This is for Chemistry 30, Lesson 1.1 (Part 4)
Link to the video provided in the lesson: Chem 30- Assignment 1 Part 4 video on Vimeo
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Do you have any explanation(s) about why that might be happening? Remember, at this point no ideas are too outlandish, so feel free to speculate as wildly as you like. If you have lots of ideas, list them all.
My only idea is the electron is a living entity. That means it has a mind of its own, similar to a bee or an ant. The electron can think, sense, and even change its behaviour when observed. However, I also think it has limitations because it was designed with a set of instructions or rules to behave in the real world.
2. Because it is the nature of a typical science experiment to raise more questions than it answers, if you were a researcher conducting this experiment, what might some of your next experiments be? (i.e. if you had any questions after watching the video, what are they and what would you do to find that answer?)
If I were to conduct this experiment, I would try different methods of observing the electron. Based on my idea of how it behaves, I would camouflage the measuring device to peek at how it enters through the slits. I could try using mirrors to indirectly look at it, use a robot or non-living thing to record it, or ask a child to observe it.
3. How does this relate to the age-old question of “If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to witness it fall, does it make a noise?”
When physicists put a measuring device to observe which slit the particle actually goes through, the electron decided to act differently as if it knew it was being watched. So, this phenomenon relates to the age-old question because of observation. If there is someone to observe the electron going through the double slit, it will change its behaviour. The other way around will happen if it is not being watched, raising up the question of how the observer affects the experiment. In conclusion, this experiment and the question force us to think outside of the box.
Examples of the “Double Slit” Experiment
