suitable optically non-transparent (for photons) and highly insulating (for electrons) slit materials.
We construct proper microscopic propositions to consistently explain the interference patterns obtained for electrons and photons in well-defined one- and two-slit experiments. Our propositions are also made explicit on the basis of quantum mechanics with proper quantitative analysis to support the correctness of the physical mechanisms proposed herein, which obey the wave-particle duality. In particular, our propositions and theoretical analysis demonstrate that for single-photon detection (after time integration), we cannot produce interference pattern if the usual diffraction slits are replaced with slit holes such that the non-transparent slit material does not permit photons to transmit, reflect internally or refract. However, the said non-transparent slit material with slit holes can produce the usual interference pattern with electromagnetic waves.
The classical interpretation of Young’s double slit experiment is that, before and after passing through the diaphragm of the double slit, the light behaves as waves. Feynman called the double slit experiment “the only mystery [of quantum mechanics]. We have shown for the first time that in the classical wave experiments: (1) Particle patterns, which are non-interference patterns indicating the particle nature of light, are near the diaphragm, and Interference patterns are near the screen; (2) Particle patterns evolve to Transition patterns that are also non-interference patterns, and, finally, evolve to Interference patterns; (3) Postulates of lens for utilizing lens in wave experiments. blob:https://www.techrxiv.org/615e9312-3e89-48d5-99fe-bbad6cef8a75 blob:https://www.techrxiv.org/4fad8e66-75e1-47db-af51-d9e445461b9b blob:https://www.techrxiv.org/e4274387-92e5-41bb-9185-038555bb2f13 In this article, we experimentally show that Particle patterns, Transition patterns and Interference patterns of the double slit experiments are simultaneously emerged on the screen. We suggest that these phenomena and the physical mechanism of photons distributing as waves are new mystery.
Young’s double slit experiments revived the wave theory of light. The standard interpretation is that the light behaves as waves before and after passing through the double slit, and the superposition of waves produces the interference pattern. Feynman called the double slit experiment the only mystery in quantum mechanics. In this article, we experimentally show the novel universal phenomena: (1) within macro-distance from the diaphragm, the light rays behave as photons and produce non-interference patterns; while near the screen, the photons produce interference patterns; (2) The non-interference patterns evolve to the interference patterns gradually in the same classical wave experiment; (3) the light is photons before and after passing through the double slit; (4) The convex lens stops the further evolution. The experiments: (1) challenge the wave theories of the light; (2) violate both Bohr’s complementarity principle and wave particle duality; (3) provide profound phenomena for developing optics and for studying the nature of light; (4) suggest that a complete theory should be able to consistently interpret all phenomena, including the non-interference pattern, the interference pattern, and the evolution from the non-interference to the interference pattern in the wave experiment; (5) show a new mystery that photons, as particles, distribute as waves.