Figure 19.2 Photograph of a woman's face, showing the exposure emerging by individual photons
Blurry photo of woman's face
Blurry photo of woman's face
Woman's face

 

Code Number: 7A55.20

Demo Title: Young's Double Slit - Single Photons - Pictures

Condition: Excellent

Principle: Single Photon counting

Area of Study: Modern Physics

Equipment: 

4 slide series of single photon exposure.

Procedure:

The four slides show a picture of a girl during exposure of single photons.  The first picture gives an unrecognizable object, with each successive picture being more recognizable.

There are also a variety of other demos and resources that are used for Quantum Uncertainty Principle.  They are:

#1 - (According to Gemini AI) - Variable single slit diffraction.  Explanation:

  • The Setup: Shine a laser pointer through a very narrow vertical variable slit.
  • The Action: Slowly make the slit narrower.
  • The Result: Intuitively, you’d expect the dot on the wall to get smaller. Instead, once the slit gets thin enough, the light starts spreading out horizontally.
  • The Why: Due to Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle (ΔyΔpy≥ℏ2\Delta y \Delta p_y \ge \frac{\hbar}{2}ΔyΔpy​≥2ℏ​), a decrease in Δy\Delta yΔy necessitates an increase in Δpy\Delta p_yΔpy​. This means the particle acquires a range of possible momenta in the y-direction.  By narrowing the slit, you are "squeezing" the photon's position (smaller Delta y). To satisfy the uncertainty principle, the momentum (larger Delta py) must increase. This extra momentum manifests as the light "kicking" out to the sides, creating a wide diffraction pattern.
STM  -  9B40.70 (We do not have).
Zeeman Effect  -  7B20.10
Electron Diffraction  -  7A60.10
Hydrogen Spectrum  -  7B10.10
Photoelectric Effect  -  7A10.10
Teachspin NMR  -  7B20.33
Wilson Cloud Chamber  -  7D30.60
Vibrating circular wire, Bohr Model  - 7A50.40
 Spins Lab

 Feynman Messenger Lecture #6, probability and uncertainty
 
Michelson Interferometer with Spectrometer and red and green filters.
Mechanical Universe Series Episode 49: The Atom - The Mechanical Universe.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca10Sz1lPFE&list=PL8_xPU5epJddRABXqJ5h5G0dk-XGtA5cZ&index=49 

Mechanical Universe Series Episode 50: Particles And Waves - The Mechanical Universe.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STJbtg-p4EA&list=PL8_xPU5epJddRABXqJ5h5G0dk-XGtA5cZ&index=50 

Mechanical Universe Series   Episode 51: Atoms To Quarks - The Mechanical Universe.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IWhRffFRc8&list=PL8_xPU5epJddRABXqJ5h5G0dk-XGtA5cZ&index=51 

Mechanical Universe Series   Episode 52: The Quantum Mechanical Universe - The Mechanical Universe.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tl-C1r3IabY&list=PL8_xPU5epJddRABXqJ5h5G0dk-XGtA5cZ&index

Phet quantum Tunneling and Wave Packet.  https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/quantum-tunneling 

Uncertainty Principle https://sciencedemonstrations.fas.harvard.edu/presentations/uncertainty-principle

An example of "you can't make a measurement without changing the sample" is to take a beaker of colored water.  When you insert a ruler to measure how high the water is in the beaker, the water level rises.
 

References:

  • Daniel Z. Meyer, "A Student-Centered, Inquiry-Based Approach to young's Double-Slit Experiment (and Other Investigations of Light's Wave Character)", TPT, Vol. 55, #3, March 2017, p. 159.
  • Art Hobson, "Teaching Quantum Nonlocality", TPT, Vol. 50, #5, May, 2012, p. 270.
  • Art Hobson, "Teaching Quantum Uncertainty, TPT, Vol. 49, #7, Oct. 2011, p. 434.
  • Paul Hewitt, "Figuring Physics", TPT, Vol. 48, #5, May 2010, p. 284.
  • Art Hobson, "Author's Response", TPT, Vol. 45, #5, May 2007, p. 260.
  • Elisha Huggins, "Field Quanta in Intro Physics", TPT, Vol. 45, #5, May 2007, p. 260.
  • Art Hobson, "Teaching Quantum Physics Without Paradoxes", TPT, Vol. 45, #2, Feb. 2007, p. 96.
  • Albert A. Bartlett, "Weirdness of the Quantum World", TPT, Vol. 40, #6, Sept. 2002, p. 350.
  • John H. Marburger, III, "What Is A Photon", TPT, Vol. 34, #8, Nov. 1996, p. 482.
  • William Moebs, Jeff Sanny, "A Simple Description of Coherence", TPT, Vol. 32, #1, Jan. 1994, p. 54.
  • Anastasia Lonshakova, Kyla Adams, David Blair, "Introductory Learning of Quantum Probablility and Quantum Spin with Physical Models and Observations", AJP, Vol. 93, #1, Jan. 2025, p. 58.
  • Frederick W. Strauch, "Decoherence, Entanglement, and Information in the Electron Double-Slit Experiment with Monitoring", AJP, Vol. 93, #1, Jan. 2025, p. 34.
  • Bill J. Luo, Leia Francis, Valeria Rodriguez-Fajardo, Enrique J. Galvez, Farbod Khoshnoud, "Young's Double-Slit Interference Demonstration with Single Photons", AJP, Vol. 92, 34, April 2024, p. 308.
  • T. L. Dimitrova, A. Weis, "The Wave-Particle Duality of Light: A Demonstration Experiment", AJP, Vol. 76, #2, Feb. 2008, p. 137.
  • J. J. Thorn, M. S. Neel, V. W. Donato, G. S. Bergreen, R. E. Davies, M. Beck, "Observing the Quantum Behavior of Light in an Undergradute Laboratory", AJP, Vol. 72, #9, Sept. 2004, p. 1210.
  • Wolfgang Rueckner and Paul Titcomb, "A Lecture Demonstration of Single Photon Interference", AJP, Vol. 64, #2, Feb. 1996, p. 184.
  • M. N. Wise and T. G. Kelley, "Fundamental Quantum Mechanics - A Graphic Presentation", AJP, Vol. 45, #4, April 1977, p. 384.
  • P. G. Merli, G. F. Missiroli, G. Pozzi, "On the Statistical Aspect of Electron Interference Phenomena", AJP, Vol. 44, #3, March 1976, p. 306.
  • Sherwood Parker, "Single-Photon Double-Slit Interference - A Demonstration", AJP, Vol. 40, #7, July 1972, p. 1003.
  • Sherwood Parker, "A Single-Photon Double-Slit Interference Experiment", AJP, Vol. 39, #4, April 1971, p. 420.
  • Wallace A. Hilton, "I-1, Young's Double Slit Experiment", Experiments in Optical Physics, p. 19.
  • Robert P. Crease, "The Only Mystery: The Quantum Interference of Single Electrons", The Prism and the Pendulum, Chapter 10, p. 191 - 205.
  • Jennifer Leman, "A Quantum Leap in the Classical World", Science, March/April, 2020, p. 16.