Free Essays on Youngs Two-slit Experiment

The two-slit experiment had, and still preserves a fundamental impact on modern physics. In his Lectures on Physics, Feynman stated that the interference patterns seen in Young’s experiment are â€Å"a phenomenon which is impossible, absolutely impossible to explain in any classical way, and which has in it the heart of quantum mechanics. In reality it contains the only mystery.† [1] Here, he is expressing the wonder of wave-particle duality, in which matter at an atomic level behaves at times like a particle and at others, like a wave. However, observations of both qualities at the same time are impermissible for some reason by the laws of quantum mechanics. Within the two-slit experiment, there are numerous aspects that defy logic and maintain the mystery that is quantum physics. The experiment itself works by emitting photons of light from a monochromatic source to pass through a single slit to obtain a narrow beam of light. This narrow beam is then allowed to fall on a screen containing two narrow slits. Light from the two slits then falls on a distant screen. The resulting patterns of light on the screen can then be observed. What Young found was that a central bright maximum of light was obtained, and around this central bright maximum were equidistant striations of light and dark. To clarify one point, it was later discovered that if a single photon were fired at the two slits, an interference pattern would not appear. Rather, a single 'blip' would appear on the screen, which indicates that the photon is not a wave, but rather a particle. If a large number of photons were fired at the slits, an interference pattern would begin to a ppear. So it seems that photons are really particles that behave collectively like waves. The same reasoning applies to all particles, not just photons. Many variations of the Young two-slit experiment have since arisen, namely gedankens (thought experiments), to illustrate the fundamental princi... Free Essays on Young's Two-slit Experiment Free Essays on Young's Two-slit Experiment The two-slit experiment had, and still preserves a fundamental impact on modern physics. In his Lectures on Physics, Feynman stated that the interference patterns seen in Young’s experiment are â€Å"a phenomenon which is impossible, absolutely impossible to explain in any classical way, and which has in it the heart of quantum mechanics. In reality it contains the only mystery.† [1] Here, he is expressing the wonder of wave-particle duality, in which matter at an atomic level behaves at times like a particle and at others, like a wave. However, observations of both qualities at the same time are impermissible for some reason by the laws of quantum mechanics. Within the two-slit experiment, there are numerous aspects that defy logic and maintain the mystery that is quantum physics. The experiment itself works by emitting photons of light from a monochromatic source to pass through a single slit to obtain a narrow beam of light. This narrow beam is then allowed to fall on a screen containing two narrow slits. Light from the two slits then falls on a distant screen. The resulting patterns of light on the screen can then be observed. What Young found was that a central bright maximum of light was obtained, and around this central bright maximum were equidistant striations of light and dark. To clarify one point, it was later discovered that if a single photon were fired at the two slits, an interference pattern would not appear. Rather, a single 'blip' would appear on the screen, which indicates that the photon is not a wave, but rather a particle. If a large number of photons were fired at the slits, an interference pattern would begin to a ppear. So it seems that photons are really particles that behave collectively like waves. The same reasoning applies to all particles, not just photons. Many variations of the Young two-slit experiment have since arisen, namely gedankens (thought experiments), to illustrate the fundamental princi...