Interview Questions

Wave particle duality

1. In Modern Physics and Quantum Mechanics courses we say electrons, protons and photons
behave like waves, as well as like particles. What would you say are the simplest ‘particle-like’
and ‘wave-like’ properties that one of these things could show?
2. In Quantum Mechanics we say that light behaves like a particle, as well as like a wave. What is
meant by this statement?
3. You have learnt about water waves, surface waves, micro waves, sound waves and light waves in
your Wave and Optics Course. In 1924 Louis de Broglie proposed that electrons and other
macroscopic entities are also waves. What do you mean when you say “something is a wave in
quantum physics”?
4. Does the electron (or any other object) behave like a particle or like a wave?
5. In your Modern Physics and Quantum Mechanics courses you studied that electrons and protons
behave like waves, as well as like particles. What is meant by this statement?

6. Suppose you are performing the photoelectric effect experiment using sodium as the target metal.
You find that with a 300nm light with light intensity, you have about 1000 electrons being
ejected per second. You are making observations of both the number of electrons being ejected
per second and the kinetic energy of these ejected electrons.
a. What do you observe if you decrease the intensity lower and lower as compared to the
original setup?
b. What do you observe if you change the light radiation over a broad range (from far IR to far
UV)?
c. What can you say about the nature of light from your observation?
7. How do you describe a photon? What do you mean by a photon?
8. In the Quantum Mechanics course, you have read about the early experiments with cathode rays
and radioactive emissions; and that these are now believed to be particles. What are the
properties that these things show that led to their being labeled as "particles"?
9. We have seen that microscopic particles, such as electrons, display wave behavior. What about
macroscopic objects? Do they also display wave features?
Uncertainty Principle

1. Consider a “measurement” involving catching your university bus in a quantum mechanical

world. Your timetable says that the bus will arrive at 9:00 am. Heisenberg would say that the
time of arrival must have an associated uncertainty.

What does he mean by uncertainty?

2. In Quantum Physics, how does one know whether it is possible to have complete simultaneous
knowledge of two specific properties of a system, say “A” “B”? What do we mean “when we say
two specific properties of a system cannot be measured or specified precisely simultaneously?”
3. Do you mean failure of experiment, lack scientific equipment or what?
4. In Quantum Physics, the degree to which a physical variable can be precisely measured is subject
to the uncertainty principle. What does this meant to you? Do you think that repeated errorless
measurements of the variable will always give precisely the same value? Why?
5. The more certain we can be about the value of one of the quantities, the less certain we can be
about the other – but what do we mean when we use the word ‘certainty’? Are we talking about
an objective feature of the particle, about outcomes of repeated measurements, or about the state
of our knowledge?
6. What does it mean to say that a quantity is determined only up to some uncertainty?
7. Can you describe mathematically the Heisenberg uncertainty relations? What is the meaning of
Δx and Δp?
8. Uncertainty principle is mostly applied to very small objects such as electrons and photons. Why
do not we use the uncertainty relation on larger objects such as cars and tennis balls?

Double slit Experiment

Suppose you were to perform the idealized double slit experiment which consists of a source S (S can be a
machine gun that shoots a stream of bullets, source of material particles such as a beam of electrons or a
beam of monochromatic light), a wall with two slits S1 and S2, and a back screen equipped with counters
that record whatever arrives at it from the slits.

Note that if you feel you would like to draw anything to explain every-or any of your answers, feel free to
do so.

1. Experiment with a stream of bullets

What would you observe on the screen when only slit S1 is open, only slit S2 is open, both slits are open?
Explain your reasoning in each case.

2. Experiments with a stream of electrons

What would you observe on the screen when only slit S1 is open, only slit S2 is open, both slits are open?
Explain your reasoning in each case.

3. Experiments with a stream of monochromatic light

• What would you observe on the screen when only slit S1 one is open, only slit S2 is open, both
slits are open? Explain your reasoning in each case.
• How does the pattern change in the experiment when extremely weak light is used while keeping
the two slits open? How does the pattern change with time? Explain your reasons.

Please a look at a simulated -A beam of electrons is incident on a wall that contains two narrow slits. The
simulated photograph shows the pattern seen on a phosphorescent screen placed at a distance from the
slits. The brighter regions indicate the concentrations of electrons hitting the screen.

Assume this experiment was repeated with one change made at a time with the original setup. For any
possible change mentioned below predict what will happen on the screen. Explain your reasoning in each
case

• The speed of electrons increased

• If only one slit is open at a time and then the other one
• If both slits are kept open all the time but a detector (‘watch’ the electron using scattered strong
light, photon) that records through which slit each electron passes is installed. What will happen
if the light from the detector is very weak?
• If both slits are kept open all the time but one electron is incident at a time and continues for long
period.
• If the electrons are replaced with elementary particles, with each particle having the same kinetic
energy as each of that the original electrons but a higher mass.