Huygens' principle successfully describes the propagation of spherical transverse waves, but its image of secondary wavelet superposition has never explained the physical mechanism of directed rays. This paper argues that this historical omission is the root cause of why quantum mechanical interpretation has long been trapped in the dilemmas of "wave-particle duality" and "measurement collapse." We complete the missing half of Huygens' principle by proposing that the matter wave excited by a point particle source is, in its intrinsic form, not a diffuse spherical transverse wave, but a directed longitudinal ray vibrating along the particle's direction of motion. In this model, a single particle always moves along a definite trajectory, passes through one slit of a double-slit apparatus, and does not interfere with itself. The interference pattern on the screen is the statistical result of rays converging on the screen after collision-deflection events at the slit walls. Double-slit interference, single-slit diffraction, and delayed-choice experiments are all brought into a unified collision-deflection statistical description.
Huygens' principle successfully describes the propagation of spherical transverse waves, but its image of secondary wavelet superposition has never explained the physical mechanism of directed rays. This paper argues that this historical omission is the root cause of why quantum mechanical interpretation has long been trapped in the dilemmas of "wave-particle duality" and "measurement collapse." We complete the missing half of Huygens' principle by proposing that the matter wave excited by a point particle source is, in its intrinsic form, not a diffuse spherical transverse wave, but a directed longitudinal ray vibrating along the particle's direction of motion. In this model, a single particle always moves along a definite trajectory, passes through one slit of a double-slit apparatus, and does not interfere with itself. The interference pattern on the screen is the statistical result of rays converging on the screen after collision-deflection events at the slit walls. Double-slit interference, single-slit diffraction, and delayed-choice experiments are all brought into a unified collision-deflection statistical description.
The mainstream quantum mechanics uses “probability wave superposition and single-electron self-interference” to explain electron single-slit and double-slit diffraction. This theory deviates from the essential nature of real particle interactions and has fundamental logical flaws. The electron is a negatively charged real particle with a definite physical size and high-frequency transverse oscillation; a single real particle has no physical basis for self-interference. Abandoning the abstract probability wave hypothesis, this paper establishes a complete real-interaction model including electrostatic repulsion deflection, surface electron exchange, collision scattering, microscopic refraction, and barrier diffraction, based on the three-dimensional random transverse oscillation and charge repulsion of electrons. The model uniformly explains the real formation mechanism of electron single-slit diffraction and double-slit interference fringes. This paper proves that in single-electron sequential emission, each electron passes through only one slit; all bright and dark fringes are the statistical result of multiple microscopic interactions between electrons and slit walls or the central barrier. The disappearance of fringes under observation is caused by external disturbance to the inherent oscillation and wall-interaction equilibrium, not by wave function collapse. This paper further clarifies that whether an electron can pass through a slit is determined by its transverse oscillation amplitude, not by wavelength. Amplitude directly corresponds to slit width and is the core controlling variable of diffraction. Meanwhile, if no slit is placed, electrons flying directly to the screen produce no diffraction or interference fringes, proving that electrons themselves have no self-interference ability. Fringes are generated by slit structures, not by intrinsic wave interference of electrons. This study corrects the century-long misunderstanding of electron diffraction and establishes a new microscopic diffraction mechanism consistent with classical real-particle physics.
The double-slit experiment has stood for a century as the paradigmatic demonstration of quantum superposition: the standard interpretation holds that a particle passes through both slits simultaneously, existing in a superposition of two spatially separated states. This paper proposes a physically distinct alternative: the particle's matter wave — a real physical wave propagating through space in accordance with de Broglie's relation λ = h/p — passes through both slits, while the particle itself (matter) remains in an undetermined state until a constructive interference maximum is formed at the detection screen. The particle does not simultaneously occupy two locations; the wave does. This distinction eliminates the need for superposition as an ontological commitment while fully reproducing the observed interference pattern. We further show that the disappearance of the interference pattern upon which-path measurement is explained without invoking wavefunction collapse: the measurement interaction redirects the matter wave to a single-slit geometry, eliminating the two-wave interference condition. Three experimentally testable predictions distinguish this framework from the standard interpretation: (1) weak-measurement trajectory reconstruction should reveal single particle paths inconsistent with simultaneous two-slit passage; (2) diffraction fringe spacing should depend on the mass density of the slit material, because denser slit edges generate a steeper refractive-index gradient for the matter wave; (3) the fringe pattern should exhibit a density-dependent phase shift measurable with current matter-wave interferometry technology. This reinterpretation requires no new mathematical formalism — the Schrödinger equation and Born's rule are retained — but replaces the ontological claim of simultaneous multi-location existence with the physically consistent picture of matter-wave propagation through an undetermined-state particle.
