The biggest science mystery known to man will be revealed to you. The mystery concerns the behaviour of electrons. You may wonder why something as boring as electrons should interest to you.
Well it seems that electrons seem to behave as is if they are conscious ! Far from behaving like nonliving things, they seem to show "living" properties such as shyness and hiding secrets from prying eyes.
This big mystery of "thinking electrons" is seen when electrons are studied in the so called “two hole” device. The mystery will be discussed in three parts.
The first part will briefly describe the “two hole” device.
The second part will describe the huge mystery that is seen when electrons are put through the “two hole” device.
Finally, the third part will discuss the potential impact it may have in your life.
"TWO HOLE" DEVICE
In the world of really tiny objects such as electrons, it is difficult to directly take a picture of them like you would using a digital camera on your cat.
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So instead, scientists have to use devices to indirectly work out how something looks.
In the world of the very small, an object might travel like a little ball.
Or the object might be traveling like a wave .
Scientist have a device, called the "two hole" device, that helps them to decide if an electron travels as a ball or as a wave. The device is called a "two hole" device because it consists of a wall with two holes.
On one side of the wall is a gun that fires the electrons we want to find out about.
On the other side of the wall, we place a special detector (shown in pink below). As the gun fires the electrons onto the wall, some of them will pass through the holes and will land on some place on the detector. The detector records where the electrons fall, and after a while a pattern will emerge that will give us a clue about if the electrons travel as balls or waves.
Depending on if the electrons travel as a ball or a wave, the detector will show a different pattern.
If the electrons are like balls, they will simply go through the holes in the wall and land directly across onto the detector. They would collect as two heaps right across the holes in the wall.
So, if the electrons travel as balls, the detector will therefore record two bumps (shown in green).
However, if electrons travel as waves, the detector will show a completely different pattern which consists of many more bumps than the two seen if the objects traveled as balls. The reason for this will be explained briefly below.
The electron waves will travel from the gun like ripples generated by a stone thrown into a pond. These electron waves reach the two holes in the wall.
When the electron wave reaches the two holes in the wall, it will cause two “daughter” electron waves to continue from the holes.
When these electron "daughter waves" reach the detector, they cause many bumps to be recorded.
The reason for the many bumps is because the two electron daughter waves "crash" into each other. Whenever an upward part of one daughter wave meets an upward part of the other daughter wave, a large bump registers on the detector as shown below.
Because the two daughter waves meet at many points, this causes many bumps to show up on the detector.
Therefore, with the two hole experiment, one can make out if electrons travels as balls or if the electrons travel as waves.
So to summarise: With the two hole device, if something is a ball, the detector shows two bumps.
... or if electrons travel as waves, the detector will show many bumps:
Now that you understand the working of the two hole device, you are ready to learn about the biggest mystery.
Well it seems that electrons seem to behave as is if they are conscious ! Far from behaving like nonliving things, they seem to show "living" properties such as shyness and hiding secrets from prying eyes.
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