1900: A physics genius wandering around Europe

Chapter 588 Electronic Ghost! Making the impossible possible! The whole audience was shocked! Who can understand Bruce's explanation!

With the electron diffraction experiment in hand, the electron interference experiment, although equally incredible, was still within everyone's understanding.

As long as you recognize quantum mechanics and matter wave theory.

Then we can also accept that electrons have wave properties.

Even ordinary people can imagine this situation if they think from common sense.

Extremely small electrons, like photons, move in all directions after passing through double-slit interference.

If there are more electrons in some areas, the interference will be enhanced, while if there are fewer electrons in some areas, the interference will be weakened.

Therefore, electrons exhibit wave properties.

But all this must have a prerequisite!
That requires a large number of electrons.

Only when the number of electrons is large enough will the spatial area from the double slits to the display screen be filled with electrons, thus causing interference.

If there is only one electron, who will it interfere with?
At this moment, most people present had this idea.

However, Professor Bruce's words were like a bomb exploding in their ears, shocking them into a daze.

A heated discussion suddenly broke out in the conference hall.

"Can a single electron interfere with itself?"

"How can this be?"

"This is impossible!"

Compton and other young people widened their eyes in disbelief.

In front of Professor Bruce, they finally realized what it meant to be imaginative and shocking!
This is real imagination!
Everyone instantly developed the consciousness of being a spectator.

It can be predicted that the 4th Bruce Conference will be the stage for that man again!
Although he himself has no intention of doing so, fireflies in the dark are always so charming!
Host Lorenz also forgot to maintain discipline.

This idea is really too horrifying.

He looked at Planck, Thomson, old Bragg and others, and they suddenly smiled at each other.

They have studied classical physics all their lives, and everything was fine.

As a result, since I came into contact with modern physics, my three views have been often overturned.

Even Planck, the founder of quantum theory, can hardly understand modern quantum mechanics.

Lorenz sighed inwardly:

"It turns out that being with a young man like Bruce has its benefits."

“As long as there are new discoveries and new knowledge every day, ideas will never decay.”

Schrödinger was a little absent-minded.

Not only did he create wave mechanics, he also wrote the ingenious Schrödinger equation.

But he himself has always been skeptical about the probability wave explanation.

He could not agree more with Professor Bruce's views today.

No matter how hard he thought about it, Schrödinger could not imagine such a scenario.

Unless the electron can split itself, another electron will be split immediately before reaching the double slit, causing the two electrons to interfere with each other.

Even such a fantastic thing is more acceptable than Professor Bruce's hypothesis.

Schrödinger looked at Einstein and found that he was deep in thought with a frown on his face.

So he turned to Ehrenfest next to him and asked his question:
"Professor Ai, even if electrons have the properties of probability waves."

"But there's only one electron, so the wave can only go through one slit. How can it interfere?"

At this moment, Schrödinger was completely confused.

He found that even if he acknowledged the probability wave that he was unwilling to acknowledge, it seemed that he could not explain the situation that Professor Bruce described.

what is the problem?

Schrödinger's ideas are actually the ideas of most ordinary people in later generations.

Because when they were thinking about the single-electron double-slit interference laboratory, they always [subconsciously] [naturally] thought of the electron as a small ball.

However, this small ball can also be analogized to matter in the macroscopic world.

For example, if we replace the electron with a bullet, then when it reaches the double slit, it can only pass through one of the slits.

There can be no interference whatsoever.

The reason they made this mistake is that they did not think about the problem from the perspective of quantum mechanics.

At this point in time, quantum mechanics has been around for less than two years.

Even many of the world's top physics giants have not completed the change in their concepts.

So when Ehrenfest heard this, he could only smile bitterly.

"Professor Xue, I don't know either."

“I feel like I shouldn’t be at this meeting.”

In school, he, Ehrenfest, was the elder, revered and worshipped, with the demeanor of a master.

But at the Bruce meeting, he, like everyone else, could only become a spectator.

In anger, Ehrenfest picked up a piece of dried fruit from the fruit plate on the table and put it into his mouth.

"Let's play music and dance!"

