Double Slit Experiment

 

Field-Driven Interpretation of the Double Slit Experiment: A New Model Based on Nested Fields

Abstract

This paper documents the development of a speculative, field-driven interpretation of the double slit experiment. Beginning with a question about whether the double slits could act like a dipole aerial, we explore how field disturbances created by particles could explain quantum interference and measurement effects. Extending this logic, we introduce Nested Field Theory, proposing that deeper, faster fields maintain quantum coherence, potentially explaining delayed choice and quantum eraser experiments. This model offers a physical mechanism underlying quantum phenomena and challenges the assumption that the speed of light is the ultimate limit.

Introduction

The double slit experiment stands as one of the most profound demonstrations of quantum mechanics' mysteries. Traditionally, it is interpreted through the abstract wavefunction concept, with no physical mechanism proposed for the wave-like behavior. Beginning with a question about the analogy between the double slit setup and a dipole aerial, this paper reconstructs the logical steps leading to a field-based, physically grounded model of quantum behavior.

Initial Question and Insight

The initial question posed was whether the double slits could function similarly to a dipole aerial. In classical electromagnetism, a dipole aerial radiates electromagnetic waves via oscillating charges. The hypothesis suggested that, similarly, a moving particle (like an electron) creates a field disturbance that passes through both slits, causing the slits to act like sources of secondary field waves, which then interfere.

Development of Field-Driven Model for Double Slit Interference

• Field Disturbance: A moving particle generates a disturbance in the surrounding field (e.g., electromagnetic field).

• Propagation Through Slits: The disturbance spreads through both slits simultaneously, much like how currents in a dipole aerial generate radiating fields.

• Interference: The secondary waves emerging from each slit interfere constructively and destructively, guiding where the particle is most likely to be detected.

• Measurement: When a measurement device (observer) is introduced, it acts like a receiving aerial, absorbing the field disturbance and collapsing the spread field structure into a localized interaction.

Thus, in this model, the interference pattern arises not from a particle traveling two paths simultaneously but from its associated field disturbance interfering across the two paths.

Extension to Delayed Choice and Quantum Eraser

Exploring further, the conversation turned to the delayed quantum eraser experiment, where the decision to erase or preserve which-path information can occur after the particle has been detected.

In the field-driven model:

• Entanglement: Entangled particles share a combined field excitation.

• Coherence: The deeper shared field structure maintains nonlocal coherence even after one particle is detected.

• Measurement: Choices made on the entangled partner affect the shared field, retroactively determining whether an interference pattern appears.

Thus, the field interaction model provides a physical, field-based mechanism explaining the apparent retrocausality in delayed quantum eraser experiments.

Introduction of Nested Field Theory

Building on these insights, we proposed Nested Field Theory:

• The universe contains multiple nested fields, each with different characteristic propagation speeds.

• Some fields propagate at speeds greater than the speed of light (β > c), some at c, and some slower.

• Particles interact with different field layers, determining their mass, momentum, confinement, and observed speed limits.

• Mass and inertia emerge dynamically from interactions with fields, not as intrinsic properties.

• Photons, despite having zero rest mass, may acquire effective momentum through interactions with a higher-speed field.

• Quantum nonlocality and coherence are preserved across deeper fields that transcend conventional spacetime limits.

Super-Delayed Quantum Eraser: A Proposed Thought Experiment

To distinguish Nested Field Theory from standard quantum mechanics, we proposed the Super-Delayed Quantum Eraser:

• Entangled photons are created.

• Photon A hits a detection screen.

• Photon B is measured much later (minutes, hours, or more).

• According to Nested Field Theory, even delayed choices could retroactively influence whether interference patterns appear, as the shared deeper field preserves coherence over time.

This thought experiment could provide a potential way to experimentally differentiate between standard quantum mechanics and the proposed nested field framework.

Conclusion

Starting with a simple question about the double slit experiment, we developed a comprehensive field-based model explaining quantum interference, measurement collapse, delayed choice phenomena, and the possibility of superluminal field interactions. Nested Field Theory suggests that the properties of particles and spacetime itself may emerge from interactions with a hierarchy of fields, challenging the assumption that the speed of light is the ultimate limit. Clear thinking, critical questioning, and speculative but logical reasoning led to the creation of this new theoretical perspective.

Acknowledgments

This work was developed through a series of critical, open-ended discussions, demonstrating the power of clear and speculative thinking in challenging and expanding established physical theories.