Quantum mechanics, which is the most mysterious and little-studied branch of physics, has more than once amazed scientists with its new and new properties, which do not agree well with the traditional macroscopic world. Where exactly is the border between him and the quantum worlds, still remains an unsolved mystery. At the same time, in their recent experiment, physicists finally managed to slightly open the veil of secrecy and show that even massive molecules can exist in two places at the same time.
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The debate about whether it will be possible one day to instantly move a person to a more or less significant distance does not subside until now. The new discovery, showing that not only atoms, but also relatively large molecules are capable of being in two places at the same time, brings humanity one step closer to its old dream - to conquer large distances in a split second. A unique discovery was made through the use of a slightly modernized double-slit experiment, which is often used in physics to study the properties of photons of light. It was thanks to him that scientists at one time were able to come to the concept of the duality of light, which behaves like a particle and a wave at the same time.
The double-slit experiment is fairly straightforward in practice. First of all, you need to make sure that the light source is directed towards the surface, which has two slots cut in it. Behind the specified surface, you need to place another surface onto which the light will be projected. If the light consisted only of ordinary particles, then the pattern on the back surface would appear only in the shape and size of the slits. However, the double-slit experiment is unique in that the waves of light begin to unexpectedly bounce off each other, like ripples in water, creating a kind of tiger pattern on the surface.
But the strangest thing about the experiment is that even when the experiment is carried out with individual particles of light, the same striped pattern appears. Somehow, these photons don't seem to travel just one path, as one might expect, but intersect and mix with each other.
In physics, this phenomenon is called quantum superposition, which is best illustrated by Schrödinger's cat. In this thought experiment, the cat hidden in the box is neither alive nor dead, but exists in two states at the same time. At the moment the observer opens the box, the superposition collapses into one state or another. What makes the experience even more unusual is the fact that if the detectors were installed in the slots as an instrument for measuring the distance traveled by the light, the striped patterns would immediately disappear. The vagueness of the result becomes clear only as soon as it is measured.
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At the same time, the phenomenon of superposition, apparently, is applicable only in the quantum field, because as objects become larger, the duality of light almost completely disappears in the macroscopic world. If so, is there a limit to the size of the very object that can be in two places at the same time without any problems? To answer this question, scientists from the universities of Vienna and Basel conducted a double slit experiment with the largest molecules that have been tested in the history of physics.
The previous record included molecules containing more than 800 atoms, but the research team managed to expand it to 2000 atoms. The molecules existed in a state of quantum superposition and showed a similar result of quantum duality. Such a result pushes the border of the microscopic closer to our macro-world, while almost completely blurring any line between them.
