This fun paper describes the travails of trying to create a quantum mechanics concept inventory (a test focused on conceptual understanding): journals.aps.org/prper/pdf/10.1
e.g. D is "obviously" the answer to me, but it privileges a matter wave interpretation, so some profs say E…
Conversation
Incidentally, only 64% of undergrads at University of Colorado were able to answer that one correctly after finishing their modern physics course—yikes! (E, the alternative answer you might favor, only garnered 5%… most wrong answers were B or C)
5
9
Actually… is there a coherent QM interpretation which would support B?
Replying to
Yes. For example (in terms of QC):
1
D seems a bit nonsensical given a folk description of "photon" as "light particle". If you define it as "wave packet" then D works but usually people talk about particles (incl photons) as particular cases where the packet is highly peaked, contrasting them with spread-out waves.
1
1
Show replies
Replying to
Sounds like the Bohm interpretation.
I'm wondering how could you get A? Both know which slit it went through *and* still get interference? That definitely seems impossible.
2
Replying to
B, D & E are defensible.
B is Bohm, D is Copenhagen, E boils down to "Either B or D but we have no way to know".
1