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Please explain single-electron double-slot experiments. If the electron is simply a point particle how does it interfere with itself?
by Armisael16 8y ago
Please explain single-electron double-slot experiments. If the electron is simply a point particle how does it interfere with itself?
- pdonis 8y ago> If the electron is simply a point particle It isn't. It's a wave function (or, if we take relativity into account, a quantum field).
- gpsx 8y agoYou can google "electron size" and you get different classical estimations and hopefully a statement that there is no measuarable size and that it is considered a point particle. But that doesn't mean it can't have interference. Interference occurs because of the wave function. The wave function for the electron and the electron itself are two different things. They did a electon double split experiment where they fired electons one at a time. The electrons each made a single point (or small mark) on the measuring screen, but over time, the interference pattern formed. (To be honest I heard this back when I was learning physiscs, which was along time ago. It could have actually been a thought experiment or it could have been something besides an electron. Anyway I believe it is true.)