TransWikia.com

Young's double slit experiment with a single photon

Physics Asked by Bizarre on August 19, 2020

i am a year 12 student and as i was reading a book written by Brain Clegg, i hit a roadblock. It would be great if somone could help me out with this.

when we conduct young’s double slit experiment with a single photon , it is seen that we get an interference pattern due to the probability of the photon passing through either of the slits. Now, if we were to place a detector before the slits, we would know for sure through which slit the photon would pass. In the experiment does the results still show an interference pattern even though we know the location of the photon or does it disappear?
And is the interference pattern still produced without a detector?

Thank you

2 Answers

There is no way to measure the photon without disturbing it. So the version of the double-slit experiment that you describe above has to be done with an electron, which you can measure in flight. It's typically called the "which way" experiment.

In your description above, the interference pattern disappears. What you are describing is a variant of the quantum eraser experiment. I have not been pleased with the descriptions and explanations of the experiment that I have found, but I'm told it makes sense if you look at the math.

Answered by vy32 on August 19, 2020

A common misunderstanding is that the wavefunction describes a particle (e.g., a photon or an electron), and that interference is something that happens to a particle.

Neither is true. In fact, the square of wavefunction at a point describes probability of detection of the particle at that point. Interference is evidence that the "probability of detection" for all points follows a wave equation. That implies that interference can only be detected by performing a large number of identical detections, and not by performing a single detection.

Answered by S. McGrew on August 19, 2020

Add your own answers!

Ask a Question

Get help from others!

© 2024 TransWikia.com. All rights reserved. Sites we Love: PCI Database, UKBizDB, Menu Kuliner, Sharing RPP