TWOSLIT

Double Slits and Particles

This animation shows what happens when particles are sent one at a time through a double slit. The particles can be either photons or electrons.

The program recognizes the following commands. The command may be executed by either clicking the button with the mouse (first column below) or by pressing a key (second column below). The mouse buttons may be removed from the screen by pressing the M key. Press M again to restore buttons.

beam b The beam of particles does not pass through a double slit. Each time you press fire (or the space bar), a particle is sent down the beam and the position where it hits the screen is indicated by a white dot. If you hold down the space bar, the particles will come more frequently.
double_slit 2 The beam of particles passes through a pair of vertical slits. This causes the particles to be diffracted horizontally. As in the beam mode, each time you press fire (or the space bar), a particle is sent through the double slit and the position where it hits the screen is indicated by a white dot. If you hold down the space bar, the particles will come more frequently. As the position of many particles are accumulated on the screen, a double-slit interference pattern becomes apparent.

beam	b	The beam of particles does not pass through a double slit. Each time you press fire (or the space bar), a particle is sent down the beam and the position where it hits the screen is indicated by a white dot. If you hold down the space bar, the particles will come more frequently.
double_slit	2	The beam of particles passes through a pair of vertical slits. This causes the particles to be diffracted horizontally. As in the beam mode, each time you press fire (or the space bar), a particle is sent through the double slit and the position where it hits the screen is indicated by a white dot. If you hold down the space bar, the particles will come more frequently. As the position of many particles are accumulated on the screen, a double-slit interference pattern becomes apparent.