The double-slit interference experiment serves as a fundamental experiment in quantum mechanics. Core theories including wave-particle duality, quantum superposition and measurement collapse are established on the basis of this phenomenon. The mainstream Copenhagen interpretation and Bohmian pilot-wave theory rely heavily on mathematical statistical fitting to interpret experimental outcomes, yet they fail to reveal the real physical evolution mechanism of photons at the microscale. Moreover, they inherently suffer from symmetry breaking, causal discontinuity and logical inconsistency. The symmetry-breaking analogy widely adopted in academic circles contains dimensional mismatch and conceptual substitution, representing a cognitive bias that places mathematical tools above physical mechanisms. Based on the symmetry principle of classical physics and the rule of continuous causal evolution, this paper systematically identifies the core defects of mainstream quantum interpretations and points out the paradigm limitation of quantum mechanics that prioritizes mathematical fitting over physical ontology. A spatial particle resonance propagation model is proposed. This model explains that photons are essentially the resonance manifestation of space particles. When resonance passes through double slits, the resonance body splits symmetrically, and then recombines after passing through the slits to form interference. Measurement will break the symmetry of resonance, resulting in the disappearance of interference fringes. This model maintains continuous causality and geometric symmetry, and provides a new physical mechanism explanation for quantum uncertainty and measurement effects in double-slit experiments.
Diffraction and interference fringes are stable and reproducible objective phenomena in optical experiments. Mainstream quantum mechanics puts forward the ontological interpretation of wave particle duality. It holds that the material ontology of micro particles such as photons inherently possesses both particle and wave properties, and attributes diffraction and interference phenomena directly to the intrinsic matter wave behavior of particles. This interpretation stays at the level of observational appearance and avoids underlying ontological dynamic mechanisms. It represents a research approach that deduces the intrinsic properties of material ontology merely from external observations. Within the framework of the light ontology theory, a photon is an energy state object. Energy and motion at the speed of light form an inseparable whole and are permanently bound together and cannot be separated. In the real universe, no photon with energy that does not travel at the speed of light has ever been observed. Nor has any object moving at the speed of light without energy been detected. The two cannot exist independently from one another. A photon has no physical volume but possesses inherent fixed transverse trembling property. At the moment a photon is generated, it acquires a definite trembling angle within a 360 degree spatial plane perpendicular to its propagation direction. This transverse trembling orientation remains unchanged without physical collision interaction. When the transverse trembling of a photon can reach the slit wall, absorption and reradiation secondary scattering will occur. Massive secondary photons superpose statistically to form bright and dark diffraction and interference fringes. Slit walls are stacked by large numbers of atoms. Their spatial scale is hundreds of thousands to tens of millions times larger than the scale of photon transverse trembling. For photons, slit walls constitute huge physical barriers and can produce significant interactions with trembling photons. The wave function is only a mathematical tool for fitting experimental data. Good fitting performance of a mathematical model does not mean its corresponding physical interpretation equals objective physical reality. This paper proposes a new set of comparative decisionmaking experiments. The key innovation is to place a linear polarizer in front of the slit. Before photons contact the slit, the transverse trembling orientation of photons is pre screened. The transverse trembling direction of transmitted photons is made parallel to the orientation of vertical slit walls to suppress oscillation components perpendicular to slit walls and make it difficult for photons to hit slit walls. Polarizers with different grating line widths can be replaced to observe the influence of the grating scale of polarizers on experimental results. According to the physical mechanism of slit wall scattering, characteristic diffraction and interference fringes will be greatly attenuated and only the central direct light spot will remain. Non ideal device characteristics will bring a small amount of stray scattering background, but complete bright and dark diffraction and interference structures will not appear. According to the traditional ontological interpretation of wave particle duality, the geometric parameters of slits remain completely unchanged. Only polarization orientation screening is conducted and the intrinsic matter wave of particle ontology is not affected. Therefore diffraction and interference fringes should be fully preserved. The two theories produce mutually exclusive observable predictions. This experiment can test whether the ontological interpretation of wave particle duality holds true. This paper does not deny objective diffraction and interference phenomena, nor does it deny the practical value of wave function as an engineering calculation tool.
