What's interesting about this is that it has a direct classical explanation in terms of light being a transverse wave with two degrees of freedom along the transverse axis.
In other words, light is, in general, a polarized wave.
As such, this was understood via Maxwell's equations with no difficulty whatsoever.
Where things get strange is that quantum theory now describes light as *both* a wave and a particle--either description is valid. But the photon is a *quantum* particle that is polarized perpendicular to the direction of movement.
Being a quantum particle, it does not have definite properties prior to observation: it has probabilities of having those properties.
In your demonstration, those probability waves (like the classical waves) interfer and produce this effect.
We *do* understand this phenomenon in a great deal of detail. the problems come in when a demand is made based on *classical* assumptions of how particles must act. Classical physics is wrong: quantum mechanics is the proper theory to use here (although classical electromagnetic theory works well in this case--it isn't a particle description).
In other words, light is, in general, a polarized wave.
As such, this was understood via Maxwell's equations with no difficulty whatsoever.
Where things get strange is that quantum theory now describes light as *both* a wave and a particle--either description is valid. But the photon is a *quantum* particle that is polarized perpendicular to the direction of movement.
Being a quantum particle, it does not have definite properties prior to observation: it has probabilities of having those properties.
In your demonstration, those probability waves (like the classical waves) interfer and produce this effect.
We *do* understand this phenomenon in a great deal of detail. the problems come in when a demand is made based on *classical* assumptions of how particles must act. Classical physics is wrong: quantum mechanics is the proper theory to use here (although classical electromagnetic theory works well in this case--it isn't a particle description).
