[Rylkan]

Your answer is pretty much there for what I was thinking. But I will accept it because reading my own question, it could be misconstrued as structure in the sense of galaxies.

Yes, Super cluster of galaxies come from slight density peturbations before the inflationary epoch of the universe, and are the largest structures. I had been thinking of largest structures in a sense of area and had been thinking of the cosmic microwave background. Which covers a huge area and in which you can see tempreture fluctuations in a part to ten to the fifth that span about an arc degree in size.

Your go goto.

[Goto]

Meh, I really can't think of anything good tonight. I guess I should post something though.

A well-known experiment that helped demonstrate the wave-like properties of light is the Double Slit experiment. Two narrow slits were made in a material quite close together, and light was shone through both. The photons going through one slit would interfere with those going through the other, causing an interference pattern on the other side. This indicated that light acted as a wave in some way. The process was repeated with electrons, with the same results. Even more bafflingly when the source was set up to emit only one electron at a time, an interference pattern could still be seen on the plate at the other side. Why is this?

[Rylkan]

You're talking about electron diffraction through a crystalized latice right?


We asked the same question of our quantum professor as to why the electron knew about the other possible nodes, and his answer was no one really knows. So I am curious what the answer you want is. But for the heck of it, I will take a shot in the dark using what little I have learned so far.

Assuming a wave packet, meaning a collection of waves where the wave number, which corresponds to the momentum of the each wave, differers a small amount to give us a localized packet of information. Now, to properly make this model "complete" it is important to remember that the wave extends to infinity, with wave amplitudes that cancel out and cause it to appear non existant. However, my guess is this is the very reason it knows there is a seperate hole. I dont think it is far to say that the amplitudes are large enough to create diffraction, so that has bothered me about this idea, but the idea that because part of it's wave packet has encountered another hole, it at least know there is another hole. As to why it does what it does, eh.

[Ratty]

The electron interfered with itself

[Goto]

Hmm, you took it a bit higher than I was thinking anyway, not too surprising since you've learnt more Physics.

I was only really looking for the concept of a probability wave, and that the electron exists as one and passes through both slits, that it doesn't resolve its position back to a particle until it is observed in some way. I've only done fairly basic quantum theory.

Anyway, your question. I was a bit vague and you definitely put more thought into the question than I have.

[Rylkan]

Darn you Goto! You are supposed to have the answer to these deep questions so I can figure it out truly.

Since we're on a Quantum trend, I'll add another one. Now, this is kind of vague, so I will give a little background.

In my quantum class, we have been doing problems called potential barriers. This means we send a particle at either an attractive or repulsive potential and ask "What is the likely hood of..." and we find things like bound energy states, the chance of passing through the barrier, chance of being reflected, etc. So my question is this, if I say I send a particle from negative infinity, where the potential is zero, towards a potential wall that extends to infinity, (Think of a piece wise function, where x<0 f(x) = 0 and for x>0 f(x) = 1) and I am sitting somewhere on top of the wall and have a fishing rod that fishes for electrons, will I catch an electron. In other words, if I am looking for an electron having gone past x=0, will I see one? And to be clear, the energy of the electron is less than the potential of the wall.

Try and give some reasoning for your answer. I will give you two hints. First, think about random motion of a particle as well as it's momentum from moving from negative infinity to the wall. And second, a useful analogy my professor gave us, think of the wall as a membrane.

[Rylkan]

Is no one replying due to a lack of understanding of the question, or because they don't know how to approach it, or don't care?

[Goto]

It sounded a bit familiar so I went off to think about it. Then it hurt my brain and I stopped.

[Zoo]

Is no one replying due to a lack of understanding of the question, or because they don't know how to approach it, or don't care?

All of both of you guys' questions have been way over my head lately . Advanced physics is not my thing at all >_<.

[Rylkan]

Hey, don't feel too bad. Most of the questions other people pose are way over my head too. I just know physics and astronomy a wee bit.

But this question is actually not too bad if you take the hints I gave and apply them. It obviously isnt a great analogy as to what is really happening, which I am not very confident in knowing either, but it works here.

Another way I will pose the question then, which will make it seem much more obvious.

If I have a ball that for some special reason we will just accept for the sake of the question, is always jiggling around. So it moves every which way around it's center point. Now I take this ball and I kick it as hard as I can at a wall that can bend a bit, and someone is sitting on the top of the wall and looking down into the wall, will they see the ball?

Couple things to keep in mind to put it back into a quantum mechanics problem. The wall is the potential barrier. So the energy of my kick is the kinetic energy of the particle. Now the kinetic energy is less than the potential, so the potential stops the particle from going any further due to my kick. But it still has some jiggling going on, and the wall can bend a bit.

Since that gives the answer away, try and explain the importance of the position of the man on top. Where should he be on top of the wall and why. It all ties together, so this question isnt totally new, it's just what falls out of the problem.

[Ratty]

Is no one replying due to a lack of understanding of the question, or because they don't know how to approach it, or don't care?

All of both of you guys' questions have been way over my head lately . Advanced physics is not my thing at all >_<.

:withzoo:

*goes back to studying basic electronics*

[Zziggywolf5]

Is no one replying due to a lack of understanding of the question, or because they don't know how to approach it, or don't care?

All of both of you guys' questions have been way over my head lately . Advanced physics is not my thing at all >_<.

:withzoo:

*goes back to studying basic electronics*

:withboth:
Except I'm studying basic chemistry.

[Bobette]

Center of the wall. (someone had to try).

[skenasis]

Dude, thinking involves too much effort. I'm on holidays now! I refuse to think!

[Rylkan]

Center of the wall. (someone had to try).

Not quite, but for trying, I'll give it to you.

The answer would be as close to the edge where it struck as possible. The explanation I received when I asked about this (and this is a particular case that leads into Quantum tunneling) is that since a particle isn't truly at rest, and has some natural movement about some point, this extra bit of random movement may be enough to let the particle be found further inside the barrier than if it were classical and had just been stopped by the barrier. If the barrier didn't extend to infinity, and the particle had enough random movement, it could even randomly move far enough to come out the other side. Quantum tunneling.