Superposition, interference and diffraction

Jiafa Sun

Interference and diffraction of light are the nature performance of wave character,which is the result of superposition of waves.The essential difference between interference and diffraction phenomena is that interference comes from the superposition by the two or limited interfering beams of light,and diffraction is from the superposition by an infinite beam.From the perspective of optical path difference,corresponding to the same optical path difference,the minimum conditions of single-slit diffraction becomes the maxima conditions of double-slit interference.The reason is that the slot width is so small that can be considered as a single light source under the double-slit case,and the interference in the same slit can be ignored;while the single-slit diffraction minimum conditions are exactly correspond to the interference in the same slit.

Steven Beeson, James W. Mayer

Thomas D. Rossing, Christopher J. Chiaverina

Runsheng Tu

The Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics holds that as long as electron diffraction fringes are monitored, they will vanish. For a long time, no scientific papers have been published on the "electron diffraction experiment monitored by a magnetic field" (there are only popular science reports in this area). In order to verify the authenticity and inevitability of quantum state superposition and wave function collapse, electron diffraction experiments under the interference of permanent magnets were carried out. As a result, the electron diffraction fringes can be deformed and drifted by the magnetic field interference, but they will not vanish. It is apparent that measurement interference cannot cause wave-particle duality particles to collapse into whole particles. In quantum physics, this is an experimental counterexample (also a dark cloud over quantum mechanics). Both "the existence of the superposition of quantum states" and "the superposition of quantum states cannot withstand any observation and surveillance" are questionable.

Reinaldo Welti

Abstract In the explanations of the double slit experiment it is usually assumed that the superposition of the diffracted waves by two separate slits (one open and another closed) is the same as superimposing the diffracted waves when both slits are open at the same time. This naïve use of the superposition principle is generally not valid in either classical electromagnetism or quantum mechanics. As we will see, the diffraction diagram of one of the slits is altered when the other is open and when the slits are closer, the interaction between them is greater. In this work we will analyse the interaction between different types of sources (antennas, loudspeakers and, of course, slits) and we will show how this interaction explains the apparent anomalies in energy conservation and also the recent results of Young’s interference that show that the total diffracted intensity is reduced or increased depending on the distance between the slits. We also make a brief comment on the contributions of our work to the supposed looped trajectories of energy in interference phenomena.