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Source
Photon
Wavelength λ
Fringe spacing
Which-path D
0.00
Pattern
INTERFERENCE
Fringe visibility
V = 1.00D = 0.00
detected0
both paths open · self-interference
Young · superposition1801

Both slits at once

One particle, two open paths. Its wave goes through both and interferes with itself — the dots build stripes, not two piles.

Complementarity · Englert1996

Looking erases it

Detect which slit and the stripes die. Visibility and path-knowledge trade exactly: V² + D² = 1. Knowing the way costs you the wave.

de Broglie · matter waves1924

Why not baseballs

Everything has a wavelength λ = h/p. For a baseball it's ~10⁻³⁴ m — fringes finer than a nucleus. The weirdness is there; it's just too small.

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