The 9 Experiments That Will Change Your View of Light (And Blow Your Mind)

Astrum・2 minutes read

Science explains the behavior of objects like a ball and light, challenging traditional physics laws with experiments like the double-slit and delayed choice experiments, hinting at non-linear aspects of reality and suggesting faster-than-light information transfer and potential backward time travel. Light behaves as both a wave and a particle, exhibiting probabilistic behavior and interference patterns, with its behavior changing when observed, pointing towards a wave of probability rather than a discrete particle or wave, causing confusion and sparking questions about the nature of time and space.

Insights

  • Light behaves as both a wave and a particle, displaying wave-like interference patterns and quantum behavior that challenges traditional physics laws.
  • Quantum experiments, such as the delayed choice experiment, showcase particles like photons exhibiting behavior influenced by future events, raising questions about time, space, information transmission, and the non-linear aspects of reality in quantum physics.

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Recent questions

  • What is the behavior of light according to quantum physics?

    Light behaves as both a wave and a particle, exhibiting probabilistic behavior and interference patterns.

  • How does light's speed vary in different mediums?

    Light slows down in denser mediums due to interference with material electrons.

  • What is quantum entanglement in particle physics?

    Quantum entanglement involves particles instantaneously influencing each other's properties.

  • How does light behave in time slit experiments?

    Light's interference pattern in time slit experiments affects its frequency.

  • What is the significance of Bell's experiment in quantum physics?

    Bell's experiment challenges fixed properties by showing particles instantly determining their properties.

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Summary

00:00

"Science Predicts Ball's Landing, Light's Behavior"

  • Science can predict the landing spot of a ball thrown into the air with the right data on forces acting on it.
  • Chemistry explains the molecules composing objects like a ball, while energy levels of sound upon landing can be predicted.
  • Science provides illumination of the world around us, but there are still unexplained phenomena and confusing results.
  • Alex McColgan presents nine experiments challenging fundamental physics laws on Astrum.
  • Thomas Young's double-slit experiment in 1801 proved light behaves as a wave, not particles.
  • Albert Einstein introduced the concept of photons to explain light's behavior as both a wave and a particle.
  • In modern experiments, single photons sent through slits displayed wave-like interference patterns.
  • Light's behavior changes when observed, suggesting it may be a wave of probability rather than a discrete particle or wave.
  • The three-polariser paradox demonstrates light's quantum behavior, snapping into different orientations when passing through lenses.
  • Light behaves in discrete quantities, unable to be halved past a certain point on a quantum scale.

15:18

"Light's Probabilistic Behavior and Constant Speed"

  • Photons snap to the nearest integer based on probabilities when asked, existing probabilistically otherwise.
  • Light behaves like a wave, interfering with itself before jumping to a specific location when observed.
  • Light's behavior is compared to harmonics on a bounded string where only whole number waves can exist.
  • Light's path may be pinched at the beginning and end, but the mechanisms behind this are unknown.
  • All particles of matter, including light, exhibit probabilistic behavior.
  • Electrons and photons are both quantifiable and driven by probabilities.
  • Light's speed is constant at 299,792,458 m/s in a vacuum, regardless of the observer's frame of reference.
  • Light slows down in denser mediums due to interference between its waves and the material's electrons.
  • Researchers have slowed down light to 61 km/h and even observed light seemingly exiting a medium before entering.
  • A time slit experiment separated slits in time, showing light's interference pattern affecting its frequency.

31:14

"Quantum entanglement challenges classical physics"

  • Light always travels the path of least time, close to 299,792,458 m/s, the fastest speed in the universe.
  • Light seems to explore alternative paths through time, interfering with photons ahead or behind it.
  • Despite not observing photons taking different paths, interference patterns suggest light tries alternative routes.
  • Light's behavior challenges conventional rules, hinting at non-linear aspects of reality.
  • Information traveling backwards in time seems implausible due to paradoxes and the unidirectional flow of time.
  • Quantum physics reveals entangled particles can instantaneously influence each other's properties.
  • Quantum entanglement defies classical physics, with particles seemingly deciding properties on the spot.
  • Bell's experiment demonstrates particles making up properties instantly, challenging fixed properties' concept.
  • Quantum physics predicts a 50% chance of matching outcomes, contrasting with classical physics' 55% prediction.
  • Quantum entanglement experiments show particles deciding properties instantly, suggesting faster-than-light information transfer and potential backward time travel.

46:53

Quantum Experiment: Future Affects Past Photon

  • Scientists in 2006 conducted an experiment involving a single photon sent through a Beam Splitter, with a 50/50 chance of taking different paths, ultimately leading to the photon creating an interference pattern, suggesting it traveled down both paths simultaneously.
  • Removing the second beam splitter allowed observers to know the path the light took, causing the photon to stop going down both paths and only arriving at one detector, indicating a change in behavior based on the observer's knowledge.
  • The "delayed choice" experiment revealed that the presence or absence of the beam splitter in the future affected the photon's behavior in the past, leading to questions about particles seeing the future, information transmission, and the fluidity of time and space in quantum physics.
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