Deciphering the Enigma of Wave-Particle Duality

A satisfactory explanation of the confounding wave-particle duality of matter is presented in terms of the reality of the wave nature of a particle. In this view, a quantum particle is an objectively real wave packet consisting of irregular disturbances of underlying quantum fields. It travels holi...

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Main Author: Mani Lal Bhaumik
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Quanta 2016-12-01
Series:Quanta
Online Access:https://dankogeorgiev.com/ojs/index.php/quanta/article/view/29
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author Mani Lal Bhaumik
author_facet Mani Lal Bhaumik
author_sort Mani Lal Bhaumik
collection DOAJ
description A satisfactory explanation of the confounding wave-particle duality of matter is presented in terms of the reality of the wave nature of a particle. In this view, a quantum particle is an objectively real wave packet consisting of irregular disturbances of underlying quantum fields. It travels holistically as a unit and thereby acts as a particle. Only the totality of the entire wave packet at any instance embodies all the conserved quantities, for example the energy-momentum, rest mass, and charge of the particle, and as such must be acquired all at once during detection. On this basis, many of the bizarre behaviors observed in the quantum domain, such as wave function collapse, the limitation of prediction to only a probability rather than an actuality, the apparent simultaneous existence of a particle in more than one place, and the inherent uncertainty can be reasonably comprehended. The necessity of acquiring the wave function in its entirety for detection, as evinced by the appearance of collapse of the wave function, supports the paradigm of reality of the wave function described here. Quanta 2016; 5: 93–100.
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spelling doaj-art-e0c6056c2d274c9199c95a8ad39485c42025-08-20T03:47:18ZengQuantaQuanta1314-73742016-12-01510.12743/quanta.v5i1.5429Deciphering the Enigma of Wave-Particle DualityMani Lal Bhaumik0University of California, Los Angeles A satisfactory explanation of the confounding wave-particle duality of matter is presented in terms of the reality of the wave nature of a particle. In this view, a quantum particle is an objectively real wave packet consisting of irregular disturbances of underlying quantum fields. It travels holistically as a unit and thereby acts as a particle. Only the totality of the entire wave packet at any instance embodies all the conserved quantities, for example the energy-momentum, rest mass, and charge of the particle, and as such must be acquired all at once during detection. On this basis, many of the bizarre behaviors observed in the quantum domain, such as wave function collapse, the limitation of prediction to only a probability rather than an actuality, the apparent simultaneous existence of a particle in more than one place, and the inherent uncertainty can be reasonably comprehended. The necessity of acquiring the wave function in its entirety for detection, as evinced by the appearance of collapse of the wave function, supports the paradigm of reality of the wave function described here. Quanta 2016; 5: 93–100. https://dankogeorgiev.com/ojs/index.php/quanta/article/view/29
spellingShingle Mani Lal Bhaumik
Deciphering the Enigma of Wave-Particle Duality
Quanta
title Deciphering the Enigma of Wave-Particle Duality
title_full Deciphering the Enigma of Wave-Particle Duality
title_fullStr Deciphering the Enigma of Wave-Particle Duality
title_full_unstemmed Deciphering the Enigma of Wave-Particle Duality
title_short Deciphering the Enigma of Wave-Particle Duality
title_sort deciphering the enigma of wave particle duality
url https://dankogeorgiev.com/ojs/index.php/quanta/article/view/29
work_keys_str_mv AT manilalbhaumik decipheringtheenigmaofwaveparticleduality