Since the establishment of modern optics, the physical nature of light has been debated for centuries, which finally led to the mainstream theory of waveparticle duality. This theory holds that photons intrinsically possess both particle and wave properties, and it is adopted to interpret diverse optical phenomena including rectilinear propagation, polarization, interference and diffraction, forming the fundamental framework of modern quantum optics. Nevertheless, the theory of waveparticle duality contains inherent logical defects. Its essential flaw lies in confusing two completely distinct physical concepts: the intrinsic properties of a substance itself and the morphological features of its motion trajectory. Conventional theories mistake the apparent waveshaped trajectory produced by particle motion for the intrinsic wave property of microparticles, resulting in persistent conceptual ambiguity, missing physical mechanisms and logical inconsistencies within microoptics. This paper constructs an optical underlying model from a purely particle perspective to clarify the real mechanism behind waveparticle phenomena of light. A photon is an indivisible, nonspreading, nontrailing pointlike physical particle with no intrinsic wave property. While propagating, a photon travels along a fixed straightline direction and undergoes inherent transverse oscillation within the plane perpendicular to its propagation direction. At the moment of its generation, a photon uniquely fixes its transverse oscillation angle, amplitude and frequency within the 360degree plane perpendicular to its travelling direction. Once determined, these parameters remain constant throughout propagation without random shifts or arbitrary changes. Superposition of the photon’s longitudinal rectilinear motion and fixedangle transverse oscillation generates a standard sinusoidal trajectory. Consequently, all wavelike features observed in optics are geometric apparent effects originating from particle motion trajectories, rather than material properties intrinsic to photons. Based on this model, this paper reinterprets the core physical mechanism behind doubleslit interference. Contrary to the traditional explanation of photon selfinterference or wavefield superposition, interference fringes arise from microscopic mechanical interactions between transverselyoscillating photons and slit walls when photons pass through the slits. Such interactions regularly deflect photon flight angles. After being deflected and filtered by slits, large numbers of photons form uneven statistical distributions on the receiving plane and produce macroscopically observable lightanddark fringes. This paper also defines the threshold for photonphoton interactions. Ordinaryenergy photons such as visiblelight, infrared and ultraviolet photons do not interact, collide or exchange energy with one another in free space. Only gammaraylevel highenergy photons may collide, undergo energy annihilation, and convert into material particles such as electronpositron pairs. Relying entirely on classical mechanical superposition principles and discarding the contradictory hypothesis of waveparticle duality, the proposed purelyparticle model provides selfconsistent explanations for core classical optical phenomena and achieves analytical revision for the underlying logic of optical waveparticle phenomena.
Field-Theoretic Explanation of Wave-Particle Duality—Unification of Particle Locality and the Wave Nature of the Perturbation Field This paper provides a physical explanation of the most central puzzle in quantum mechanics—wave-particle duality—without relying on "probability-amplitude collapse" or "nonlocal entanglement." This theory divides all matter in the universe into Nie-matter entities (massive, Staticity) and Ji-matter entities (massless, Dynamicity), and maintains that quantum objects (electrons, neutrons, etc.) are always localized Nie-matter entity particles. Their "wave behavior" originates from the particle's local perturbation of the Ji-matter field that already fills space during motion—the perturbation propagates in the form of a wave, produces an interference field when passing through the double slits, and the interference field in turn guides the particle's landing position. The particle always passes through only one slit, while the field passes through both slits simultaneously; interference is the behavior of the field, not the behavior of the particle. This mechanism naturally explains double-slit interference, the coexistence of neutron collisions and wave behavior, the disturbance of interference fringes by observation devices, and the variation of interference contrast with source offset and slit spacing. This paper further gives three falsifiable predictions: P6-1 (a decisive distinction between device field-strength disturbance and which-path information disturbance), P6-2A (the disturbance effect varies continuously with field strength), and P6-2B (an argument for the explanatory power of double-slit interference contrast—naturally derived from one mechanism vs. jointly explained by four independent concepts). Compared with mainstream theory, this theory does not need "wavefunction collapse," does not need "nonlocality," and does not need "many worlds"—it only needs to acknowledge: particles are localized, the field fills space, and the motion of particles is guided by the local field gradient.