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its not the experiment, but the results which are controversial to the idea of light being a particle or a wave

Apologies, bfp, I edited my previous post while you was replying.

As you said, when the motion of the photon is not being observed, it acts as though it were taking every possible path at once, yet when it is observed it behaves exactly like a particle on single trajectory. Why? Possibly because we exist as part of a multiverse, in which all those possibilities occur simultaneously, then in the act of observing, we cause the selection of a single one of those universes, rather like stopping the ball on a roulette wheel? Controversial, indeed.

"That's what's great about quantum mechanics - every interpretation is completely rediculous"
- Lawrence Krauss, in conversation with Richard Dawkins at Stanford University.

the multi-verse theory doesn't seem explain the wave behavior though. how is it that an infinite number of universes would interact with one another all at once?

when unobserved, the photon would have to exist in every possible position w.r.t. time in order to interfere with itself and behave as a wave. in this scenario, ALL of the universes involving the experiment would have to be affecting one another, all existing at once; this is hard to understand/believe. in order to detect a photon you would have to interact with it somehow, like all things. i think that the method of detection might play a big role.

bfp: "the multi-verse theory doesn't seem explain the wave behavior though."

Actually, you went on to answer that with -

"the photon would have to exist in every possible position w.r.t. time in order to interfere with itself and behave as a wave. in this scenario, ALL of the universes involving the experiment would have to be affecting one another, all existing at once..."

Yes, it's completely rediculous - but then, the quantum world is completely rediculous.

"how is it that an infinite number of universes would interact with one another all at once?"

They supposedly co-exist as an infinite number of parallel and interdependent realities, which multiply at every instant.

Superposition is explained in the same way. In a quantum computer, the qubit has a value of zero, one, and everything between. Only when you look to see what it is does it become a 'real' figure. It's Schrodinger's Cat again.

meow lol

i guess that at this point we just need more facts to work with

redewenur: Yes, bfp, the act of observing collapses the probability wave.

Ben: a QM probability wave is not a physical structure and cannot be used to describe the diffraction effects of light.

"Einstein's SRT is invalid."

Since:::::------>>>>>>


In Einstein’s electrodynamics, Maxwell-Hertz equations that describe light are used but light cannot be represented with electric and magnetic force vectors since only physical matter (solid, liquid or gas) can be represented with vectors. Mass-less energy (light) cannot be represented with vectors. Einstein’s electrodynamics (relativity) is physically invalid.

waves cannot be use to describe the double slit diffraction effect since the energy of a wave is dependent on the frequency and amplutude which conflicts with Lenard's photoelectric effect that implies light energy is dependent on only the frequency. ALso, the diffraction effect describe using wave annihilation violates energy conservation. Also, the wave structure requires an ether composed of matter yet the ether does not physically exist.

"Mass-less energy (light) cannot be represented with vectors" if light has no mass how would you explain the effect of gravity on light? light IS bent by gravity... gravity which is dependent on mass.

again; i believe that the phenomena(wave/particle behavior) can't be explained using classical quantum mechanics, more research needs to be done to reveal the truth.

The particle has a definite position only at the moment we look at it. Before that, it has only potential positions described by the probability wave. That wave, like any wave, is subject to interference effects. When we look at it, we collapse the wave function and eliminate the interference pattern.

Light exhibits two phenomena that only waves can exhibit - diffraction and interference. But then, you've 'proved' that's not true...

i doubt that it has anything to do with the probability wave;
once the photon leaves the slit; it is subject to probability all over again, there are a multitude of different paths to the screen.

ie. do the experiment, with the photon detection equipment, and only one slit open. I'm pretty sure that you would have no wave interference in this case either. <if anyone finds research data on this please inform>

I'm no longer going to dispute wave particle duality, bfp. It's not an economical use of time. You can find all the information you need on single and double slit results as easily as I can. You can start here:

http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/CSD-double-slit.html

"If either of the two slits is closed, the light going through the other slit forms a bright bar on the screen, striking the screen like a stream of BBs or Ping-Pong balls or other solid particles. But if both slits are open, the beams overlap to form interference fringes, just as waves in water do, with bright bands where the wavecrests reinforce one another and dark bands where they cancel.

http://www.physorg.com/news92937814.html

"So is light particles or waves? The ambiguous results of early double slit experiments (the first on record was in 1801) were not resolved until well into the 20th century, when it became clear from both experiment and the theory of quantum mechanics that light is both waves and particles — moreover, that particles, including electrons, also have a wave nature."

http://scitation.aip.org/getabs/servlet/...ps&gifs=yes

"We describe a double-slit interference experiment suitable for a beginning physics laboratory in which single photons are observed to interfere with themselves, directly demonstrating the wave-particle duality."

The Feynman Double Slit:

"If we think that the probability of where the electron is in space is a wave, then when we don't look the probability wave has two pieces at the slits, representing the fact that there is a 50% chance the electron went through the upper slit and a 50% chance it went through the lower slit. These two probability waves from the two slits, then, recombine at the screen and cause the interference pattern.

When we look, we "collapse the state" in a 100% chance it went through one slit and a 0% chance it went through the other"

- Richard Feynman

http://www.upscale.utoronto.ca/GeneralInterest/Harrison/DoubleSlit/DoubleSlit.html