Instructions
Quantum mechanics is not easy. Limitless imagination is necessary to understand this concept.
In the early days of quantum physics, in an attempt to explain the wavelike behavior of quantum particles, the French physicist Louis de Broglie proposed what he called a “pilot wave” theory. According to de Broglie, moving particles — such as electrons, or the photons in a beam of light — are borne along on waves of some type, like driftwood on a tide.
In 2006 pilot-wave system has been discovered by Couder, in which a drop of fluid bounces across a vibrating fluid bath, propelled by waves produced by its own collisions. In 2013 a team of MIT researchers, in collaboration with Couder and his colleagues, report that they have produced the fluidic analogue of another classic quantum experiment, in which electrons are confined to a circular “corral” by a ring of ions. In the new experiments, bouncing drops of fluid mimicked the electrons’ statistical behavior with remarkable accuracy.
What do you need to do for the Discussion Board?
1 . Watch this video
2. Answer one or two or more of the following questions:
- Does this experiment give insight into how rational quantum dynamics might work,
- Do you think the mathematics of wave mechanics explains the statistical behavior of moving particles such as electrons?
- Do you think statistical description of the droplet’s location is analogous to that of an electron confined to a circular quantum corral and has a similar, wavelike form?
- What was the most interesting part from the video?
3. Suggest another interesting experiment which supports quantum mechanics . ( provide resources)