However, Bohr, Heisenberg, Pauli and Born looked excited.

They are staunch supporters of blues interpretation.

So, they think differently from other big guys.

"If we don't think of electrons as little balls or waves, but as nothing at all, it seems that single-electron interference really does occur!"

Bohr and others were extremely excited!
Although they couldn't explain it perfectly yet, they knew that Professor Bruce was about to demonstrate it.

Several people felt a solemn sense of witnessing history!

At this moment, Einstein was the most silent among the crowd, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Although everyone's inner thoughts were extremely rich, only a little time had passed.

Li Qiwei took in everyone's different expressions and smiled slightly.

"Next, let me tell you about the experimental plan."

Wow!
The room suddenly became quiet.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the stage.

Snapped!
Li Qiwei adjusted the electron emission mode to single electron mode and began to explain:
“Every time the instrument beeps, it represents one working cycle.”

"In one working cycle, a total of 10 electrons are emitted."

"These 10 electrons are emitted one by one, not all at once."

“And it’s designed so that the next electron is emitted only after the previous electron reaches the display.”

"So we can guarantee that it's a single-electron experiment every time."

The bosses nodded, it was easy to understand.

"There are two possible results of the experiment."

"If I am wrong, then the electron will pass through one of the two slits with equal probability."

"So, on the display, there will be two separate bright stripes."

"If I'm correct, the individual electrons will still interfere."

"Then there will be light and dark stripes on the display."

"As for the principle and detailed explanation, I will give it after the experiment."

"Then, let's begin!"

With a "click", the electron transmitter started working.

Everyone's heart was instantly tightened.

drop!
As soon as the first sound was heard, everyone couldn't help but look at the display screen.

"Huh? Why is there nothing?"

"What about interference fringes?"

"Oh my God! Could it be that Professor Bruce made a mistake!"

Some people couldn't help but exclaim!
At this time, Bohr explained in a low voice:

"Don't worry!"

"There are only 10 electrons. The fluorescence effect produced on the display is very weak and cannot be seen clearly for the time being."

The man said "Oh" and quickly fell silent.

drop!
drop!
drop!
The only sound in the room was the sound of electronic firing.

With every drop of water, everyone's heart vibrates.

The feeling is really indescribable.

It's like a countdown.

The truth transformed into a beautiful lady, slowly taking off the veil on her face, revealing her stunning appearance!
Urgent!

In the dim light, Li Qiwei's eyes were sparkling and mysterious.

The light of electrons and the light of wisdom are intertwined, that is the color of God.

One minute
five minutes.
ten minutes.
Many people's eyes began to sore, but there was no impatience on their faces. Who can resist the temptation of witnessing history?

At this time, the advantages of being young are reflected.

Pauli and others stared with eyes as big as cow eggs, not blinking, and concentrating intently.

When the time reached fifteen minutes.

suddenly!

Pauli shouted, shocking everyone.

"Appeared!"

"Interference fringes appear!"

"Single electrons interfere!"

boom!
At this moment, everyone was shocked!

Clearly visible light and dark stripes finally appeared on the display.

"Oh my god! There really was an interference!"

"The stripes are exactly the same as in previous electron beam interference experiments."

But everyone knows that the difference between the two is greater than heaven and earth!
As time goes by, the interference fringes become more and more obvious.

Everyone's breathing became more and more rapid!

Li Qiwei gently pulled open the curtains when no one was paying attention.

Suddenly, sunlight shone in.

The light generated by the electronics on the display screen cannot be blocked even by sunlight.

The smile on Li Qiwei's lips made the sun pale in comparison.

“It finally happened.”

“It’s just the beginning though.”

This experiment has not yet revealed its terrible and mysterious side.

There are more surprises waiting for everyone!

I don't know how long it was before a shocking shout suddenly broke out in the room.

"Incredible!"

"Single electrons can really interfere!"

At this moment, everyone suddenly realized that it was daytime.

They don't even know where or when they are.

However, no one cares anymore.

There was only one question left on everyone's mind:
"How exactly do electrons interfere?"

