| Wheeler's Delayed Choice Experiment |
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Information AboutWheeler's Delayed Choice Experiment |
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On the surface, the outcome of the experiment seems simple. If we observe the photons with the screen, we get the wave like behavior. If we observe the photons with the telescopes, we get the particle like behavior. However, imagine a more bizarre scenario, where the photon has originated from a star or galaxy on the other side of the universe, and bent by an intervening galaxy, black hole, or other massive object, so that it arrives at our detector by one of two different paths. If we observe the photon wih a screen like detector, like a photographic plate or other imaging device, we should see an interference pattern, but if instead we use a binocular telescope (two telescopes focused to either side of the black hole) we will observe two small points, because the photons must behave like particles. So, in fact which side of the black hole did the photon go to? The photon has been traveling through space for billions of years, is it a particle or a wave? Consider another variation, the Delayed Choice Quantum Eraser , where we combine Wheeler's delayed choice experiment with a Quantum Eraser Experiment , so we can choose to observe the photon or not observe the photon after it hits our detector. We can apparently change the outcome of an event which occurred in the past! EXTERNAL LINKS |