3 ms·
The toggling that does occur is in our mathematical treatment of the objects: sometimes it is advantageous to model them as a billiard ball and other times as a
by rrmm 8y ago
The toggling that does occur is in our mathematical treatment of the objects: sometimes it is advantageous to model them as a billiard ball and other times as a disturbance of a field. Sometimes you have no choice but to treat them fully as the quantum object they are.
It just depends on whether you can eliminate some part of the complexity and still come up with an answer that is useful in reality.
- criddell 8y agoThis is something I've wondered about. Is the particle and wave idea just a calculation model or does that seem to be how things are actually constructed? For example, the Bohr model of the atom probably doesn't reflect how atoms are but 100 years ago (and in high school today) it's a useful model.
- Florin_Andrei 8y agoBoth "particle" and "wave" are simplifications. And yes, models can be useful.