Physics
Scientific paper
May 1980
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1980sciam.242...66g&link_type=abstract
Scientific American, vol. 242, May 1980, p. 66-76.
Physics
4
Elementary Particles, Gravitational Effects, Neutron Physics, Quantum Theory, Schroedinger Equation, Quantum Mechanics, Silicon, Single Crystals, Wave Functions, Wave Interaction
Scientific paper
Experiments with a neutron interferometer demonstrating the effects of gravitational fields on the quantum mechanical wave properties of subatomic particle are discussed. The principles of the neutron interferometer, which is usually composed of a single crystal of silicon, are presented, and an experiment carried out to measure the effects of earth's gravity on the phase of the neutron is presented. Results indicating that a weak gravitational field shifts the phase of a neutron wave by the amount predicted by the Schroedinger equation are noted, and the implications of these results for the interpretation of the equivalence principle in quantum mechanics are considered. Other neutron interferometer experiments revealing the effects of earth and particle rotation on the phase and sign of the neutron wave function, respectively, are presented, and the significance of the experimental results to grand unification theories is assessed.
Greenberger Daniel M.
Overhauser A. W.
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