Sunday, 10 July 2016

quantum mechanics - Is it possible to reproduce Double-slit experiment by myself at home?


I want to reproduce this experiment by myself. What I need for this. What parameters of slits and laser/another light source it needs? Is it possible to make DIY-detector?



Answer



It's actually quite easy to perform the experiment in the comfort of your own home. The simplest setup I have seen (as depicted in this, and other youtube videos) is to use a laser pointer and pencil lead, but you can certainly be more systematic and cut slits in some opaque material as well.


I would encourage you to experiment to answer the question of how far apart the slits need to be etc., but some basic math behind this is as follows: If the slits are a distance $d$ apart, if the light has wavelength $\lambda$, and if the distance between the slits and the screen is $L$, then the spacing $\Delta y$ between successive fringes on the wall will approximately be $$ \Delta y \approx \frac{\lambda L}{d} $$ So let's say the laser is red so that $\lambda\approx 700 \mathrm{nm}$, the slits are $1\,\mathrm{mm}$ apart, and the screen is $1.5\,\mathrm m$ away from the slits, then we have $$ \Delta y \approx \frac{(700\,\mathrm{nm})(1.5\,\mathrm{m})}{1\,\mathrm{mm}} = 1.05\,\mathrm{mm} $$ So you can actually try this and see if your results agree! (I might actually try this myself come to think of it; thanks for the question!)


Cheers!


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