I didn’t follow that. Could you elaborate on how that applies for each case? Specifically, how do you apply the notion of observation deciding the outcome, and how do you keep the act of observation completely benign, in the double-slit experiment?
I’m also interested in knowing about the “neutrality” of the slits themselves, and how they ensure that only one particle is ejected at a time, with certainty.
What I’m basically trying to clarify, is the following. The particle-wave duality of electrons is confirmed by the double-slit experiment in the following manner:
Case 1: Pass electron beam through double slit, unobserved. Result: Interference patterns on screen.
Case 2: Pass electron beam through double slit, observed.
Result: No interference pattern on screen.
What I said earlier was that the act of observation was not benign.
more like:
Case 1: Pass electron beam through double slit, after which beam strikes passive detection screen. Results on screen shows a wave-like pattern of troughs and valleys of intensity as if the electrons are interfering with each other like two sets of ocean waves.
Case 2 (close one slit): Pass electron beam through single slit, after which beam strikes passive detection screen. Pattern on screen does not show a wave-like pattern (instead, particle-like).
And interestingly, in the double-slit case, even if you slow down the electron beam so that each electron goes one at a time, the pattern that emerges on the detection screen still shows the wave-like pattern, as if the electrons as a group are interfering with each other like the two sets of ocean waves.