double-slit experiment

noun

An experiment demonstrating that light and matter can satisfy the seemingly incongruous classical definitions for both waves and particles, regarded as evidence for the fundamentally probabilistic nature of quantum mechanics. A coherent light source, such as a laser beam, illuminates a plate pierced by two parallel slits, and the light passing through the slits is observed on a screen behind the plate, where the wave nature of light causes bright and dark bands due to interference.

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Meanings

noundouble-slit experiment (plural double-slit experiments)

plural double-slit experiments

  1. natural sciencesAn experiment demonstrating that light and matter can satisfy the seemingly incongruous classical definitions for both waves and particles, regarded as evidence for the fundamentally probabilistic nature of quantum mechanics. A coherent light source, such as a laser beam, illuminates a plate pierced by two parallel slits, and the light passing through the slits is observed on a screen behind the plate, where the wave nature of light causes bright and dark bands due to interference.

Translations

Hungarian kétrés-kísérlet
  • kétrés-kísérletphysics
Polish doświadczenie Younga
  • doświadczenie Youngaphysics
Cite this entry
APA

double-slit experiment. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/double-slit%20experiment

MLA

“double-slit experiment.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/double-slit%20experiment. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “double-slit experiment,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/double-slit%20experiment.

Source: double-slit experiment on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.