Cosmology Quiz April 17

define wave particle duality

1.They behave like a wave when they propagate (i.e when you are not observing them) 2. Like a particle when you (or a machine ) observes them wave particle Their form changes according to whether you (or a machine) observes them or not.

how does the two slit experiment work, rooted in the idea of wave particle duality

The two-slit experiment shows that quantum particles like electrons and photons can behave as both particles and waves. When not observed, they create an interference pattern, acting like waves going through both slits at once. But when we observe which slit they go through, the interference disappears, and they behave like individual particles. This reveals the strange nature of wave-particle duality — that quantum objects don’t fit neatly into either category and seem to change behavior based on observation.

what is the wave function

mathematical description of a quantum system that contains all the information about a particle's possible states. Its squared magnitude gives the probability of finding the particle in a particular location or state

how is the wave function related to the probability of an outcome

it is the probability, it contains all possible outcomes and likelihood

what did bohr contribute to quantum mechanics

copenhagen interpretation

what did heisenberg contribute to quantum mechanics

copenhagen interpretation, there is a finite limit to which the position and velocity of a particle can be measured simultaneously.

what did schrodinger contribute to quantum mechanics

Equation that the wave function obeys., tells you everything you need to calculate the probability of what a particle will do . It is really a statement of the conservation of energy.

what did pauli contribute to quantum mechanics

exclusion principle, no two identical fermions (like electrons) can occupy the same quantum state at the same time within a quantum system.

In atoms, this means no two electrons can have the exact same set of quantum numbers — which is why they fill up different energy levels and orbitals, giving atoms their structure.

what did dirac contribute to quantum mechanics

combined quantum Mechanics and relativity. His equations predicted a new form of Matter that had not been seen before Every spin 1/2 particle has an anti-matter counter-part with opposite charge but same mass Anti-electron, anti-neutron, anti-proton

how does wave-particle duality explain the quantization of atomic energy levels

Wave-particle duality explains quantized energy levels by treating electrons as standing waves around the nucleus. Only certain wave patterns "fit" around the atom without interfering destructively, leading to discrete, allowed energy levels — not a continuous range.

how does the pauli exclusion principle explain a supernova

The Pauli exclusion principle helps explain a supernova by preventing electrons (or later, neutrons) from being squeezed into the same quantum state. In a dying massive star, gravity tries to collapse the core. At first, electron degeneracy pressure (from the exclusion principle) resists collapse. But if the mass is too great, this pressure is overwhelmed, electrons and protons merge into neutrons, and the core collapses suddenly. This rapid collapse and rebound triggers the supernova explosion.

for every spin particle, there is what

an anti matter counterpart

what happens when antimatter collides with matter

When antimatter collides with matter, they annihilate each other in a burst of energy. The mass of both particles is converted into energy — usually in the form of gamma rays — according to Einstein’s equation E = mc². For example, when an electron meets a positron (its antimatter counterpart), they annihilate and produce high-energy photons.