- #1
jeffceth
- 40
- 0
I have an advanced amateur's(if there is such a thing) grasp of the concepts of quantum physics. However, the typical usage of the 'double slit experiment' to explain an observation of the differences between classical and quantum behaviours confuses me.
The specific case, of course, is when only a single particle is shot at the two slits and yet, over time, a compendium of such cases will retain the pattern of cancellation and reinforcement found with a large number of 'simultaneous' particles. My question is this: how can we, in fact, be sure that only a single particle is being emitted at a time in our experiment? Presumably there would be a high degree of uncertainty associated with such a precise declaration, wouldn't there?
For the record, I happen to think quantum theory is a pretty good approximation of our observed phenomena, I just don't completely understand this example.
sincerely,
thatwouldbeme
The specific case, of course, is when only a single particle is shot at the two slits and yet, over time, a compendium of such cases will retain the pattern of cancellation and reinforcement found with a large number of 'simultaneous' particles. My question is this: how can we, in fact, be sure that only a single particle is being emitted at a time in our experiment? Presumably there would be a high degree of uncertainty associated with such a precise declaration, wouldn't there?
For the record, I happen to think quantum theory is a pretty good approximation of our observed phenomena, I just don't completely understand this example.
sincerely,
thatwouldbeme