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30/05/12 John W. M. Bush (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA)
Droplets walking on the Impossible Pilot Wave

Resumo: Yves Couder and coworkers have recently reported the results of a startling series of experiments in which droplets walking on a vibrating fluid bath exhibit several features previously thought to be peculiar to the microscopic, quantum realm, including single-particle diffraction and interference, tunneling and quantized orbits. A correspondence is developed between this fluid system and de Broglie's relativistic pilot-wave theory of quantum mechanics. Theoretical developments yield a trajectory equation for the droplets that provides new rationale for their quantum-like behavior. New experiments are presented, and indicate the potential value of this hydrodynamic system for both visualizing and understanding quantum mechanics.