Tuesday, January 25, 2011

New proposed explanation for the double slit experiment

In "Which-way detector unlocks some mystery of the double-slit experiment" (January 21, 2011),
Lisa Zyga reports at Physorg:
- One of the greatest puzzles of the double-slit experiment – and quantum physics in general – is why electrons seem to act differently when being observed.

[ ... ]

Overall, the results suggest that the type of scattering an electron undergoes determines the mark it leaves on the back wall, and that a detector at one of the slits can change the type of scattering. The physicists concluded that, while elastically scattered electrons can cause an interference pattern, the inelastically scattered electrons do not contribute to the interference process.
A friend writes, "Not sure this trumps the Copenhagen Interpretation and Schrodinger's Cat, but interesting for QM physics buffs."