arXiv subjects

Thomas V Marcella

Publications and source records attributed to Thomas V Marcella.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2009

The unperformed experiment as an act of annihilation

Here, we accept the results of quantum experiments at face value and we make no apology for the failure of classical physics. Just as Wheeler has called particle detection an "act of creation", we suggest that, in some circumstances, not detecting the particle might be considered an "act of annihilation". We propose a delayed choice experiment in which we decide to interrupt an experiment after the particle has supposedly passed through the preparation apparatus and is on the verge of being detected. Even with the detection device in place, the particle is nowhere to be found.

physics.gen-ph↗

arXiv2007

Quantum interference with slits

In the experiments considered here, we measure the y-component of momentum for a particle passing through a system of slits. The source-slit system is the preparation apparatus that determines the state vector. Recognizing that a system of slits is a position-measuring device allows us to ascertain that the state vector is a position state. Then, writing the state vector in momentum space provides a straightforward calculation for the probability amplitude and its corresponding probability function. Interference effects, if any, are inherent in the probability function We determine the statistical distribution of scattered particles for four different slit systems. The results are in agreement with the well-known interference patterns obtained in classical wave optics.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2006

An axiomatic approach to Einstein's boxes

The fallacies inherent in the Einstein's Boxes thought experiment are made evident by taking an axiomatic approach to quantum mechanics while ignoring notions not supported by the postulates or by experimental observation. We emphasize that the postulates contain everything needed to completely describe a quantum experiment. We discuss the non-classical nature of both the state vector and the experiment that it represents. Einstein's Boxes is then described by the formalism alone. We see that it is no different from any other experiment in which a two-state observable is measured.

quant-ph↗