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Recreating the double-slit experiment with photons using a smartphone camera

##article.authors##

  • Ritwic Verma The Shri Ram School, Moulsari

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58445/rars.656

Keywords:

Quantum mechanics, double slit experiment, Interference, Smartphones, image processing

Abstract

The double-slit experiment has been a cornerstone in understanding modern-day physics. From interference of photons, and electrons to Bose-Einstein condensates, it has been the most fundamental measure of the quantum nature of a particle. In this work, it has been tried to make this experiment more accessible by using a phone camera and readily available apparatus. A smartphone camera uses a CMOS sensor. This is a sensitive sensor and in principle can also be used to observe ionized electrons produced by gamma rays. If a double slit is placed over a smartphone camera, an interference pattern can be observed by using the proper thresholding and image processing algorithms. In this work, an experiment has been designed that shows this most fundamental quantum phenomenon through a normal phone camera.

References

P. Ghose, “The Central Mystery of Quantum Mechanics,” arXiv, 2009, doi: 10.48550/ARXIV.0906.0898.

R. P. Feynman, The Character of Physical Law, BBC Publications (1965).

J. J. Cogliati, K. W. Derr, and J. Wharton, “Using CMOS sensors in a cellphone for gamma detection and classification,” arXiv.org, https://arxiv.org/abs/1401.0766

A. Tonomura, J. Endo, T. Matsuda, T. Kawasaki and H. Exawa, “Demonstration of single-electron buildup of an interference pattern,” Amer. J. Phys., vol. 57, p. 117, 1989

R. Gähler and A. Zeilinger, “Wave-optical experiments with very cold neutrons,” Amer. J. Phys., vol. 59, p. 316, 1991.

M. R. Andrews, C. G. Townsend, H.-J. Miesner, D. S. Durfee, D. M. Kurn, and W. Ketterle,

“Observation of Interference Between Two Bose Condensates,” Science, no. 5300, pp. 637–641, Jan. 1997, doi: 10.1126/science.275

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Posted

2023-10-28

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