Why Do Quantum Objects Keep Getting Weirder?
They can be particles and waves, all at the same time. And researchers now finally know how much of each.
Back in the 1920s, quantum mechanics, which is the theory that underpins everything from how atoms behave to how quantum computers work, was well on the way to gaining mainstream acceptance. But one conundrum remained: Sometimes, quantum objects like electrons, atoms, and molecules behave like particles, and others they behave like waves. Sometimes they even behave like particles and waves at the same time. So, when studying these quantum objects, it has never been quite clear which approach scientists needed to use for their calculations.
Sometimes, scientists needed to assume that the quantum objects were waves to get the correct result. Other times, they needed to assume that the objects were, in fact, particles. Sometimes either approach would work. But other times only one approach would lead to the right result, and the other approach returned a bogus one. The history of this problem goes back quite a bit, but recent experiments have shed some new light on this old question.
