How can interfering light waves transport particle characteristics? Up to now it was supposed that wave-particle duality was a quantum mechanical phenomenon which was not accessible to any classical explanation. The present article is disproving this assumption, by showing o n e single case which is entirely subject to a classical explanation: Photons in vacuum. The suggested classical explanation of wave-particle duality is simple, and it is deriving directly from special relativity: The particle characteristics are transported directly from A to B, without any intermediate of spacetime, because the interval is zero. The observed wave is a sort of placeholder in our spacetime.
The duality of matter and radiation is traditionally framed as an intrinsic paradox of quantum systems. In part I, we propose it can be reinterpreted as a relational observer dependant-relative phe- nomenon. This relational resolution of wave–particle duality aligns with foundational experiments of quantum theory. The wave/particle behavior emerges from observer’s relative velocity/position with respect to the quantum entity under observation. The wave nature is precived by a rest- observer co-moving with the entity under observation. The particle nature is the relative view of a non co-moving observer with non-zero relative velocity. Part-II Provides compelling evidence supporting the part-I claim. We revisit two foundational experiments–the Davisson–Germer electron scattering experiment (1927) and the Merli–Missiroli– Pozzi (MMP) biprism interference experiment (1976). By re-examining the conditions under which interference patterns emerge, it is argued that wave-particle duality behavior is not intrinsic to individual particles but arises from coherent ensembles of monoenergetic, indistinguishable quantum entities. This interpretation challenges conventional quantum narratives and offers a physically grounded and testable alternative to wave–particle duality. Part III Discusses Measurement, Superposition, and Apparatus Coupling. We argue that the uneasy nature of the epistemological conclusions of quantum mechanics may be rectified under relational resolution. We conclude that any quantum relational interaction can be interpreted as a superposition of ”initial” states in ”space” and superposition of ”final” states in ”time”, and together they form a superposition in ”spacetime”.
Unifying quantum theory with general relativity is challenging because of several problems related to time and to collapse in quantum measurements. In the double-slit experiment, the questions are how the momentum of the photon is transferred to a specific location on the screen and how the double slit recoils accordingly. This work investigates if these problems can be solved by adding a second time τ, which acts as an external evolution parameter, to standard four-dimensional spacetime. Within the resulting 4+1 formalism, a model for the single-photon double-slit experiment is developed. On the one hand, each spacetime associated to a value of τ relies on classical worldlines that obey local momentum conservation. On the other hand, these worldlines are allowed to readjust as a function of τ such that the quantum phenomenon of double-slit interference can be reproduced. The model explains how determinate outcomes are produced and how momentum transfer occurs in a way that satisfies the principles of relativity and local momentum conservation. As a result, the measurement problem and the problem of time evaporate, and an explanation for our experience of the present emerges. Since the presented model succeeds in explaining a key quantum phenomenon with essentially classical worldlines, this is relevant for the field of quantum gravity.
