What is the Wave/Particle Duality? Part 1
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We see particle-like behavior every day: drop a ball on the ground and it follows a singletrajectory, leave your giraffe parked on the street and when you come back, it's stillthere, just one giraffe.And we see wave behavior, too! Toot your horn, and waves spread out through the air, carryingsound to the ears of anyone around. Or drive a boat through water, and waves travel outwardsalong the surface.But when it comes to the physics of the very small,what we see is a wave-particle duality. Sometimes very small things (we're talking electrons& protons here) behave like particles, and sometimes they behave like waves! Flip-floppers!For example, if you release an electron, it'll travel outward as a wave through the room,but when it hits the wall,...
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We see particle-like behavior every day: drop a ball on the ground and it follows a singletrajectory, leave your giraffe parked on the street and when you come back, it's stillthere, just one giraffe.And we see wave behavior, too! Toot your horn, and waves spread out through the air, carryingsound to the ears of anyone around. Or drive a boat through water, and waves travel outwardsalong the surface.But when it comes to the physics of the very small,what we see is a wave-particle duality. Sometimes very small things (we're talking electrons& protons here) behave like particles, and sometimes they behave like waves! Flip-floppers!For example, if you release an electron, it'll travel outward as a wave through the room,but when it hits the wall,...
