double-slit experiment
E323049
The double-slit experiment is a foundational quantum physics experiment that dramatically demonstrates wave–particle duality and the role of measurement in determining physical outcomes.
All labels observed (2)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| double-slit experiment canonical | 3 |
| Young’s double-slit experiment with electrons | 1 |
How this entity was disambiguated
This entity first appeared as the object of triple T3048436 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.
NED1
Entity disambiguation (via context triple)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: double-slit experiment Context triple: [Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics, relatedConcept, double-slit experiment]
-
A.
delayed-choice experiment
The delayed-choice experiment is a quantum mechanics thought experiment and class of real experiments showing that a particle’s behavior as a wave or particle can appear to be decided by measurements made after it has entered, or even passed through, an experimental apparatus.
-
B.
Michelson interferometer
The Michelson interferometer is a precision optical instrument that splits and recombines light beams to measure extremely small differences in path length, widely used in fundamental physics experiments and metrology.
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C.
Franck–Hertz experiment
The Franck–Hertz experiment is a landmark early-20th-century physics experiment that provided direct evidence for the quantization of atomic energy levels, supporting the Bohr model of the atom.
-
D.
Davisson–Germer experiment
The Davisson–Germer experiment was a landmark 1927 physics experiment that demonstrated the wave nature of electrons through diffraction from a nickel crystal, providing key evidence for quantum mechanics and wave–particle duality.
-
E.
Fizeau experiment
The Fizeau experiment was a pioneering 19th-century physics experiment that measured the speed of light using a rotating toothed wheel and helped establish light’s finite velocity.
- F. None of above. chosen
- G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.
NED2
Entity disambiguation (via description)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: double-slit experiment Target entity description: The double-slit experiment is a foundational quantum physics experiment that dramatically demonstrates wave–particle duality and the role of measurement in determining physical outcomes.
-
A.
delayed-choice experiment
The delayed-choice experiment is a quantum mechanics thought experiment and class of real experiments showing that a particle’s behavior as a wave or particle can appear to be decided by measurements made after it has entered, or even passed through, an experimental apparatus.
-
B.
Michelson interferometer
The Michelson interferometer is a precision optical instrument that splits and recombines light beams to measure extremely small differences in path length, widely used in fundamental physics experiments and metrology.
-
C.
Franck–Hertz experiment
The Franck–Hertz experiment is a landmark early-20th-century physics experiment that provided direct evidence for the quantization of atomic energy levels, supporting the Bohr model of the atom.
-
D.
Davisson–Germer experiment
The Davisson–Germer experiment was a landmark 1927 physics experiment that demonstrated the wave nature of electrons through diffraction from a nickel crystal, providing key evidence for quantum mechanics and wave–particle duality.
-
E.
Fizeau experiment
The Fizeau experiment was a pioneering 19th-century physics experiment that measured the speed of light using a rotating toothed wheel and helped establish light’s finite velocity.
- F. None of above. chosen
Statements (58)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
interference experiment
ⓘ
physics experiment ⓘ quantum mechanics experiment ⓘ |
| demonstrates |
collapse of the wavefunction
ⓘ
diffraction ⓘ interference ⓘ probability distribution of detection events ⓘ role of measurement in quantum mechanics ⓘ superposition principle ⓘ wave–particle duality ⓘ |
| dependsOn |
distance to detection screen
ⓘ
slit separation ⓘ wavelength of incident particles ⓘ |
| educationalUse |
demonstration of probabilistic nature of quantum events
ⓘ
demonstration of wave behavior of matter ⓘ introductory quantum mechanics teaching ⓘ |
| extendedToMassiveParticles |
C60 fullerene molecules
ⓘ
linked to:
buckminsterfullerene
|
| extendedToSingleParticleRegimeBy |
experiments with single electrons
ⓘ
experiments with single photons ⓘ |
| field |
optics
ⓘ
physics ⓘ quantum mechanics ⓘ |
| firstDemonstratedWithElectronsBy | Claus Jönsson ⓘ |
| firstDemonstratedWithElectronsInYear | 1961 ⓘ |
| historicalPrecursor |
Thomas Young's double-slit experiment
ⓘ
Young's interference experiment with light ⓘ |
| keyConcept |
Heisenberg uncertainty principle
ⓘ
linked to:
uncertainty principle
complementarity principle ⓘ quantum measurement problem ⓘ which-path information ⓘ |
| mathematicalDescription |
interference term proportional to cosine of phase difference
ⓘ
superposition of two coherent waves ⓘ |
| patternTypeWithoutWhichPathInformation | interference pattern ⓘ |
| patternTypeWithWhichPathInformation | two single-slit diffraction patterns ⓘ |
| phaseDifferenceDependsOn |
path length difference
ⓘ
wavelength ⓘ |
| produces |
fringes of alternating intensity
ⓘ
interference pattern ⓘ probability distribution consistent with |ψ|² ⓘ |
| relatedConcept |
Mach–Zehnder interferometer
ⓘ
double-slit interference formula ⓘ single-slit diffraction ⓘ |
| requires |
coherence between paths
ⓘ
narrow slits ⓘ sufficient distance to screen ⓘ |
| supportsInterpretation | Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics ⓘ |
| typicalSource |
atoms
ⓘ
electrons ⓘ light ⓘ molecules ⓘ neutrons ⓘ photons ⓘ |
| usedIn |
foundations of quantum mechanics
ⓘ
quantum information experiments ⓘ quantum optics ⓘ |
| uses |
coherent source
ⓘ
screen or detector ⓘ two slits ⓘ |
How these facts were elicited
The pipeline generated the facts above by prompting gpt-5.1 with this entity's name + description and the instruction below.
Instruction
You are a knowledge base construction expert. Given a subject entity and a description of it, return factual statements that you know for the subject as a JSON list of dictionaries(triples), where keys must be "subject", "predicate" and "object". The number of facts may be very high, between 25 to 50 or more, for very popular subjects. For less popular subjects, the number of facts can be very low, like 5 or 10. # Requirements - If you don't know the subject at all, return an empty list. - If the subject is not a named entity, return an empty list. - Include at least one triple where predicate is "instanceOf". - Do not get too wordy. - Separate several objects into multiple triples with one object.
Input
Subject: double-slit experiment Description of subject: The double-slit experiment is a foundational quantum physics experiment that dramatically demonstrates wave–particle duality and the role of measurement in determining physical outcomes.
Referenced by (4)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
linked to: double-slit experiment