Re:Oil droplets guided by pilot waves do not give rise to do...
by abdullahkhalids on Friday October 12, 2018 @03:32AM
(#18199885)
This is actually a very interesting musing, and not quite correct.
> observation of the atoms passing through the slit is affecting the search space for the other atoms in such a way that we currently do not understand
Observation is the key word here. Actually, you don't need to observe the atoms to affect the pattern on the screen - though its the easiest way to do so in the double-slit experiment. All you need is the possibility of observing or distinguishing between two events to destroy the interference between them. Note that possibility of observing is a much weaker condition than observation itself. Physicists have, over the years, done many experiments to clarify these issues. Essentially, if you believe that causality only flows forward through time, then what you are saying is not correct.
> observation of the atoms passing through the slit is affecting the search space for the other atoms in such a way that we currently do not understand
Observation is the key word here. Actually, you don't need to observe the atoms to affect the pattern on the screen - though its the easiest way to do so in the double-slit experiment. All you need is the possibility of observing or distinguishing between two events to destroy the interference between them. Note that possibility of observing is a much weaker condition than observation itself. Physicists have, over the years, done many experiments to clarify these issues. Essentially, if you believe that causality only flows forward through time, then what you are saying is not correct.