Quantum mechanics permits particles to follow bizarre, looping and curving trajectories, usually with very low probability. But a calculation shows that in some cases, these paths can have significant ...

MIT physicists have performed an idealized version of one of the most famous experiments in quantum physics. Their findings demonstrate, with atomic-level precision, the dual yet evasive nature of ...

The double-slit experiment is the best demonstration of quantum weirdness, in which electrons simultaneously act like particles and waves and seemingly violate basic laws of physics. Now we’re trying ...

A groundbreaking experiment demonstrates yet again that light exists both as a wave and a particle in the quantum world—but we can’t see both at the same time. Reading time 3 minutes Albert Einstein ...

James is a published author with multiple pop-history and science books to his name. He specializes in history, space, strange science, and anything out of the ordinary.View full profile James is a ...

Researchers demonstrate that some forms of quantum behavior can only occur via pairwise interactions, a finding that limits the number of ways in which we can reconcile quantum mechanics with ...

Shrinking Young’s experiment (a) The classical double-slit experiment using light (slit spacing ~1 mm, propagation distance ~1 m). (b) Schematic of atomic-scale interference in which a pair of ...

Stephen has degrees in science (Physics major) and arts (English Literature and the History and Philosophy of Science), as well as a Graduate Diploma in Science Communication. Stephen has degrees in ...

We’ve all seen recreations of the famous double-slit experiment, which showed that light can behave both as a wave and as a particle. Or rather, it’s likely that what we’ve seen is the results of the ...

Schematic of the MIT experiment: Two single atoms floating in a vacuum chamber are illuminated by a laser beam and act as the two slits. The interference of the scattered light is recorded with a ...