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| Diagram for the double-slit experiment (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
In the
double slit experiment, if you shine
light through two slits,
one
photon at a time, it will shine in a wave like pattern, as light is a
wave. But, if you place detectors so that you can tell which slit each
photon goes through, it collapses the wave and causes the light to
shine in a direct line through the two slits, since light is also a
photon. BUT, if you save the information on which slit the photon goes
through on a computer, then erase that information after the experiment
is over with, the light will shine in a wave like pattern, since no
information exists as to which slit the photon went through. This is a long video going into the real nitty gritty of how the
experiment actually works, but it looks like there are some shorter ones
that are more accessible that are also up on youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6HLjpj4Nt4
