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> How can one rationalize the fact that a photon can be a wave and a particle at the same time? Photons are not particles or waves. They are similar to classic
by consilient 3y ago
> How can one rationalize the fact that a photon can be a wave and a particle at the same time?
Photons are not particles or waves. They are similar to classical particles in certain respects and similar to classical waves in other respects, but what they're really like is a localized excitation of the electromagnetic field. Because that's what they are.
Physics by analogy simply does not work. If you understand the math, analogies can occasionally be a helpful signpost. If you don't, they're worse than useless.
- goatlover 3y agoDepends the interpretation. Bell thought the most straight forward conclusion was that quantum systems are both quantum waves and particles, where the wave guides the particle (Pilot Wave/Bohmian Mechanics). In MWI, particles are superpositions of every possible quantum value. We can understand that as branching worlds thanks to entanglement and decoherence. Saying we can't understand the mathematical formalism is a kind of Copenhagen interpretation.