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Yes an electron is a “quantized vibration” of a quantum field (the electron field). The vibration is quantized in the sense that you can only turn on the amplit

Yes an electron is a “quantized vibration” of a quantum field (the electron field). The vibration is quantized in the sense that you can only turn on the amplitude of vibration in discrete clicks, not in a continuous way. Two clicks would be two electrons. Such a quantized vibration has all the properties of a particle: it has a certain mass, it has a certain momentum, it has a certain angular momentum, and when you look at it in another frame of reference, all these quantities transform just as would a particle’s. And, when you “perform a position measurement” it shows up as a single dot. If you don’t do a position measurement it spends most of its time quantum superposition of states of definite position; hence the “cloud” aspect.

criddell 3y ago
Is it the superposition volume (volume of non-zero probabilities?) that is a perfect sphere?
- superposeur 3y ago
  No, the language of “perfect sphere” versus “bumpy sphere” used by the article is just an analogy with a classical object that would interact with an external electric field in a similar way. Even when it is in a single position eigenstate, an electron has another degree of freedom, its spin orientation, that has nothing to do with its position. This is “like” a spinning pool ball in the sense that it possesses angular momentum in a certain direction and reacts to torques like a spinning thing, but beyond this the analogy breaks down. For one thing, its spin can never be increased nor slowed; for another it has this intrinsic spin even when its position is localized to a dot. Similarly, a non vanishing Electric Dipole Moment would be some preferred direction to its electric interactions in relation to its spin. Its electric field would be slightly oblong even when position is localized to a dot. So to clarify, there are multiple senses of “electron cloud” at play — the superpositions of positions is what is usually meant by the term, as in electron cloud around nucleus of atom. The article’s use of the term is a tad sloppy since it invites confusion with this — it means something that generates an oblong electric field and reacts to an external electric field through a term in the energy of the form p.E (with p the EDM and E the external electric field).

criddell 3y ago

Is it the superposition volume (volume of non-zero probabilities?) that is a perfect sphere?

superposeur 3y ago
No, the language of “perfect sphere” versus “bumpy sphere” used by the article is just an analogy with a classical object that would interact with an external electric field in a similar way. Even when it is in a single position eigenstate, an electron has another degree of freedom, its spin orientation, that has nothing to do with its position. This is “like” a spinning pool ball in the sense that it possesses angular momentum in a certain direction and reacts to torques like a spinning thing, but beyond this the analogy breaks down. For one thing, its spin can never be increased nor slowed; for another it has this intrinsic spin even when its position is localized to a dot. Similarly, a non vanishing Electric Dipole Moment would be some preferred direction to its electric interactions in relation to its spin. Its electric field would be slightly oblong even when position is localized to a dot. So to clarify, there are multiple senses of “electron cloud” at play — the superpositions of positions is what is usually meant by the term, as in electron cloud around nucleus of atom. The article’s use of the term is a tad sloppy since it invites confusion with this — it means something that generates an oblong electric field and reacts to an external electric field through a term in the energy of the form p.E (with p the EDM and E the external electric field).