Why Quantum Paths Cancel
If a particle can take every path at once, why do some of them disappear?
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Question 1 of 2When a wave crest meets a wave trough, what happens?
The story
Quarky sets up two shiny slides and lets a tiny particle race down both at the same time. When the particle arrives, some spots on the wall light up bright and other spots stay totally dark. Quarky discovers that each path carries a little wave, and when two waves arrive out of step they cancel each other out, like two kids on a seesaw pushing at exactly the wrong moment. That is why nature paints stripes of light and shadow instead of one big blur.
What you'll learn
- Tiny particles travel like waves and can take many paths at once
- When wave crests meet troughs they cancel, making dark spots
- When crests meet crests they add up, making bright spots
- This pattern is called interference and it proves light behaves like a wave
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