> From: Michel Jullian > > Indeed the double slit experiment with only one single photon or > electron traversing the experiment at a time is an awesome proof > of the shortcomings of our common sense (mine in any case)! Can > anyone _really_ make sense of why they form interference > patterns? I mean, the QM equations will yield those patterns all > right, but does QM itself make common sense? > > Michel
The only logical explanation my brain can make out of the paradoxical double slit experiment is the notion that what we perceive, and more importantly MEASURE, as "particles" are perhaps not really ISOLATED pinpoints of –matter- after all. The only rational explanation I can comprehend is that what we define as ISOLATED pin-points of "matter" are most likely waves of EM energy that have coalesced or configured themselves into patterns that our measuring devices, which reside in the macro world, interpret as "physical" particles. Of course, WE are the ones doing all the interpreting. It's as if there is an almost desperate-like human tendency to fit as much bizzare QM behavior into the more framiliar rules of the macro world, cuz that's the only reality our brains can make any sense out of. And indeed, these highly concentrated EM patterns may occasionally seem to take on the characteristics of "matter" which we human beings find so comforting. But to define these QM patterns (i.e. photons) as ISOLATED pin points of "matter" does not necessarily mean it's the most accurate interpretation of what is really going on under the hood. Oh dear, caught in the act of pontificating, once again. >From a strictly philosophical non-scientific POV it all seems to come down to MAYA, the illusion of reality that we all seem to be so entranced with. The sand box, after all, with all of its inherent granularity can occasionally be a fun place in which to build temporary sand castles in. Regards, Steven Vincent Johnson www.OrionWorks.com
