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Did the Particle Go Through the Two Slits, or Did the Wave Function?


In the quantum double-slit experiment, did the particle go through the slits or did the wave function? 1920's quantum physics has a simple answer: "NO".

Having the wave function (or its pattern) pass through physical doors would be akin to you entering into Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet to save the lovers from their fates, or enjoying the taste of an apple painted by Rembrandt, or walking through a giant hole in a physicist’s argument. It’s simplest to put the two particles in wave packet states with near-definite momentum, somewhat separated in space but with similar motion. Figure 7: How the dashed lines divide the space of possibilities into four general regions, classified by where the two particles are located relative to the door.

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