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Famous double-slit experiment holds up when stripped to its quantum essentials


MIT physicists performed an idealized version of the double-slit experiment, stripping it to its quantum essentials. They confirmed that light exists as both a wave and a particle but cannot be observed in both forms at the same time.

Today, with the formulation of quantum mechanics, the double-slit experiment is now known for its surprisingly simple demonstration of a head-scratching reality: that light exists as both a particle and a wave. In a recent experiment, the team was investigating a seemingly unrelated question, studying how light scattering can reveal the properties of materials built from ultracold atoms. In previous realizations of the double slit experiment, physicists have incorporated such a spring-like ingredient, and the spring played a major role in describing the photon’s dual nature.

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Famous Double-Slit Experiment Holds Up When Stripped To Its Quantum Essentials