Lorenz and other older generations opened their mouths wide.

Although they had been shocked by modern physics several times before.

But all those times combined were not as shocking as today.

It completely subverted everything!
"I can't wait for Bruce's explanation."

"If I don't figure it out today, I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep in the future."

Bohr and others were delighted.

Professor Bruce’s prediction was right again!
“I thought I had a pretty good understanding of quantum mechanics.”

"But today I realized that I don't understand quantum mechanics."

"What I felt was just the surface."

"Professor Bruce is always pursuing a deeper essence!"

“It really opened my eyes!”

All kinds of praises came out of Bohr's mouth.

His admiration for his teacher reached its peak again.

Bohr knew that after today, Bruce's position as an interpreter would be as secure as a rock.

However, he was also curious.

"Why exactly?"

“How can we explain this using the principle of complementarity?”

In the back row, Yu Yin, who had been calm all along, was also moved.

The magic of quantum mechanics was beyond his imagination.

He said with emotion:

"I finally understand why it's called quantum mechanics."

Wu Youxun on the side asked hurriedly:

"Brother Yu, what do you say?"

Yu Yin said in Chinese:
“Quantum mechanics, learn according to your ability.”

Wu Youxun burst out laughing.

My brother Yu is so humorous.

You really have to learn according to your ability.

Schrödinger couldn't believe his eyes.

Such an outrageous phenomenon actually appeared before his eyes.

For a moment, his mind was confused and he couldn't think of anything.

After a long while, the highly respected Planck smiled and said:
"Bruce, please explain it to us."

Everyone nodded.

They can't wait a moment.

Li Qiwei smiled slightly.

Then he drew a schematic diagram of the double-slit interference experiment on the projector.

"The reason why everyone finds this experiment incredible is that you always subconsciously treat the electron as a particle, a point mass."

"But according to the complementary principle, the electron is nothing from the moment it is emitted until it is sensed and received by the display."

"The state of an electron only satisfies the description of the wave function ψ, and its position in space, momentum and other parameters all present a probability distribution."

“This probability distribution is what I called a probability wave earlier.”

"But we can't just treat the electron as a probability wave, because it also has the properties of a particle."

"So, at this moment, the electron is in a superposition state."

"It's like a ghostly wisp that spreads around, neither a real wave nor a real particle."

“And it can be everywhere at once.”

“As shown in the picture.”

“So even if there’s only one electron, it can go through both slits [at the same time].”

"It looks like two real waves interfering with each other."

"But it's actually the electronic ghost that's interfering with itself."

"The electrons after the interference continue to propagate forward."

"In addition, the position of the electron will satisfy the new probability distribution after the interference, resulting in a higher probability of appearing in some places and a lower probability of appearing in some places." (Interference enhancement and interference reduction)
“Until I met the display screen.”

"Note that the display screen is actually equivalent to an observer, and its observation method is the same as that of particles."

"Because the electrons are interacting with the material on the display, this interaction is particle-like."

"So, the electron ghost will randomly choose a point at this time, and the wave function will collapse instantly, turning into a real particle."

"At this moment, the probability of the electron particle appearing at this position is 100%."

"Then the second electron goes through the same process."

"Eventually, the large number of electrons will form light and dark stripes on the display."

"The dark patterns indicate that the probability of electrons appearing is low, so fewer electrons fall there."

"The bright lines indicate that the probability of electrons appearing is high, so more electrons fall there."

"This is the principle of the single-electron double-slit interference experiment."

Li Qiwei concluded:
"First, each time an electron is emitted onto the display, only a single dot is formed in the end, rather than interference fringes."

"Second, a large number of electrons will form light and dark stripes on the display screen, which is consistent with the probability distribution calculation of the wave function."

"Third, interference fringes mean that when a single electron passes through the double slit, it is equivalent to generating two wave sources, which interfere with themselves."

"The single-electron double-slit experiment not only proves the correctness of probability waves, but also proves the complementary principle!"

quiet!
Deathly silence!

The whole audience was shocked!

There was only one thought in everyone's mind:
"Do I understand?"

(End of this chapter)