Abstract Conceptual Overview In quantum mechanics, light exhibits either wave-like or particle-like behavior depending on the measurement configuration. Simultaneously, according to Special Relativity, a photon experiences zero proper time (
Δτ=0) between emission and absorption in its own reference frame. Integrating these two foundational physics principles suggests that
Δτ=0 should not be interpreted merely as a absence of time ("timelessness" or dimensional degeneracy). Instead, it represents a dimensional elevation (dimension-raising) of the photon's temporal framework: Higher-Dimensional Time & Projection: The near-zero proper time (
Δτ=0) in the photon's rest frame projects onto our
3D+1T Minkowski spacetime by spanning the photon's entire worldline across time
T. Mathematically, this null proper time frame acts as a higher-dimensional temporal manifold containing the complete path of the photon. Essential Collapse: When a measurement occurs, it does not alter past events. Rather, the photon's underlying state collapses within its higher-dimensional temporal frame (
Δτ=0). This intrinsic collapse is globally projected onto the entire 4D temporal path
T, rendering the history consistent with the observation. Eliminating Retrocausality: Macroscopic observers, bound to discrete temporal slices, perceive this global projection as an apparent "retrocausal effect"—mistakenly believing that a late-stage measurement retroactively changes past history. In reality, the causal structure is resolved holistically within the higher-dimensional temporal frame, appearing in 4D as a unified projection. 在量子力學中,光在被測量時只會呈現波動態或粒子態其中一種。另一方面,根據相對論,光子在其自參系(固有時間)中,從出發(發射)到終點(吸收)所經歷的時間永遠為零(
Δτ=0)。 當我們結合這兩大理論時,不應單純將
Δτ=0 理解為「沒有經歷時間(降維/無時間)」,而應視為光的時間維度發生了「升維」: 高維度時間與投影:光在其自參系中趨近於零的時間(
Δτ=0),投影到我們
3D+1T 的四維閔考夫斯基宇宙時,覆蓋了光從出發到消逝的整個時間軸
T。因此,在數學邏輯上,光的
Δτ=0 固有時間維度,對等於一個包含光整個歷史的更高維度。 本質坍縮與投影錯覺:當觀測發生時,並不是「當下的測量改變了過去的歷史」,而是光在其高維度時間(
Δτ=0)中的「本質」因為觀測而發生了坍縮。這個高維度的本質坍縮,會一次性完整地投影到四維宇宙的整條時間軸
T 上,使光的整個歷史展現出同一種狀態。 消除逆因果悖論:四維觀測者因為只能一格一格(按時間切片)地觀察世界,才會產生「在後面
T2 時間點的觀測,逆向改變了前面
T1 時間點光子」的逆因果錯覺。實際上,高維度的因果早在
Δτ=0 的維度中一次性決定,我們觀測到的只是該高維本質在四維時間軸上的投影呈現。
This paper presents a conceptually economical reinterpretation of wave–particle duality, framing it as a consequence of dimensional projection rather than as a fundamental ontological dualism or an observer-induced collapse. Quantum systems are treated as evolving continuously within a space of effective informational degrees of freedom, while particle-like behavior emerges from restricted lower-dimensional access and irreversible recording. By reclassifying classic experiments—such as double-slit interference, delayed-choice setups, quantum erasers, and automated detection—under this framework, the work highlights that their empirically observed continuous behaviors are more naturally explained by projection and information restriction than by abrupt state reduction. Beyond reinterpretation, the paper introduces a falsifiable experimental criterion—the Dimensional Projection Test (DPT)—which distinguishes projection-based, no-collapse descriptions from genuine collapse models. The DPT predicts a smooth degradation of interference visibility under continuously tuned coupling, whereas any sharp transition would signal objective collapse dynamics. Positioned as complementary to existing collapse-model bounds rather than a competing formalism, the DPT provides an operational lens through which foundational ambiguities can be tested experimentally. Overall, the work clarifies long-standing conceptual confusion without modifying quantum mechanics, offering a disciplined, test-oriented contribution to quantum foundations. Reality does not change when we stop observing; only our access does.
When we consider and analyze physical events with the purpose of creating corresponding mathematical models we often assume that the mathematical apparatus used in modeling, at least the simplest mathematical apparatus, is infallible. In particular, this relates to the use of "infinitely small" and "infinitely large" quantities in arithmetic and the use of Newton Cauchy definitions of a limit and derivative in analysis. We believe that is where the main problem lies in contemporary study of nature. We have introduced a new concept of Observer's Mathematics (see www.mathrelativity.com). Observer's Mathematics creates new arithmetic, algebra, geometry, topology, analysis and logic which do not contain the concept of continuum, but locally coincide with the standard fields. We proved the following theorems: 1) Theorem A (Two-slit interference). Let Ψ1 be a wave from slit 1, Ψ2 - from slit 2, and Ψ = Ψ1 + Ψ2. Then the probability of that Ψ is a wave equals to 0.5; and 2) Theorem B (Wave-particle duality for single photons). If v is small enough, then λ is a random variable.