On Mon, Oct 28, 2019 at 9:27 PM Alan Grayson <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Monday, October 28, 2019 at 1:11:12 AM UTC-6, Brent wrote: >> >> >> But nobody looks at the C60s. The interference pattern disappears >> anyway. The trouble with the interpretation you cite is that it depends on >> an ill defined process called "looking at it". >> >> Brent >> > > Let me introduce you to a familiar concept in QM; observation! It can be > an instrument as Feynman states. If you OBSERVE a C60, won't the > interference disappear? I assume it would if it behaves like any other > particle in a slit experiment. Isn't the notable thing about a C60, is the > manifestation of interference? AG > The significant thing about the C60 experiments is that which-way information is given by the IR photons that the bucky balls emit when they are heated. When the IR wavelength becomes shorter as the temperature increases, eventually the typical photon wavelength is short enough to distinguish which slit the atom went through. This means that which-way information is made available, even if it is never detected! So no measurement or observation of these IR photons is necessary. What is found is that as the temperature of the atoms increases, the interference pattern is gradually washed out (even at lower temps, some IR photons are of short enough wavelength to distinguish which slit was traversed.) This means that some of the atoms at that temperature show interference, and some do not. So the interference pattern gradually disappears as the temperature is increased. This is actually one of the most significant two-slit interference experiments ever performed. Once you understand what is going on there can be no more confusion over what interference means, or over how small an interaction (emission of a single IR photon) is necessary for decoherence to occur. This is not really a quantum erasure experiment because it is essentially impossible to quantum erase the information in the IR photons -- they can hit the wall, or vanish into space, in either case the which-way information still exists in the universe, even if totally scrambled, or undetected by anything or any one. The significance of this experiment is so great that it is no wonder that Brent keeps referring to it. Ponder the lessons here. Bruce -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/everything-list/CAFxXSLQb-ABzW9nDGqOdWaC8Yypmo-qa0h82F2krLH6F_stBCA%40mail.gmail.com.
